DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

A doctor who suffers no fools

While desperate housewives can make mischief, House makes grumpiness a joy.

And much of the success of ``House,'' the hit Fox medical show that debuted last year, is due to its star. Hugh Laurie plays the title character, the acerbic, pill-popping (he's in constant pain) doctor with a cane (he has a limp) and the ``everybody lies'' mantra.

What's surprising about the Emmy-nominated Laurie's brilliant performance is not that he's a Brit, but that he's a Brit who's known for his comic turns. (It's a bit disconcerting to hear Laurie talk with an English accent on the special features of the first season, which is out today.)

Created by David Shore, Paul Attanasio, Katie Jacobs and Bryan Singer (``X-Men'' and the upcoming ``Superman Returns''), ``House'' is set at a prestigious New Jersey hospital, where Dr. Gregory House and his team of young assistants (Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, Jesse Spencer) tackle the medical cases that baffle everyone else. Also on board are Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Cuddy, the hospital's administrator, and Robert Sean Leonard, who plays Dr. Wilson, the closest thing to a friend House has.

And while it's fun to watch House do the Sherlock Holmes thing - ferreting out the most obscure clues to find the causes of illness - it's really fun to watch him say whatever he wants, things most of us think but wouldn't have the courage to say. When an intern finds him reading a comic book, she blurts out, ``You're reading a comic book.'' His reply: ``And you're drawing attention to your bosom by wearing a low-cut top.'' When the intern covers her chest with her clipboard, he adds, ``Oh, sorry, I thought we were having a state-the-obvious contest.''

But the brazen honesty of the character comes out not just in flippant situations. When a mother has decided to wait on treatment for her dying son until she gets a second opinion, House - who rarely sees the patients - visits her at her son's bedside. When she asks who he is, he replies, ``I am the doctor who's trying to save your son's life. You're the mother who's letting him die. Clarification - it's a beautiful thing.''

The funny thing is that Laurie's comic timing makes the barbs strike sharper and deeper. It's hard to imagine anyone more suited for a role. As the season goes on, you get to learn about House's background little by little. (You only find out about his leg in the second-to-last episode.)

Personally, I'm not high on doctor shows and am loath to commit to a series, but ``House'' is compelling week after week. It's a wonderful combination of a medical mystery that wraps itself around very human dramas - with both the patients and the hospital staff itself. And while ``House'' has climbed in the ratings, it hasn't generated that must-see buzz yet. However, everyone I know who's watched has become hooked, like House to his pain pills. And I bet this will be remembered as a great show.

``House, M.D. - Season One'' (Universal; $59.98).

'The Blues Brothers,' 'Tommy Boy'

Director John Landis has lots of fond memories of making ``The Blues Brothers'' 25 years ago.

First there was ``meeting and working with these extraordinary'' soul artists who performed in the film: Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Cab Calloway, James Brown and John Lee Hooker. And then there was working with the film's two stars - Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

And then again there was working with the John Belushi who ``started his bad drug problems on that movie,'' Landis says.

``We had trouble with cocaine and John's addictions. That was difficult and there were times that were very rough, but basically John was a great guy and a great talent and I loved him.''

In the movie - out in a special anniversary edition today - Belushi and Aykroyd play Jake and Elwood Blues, the characters they created on ``Saturday Night Live'' who were on a ``mission from God'' to save an orphanage and put their blues band back together.

But Belushi and Aykroyd's real mission in making the film was to ``exploit their celebrity to focus the spotlight on these great rhythm and blues artists.''

``I put that mission of God thing in there to make fun of Danny,'' says Landis.

What's ironic, the director says, is that while stars like Charles and Franklin are American icons today, when the film was shot the musicians were ``grateful for the gig because in 1979 rhythm and blues was in extreme disfavor. The big acts were disco.''

Landis and Aykroyd tailored the scenes for the performers, including the wonderful version of Franklin's ``Think.''

Landis says he is quite proud that the film helped the careers of those r&b artists, but says that, as for Belushi, no one could get through to him. He remembered a story about Chris Farley, whose film ``Tommy Boy'' is out coincidentally in a 10th-anniversary edition today.

``I was in the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in L.A. I hear this shout, 'I'm not worthy!' and I look and this huge guy is running toward me and slides across the marble floor on his knees and grabs me around my legs, screaming, 'I'm not worthy!' And I'm thinking who the ---- is this? And he gets up and goes, 'Hi, I'm Chris Farley.' ''

Farley offered to buy Landis a drink, and the two went to the bar where the comic actor rambled on about how Belushi was his idol and role model ``and he was trying to do everything like John.''

``And it was one of the few times I felt like an adult. I took Chris by the face - I literally held his face - and I said, 'John is dead. He's not a good role model. Artistically maybe, but not his lifestyle. John's dead. You don't want to be dead.' ''

When Farley died about a year and a half later, Landis says he was really upset about it. The similarities of the deaths are a bit eerie. The overweight ``Saturday Night Live'' alums both died of drug overdoses at 33.

Landis says that Aykroyd sums it up best about Belushi on one of the extras on the new DVD: ``He was a very good man and a very bad boy.''

``The Blues Brothers - 25th Anniversary Edition'' (Universal; $22.98).

``Tommy Boy - Holy Schnike Edition'' (Paramount; $19.99).

'Monster-in-Law,' 'Sahara,' 'Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior,' 'Schultze Gets the Blues,' 'Lilo & Stitch 2,' 'Clueless'

The new movies out this week are not built as well as ``House.''

``Monster-in-Law,'' which marks Jane Fonda's return to the screen after 15 years, is insubstantial fluff. Even Oscar winner Fonda's seeming zeal for the title role - an ogreish potential mother-in-law to Jennifer Lopez's innocent Charlie - adds few laughs to this romantic comedy. The film needed some bite to have a chance of working, but instead it's as animated as a sleeping puppy, only not as cute.

``Sahara,'' the action flick directed by Breck Eisner (son of departing Disney chief Michael), takes a while to get going, but the Indiana Jones-wannabe adventure eventually becomes entertaining enough to make up for the slow opening. It stars Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz and involves a Confederate ship laden with gold that is rumored to have ended up in the Sahara Desert. (For an explanation, watch the film.) Despite McConaughey and Cruz's supposed romantic involvement, sparks between them never fly. There are, however, a lot of special-effects explosions, and Steve Zahn as McConaughey's sidekick is welcome comic relief.

Tony Ja does some amazing martial arts moves in ``Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior.'' This sometimes bloody and brutal action movie from Thailand uses revenge against a drug dealer as a plot, but the only thing anyone is thinking about while watching ``Ong-Bak'' is, how does Ja do that?

``Schultze Gets the Blues'' follows the journey of a retired German miner touring the U.S. who eventually alights in the Gulf Coast of Texas, where he is smitten with Zydeco. Taking up the accordion again, the onetime polka player immerses himself in the music. The story of Schultze (Horst Krause) is one of late-life discovery. Though overly sentimental at times, the film does have some scenes as spicy as the jambalaya Schultze learns to make.

The straight-to-video release ``Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' is actually the second follow-up to the 2002 animated hit about a young Hawaiian girl, Lilo, and her blue friend from outer space, Stitch. The glitch is that Stitch (voiced by Chris Sanders) has suddenly reverted to the destructive ways he overcame in the original movie, putting him at odds with just about everybody on the island. It's up to Lilo (voiced by Dakota Fanning), who still has her Elvis fixation, to get him under control before bad things happen. Like most Disney straight-to-video releases, this one isn't as good as the original, but it's still done at a very high and entertaining level.

And if you're still ``Clueless'' about what to watch, try the 10th-anniversary edition of the Amy Heckerling comedy starring Alicia Silverstone. The jokes about clueless denizens of Beverly Hills have been done to death, but the film still holds much of its satirical edge.

``Monster-in-Law'' (Warner; $28.98).

``Sahara'' (Paramount; $29.95).

``Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior'' (Fox; $27.98).

``Schultze Gets the Blues'' (Paramount; $29.99).

``Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch'' (Disney; $29.99).

``Clueless - 'Whatever!' Edition'' (Paramount; $19.99).

'Nip/Tuck,' 'The Staircase,' more TV

``Nip/Tuck'' (which we spotlighted in Sunday's U) and the fourth season of ``Curb Your Enthusiasm'' are the best of the TV series released this week. However, don't overlook ``The Staircase.''

The docudrama, which aired on the Sundance Channel, follows both the prosecution and the defense team of an accused murderer, Michael Peterson, who was free on bail. Peterson was accused of killing his wife in their Durham, N.C., mansion in December 2001.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (``Murder on a Sunday Morning''), the eight-part series is captivating - even if you feel a bit voyeuristic watching them uncover some of the sordid details of Peterson's life.

Lots of people are probably looking forward to ``Roseanne - The Complete First Season,'' but I never found the ``domestic goddess'' nor the show very funny. Likewise, ``Married ... With Children,'' the fourth season of which is out today, seemed a pale imitation of better family sitcoms.

``Nip/Tuck - The Complete Second Season'' (Warner; $59.98).

``The Staircase'' (New Video Group; $39.95).

``Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Fourth Season'' (HBO; $34.98).

Roseanne - The Complete First Season'' (Anchor bay, $39.98).

``Married With Children - The Complete Fourth Season'' (Columbia; $39.95).

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) HUGH LAURIE in ``House''

(2) DAN AYKROYD, left, JOHN BELUSHI in ``The Blues Brothers''