COMEDY COMES OUT SWINGING IN A 1969 CLASSIC
New on Blu-ray My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea Shout! Factory DVD, $16.97; Blu-ray, $26.97
One of the more unusual animated features of recent years is the brainchild of Dash Shaw, a graphic novelist whose thick-lined style and experimental coloring combine on film for an experience akin to reading a comic book under the influence of mind-altering substances. Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts and Maya Rudolph voice teenagers who are in the middle of another day of adolescent drama — both academic and romantic — when sloppy construction over a fault-line causes their cliffside high school to collapse into the ocean. Part disaster picture, past John Hughes misfit teen comedy, and part Adult Swim-style oddity, “My Entire High School” is destined for richly deserved cult fandom. Special features: A Dash Shaw commentary track and bonus short films
VOD The Clapper Available Friday
Just like Dito Montiel’s semi-autobiographical 2006 Sundance favorite “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” the writer-director’s latest comedy is based on one of his own books — though this one’s more of a social satire than a roman à clef. Ed Helms stars as an actor who clings to the fringes of Hollywood by whooping it up in infomercial audiences. When a late-night talk show turns him into a running joke, it threatens both his income and his budding relationship with a gas station attendant played by Amanda Seyfried. Montiel’s script is too twee, and the cast (which also includes Tracy Morgan, Leah Remini and the late Alan Thicke in his final role) is too high-powered for such a slight premise. But the story is engaging and unusual, making some unexpectedly strong points about the difference between earning a living in show business and being thirsty for fame.
TV set of the week Teen Titans: The Complete First Season Warner Archive Blu-ray, $21.99
Before the gloriously silly “Teen Titans Go!” became one of Cartoon Network’s biggest hits, the same juvenile superheroes (voiced by the same actors) starred in a show that comic book fans loved, even if a wider viewing audience didn’t. Based on the popular 1980s version of one of DC Comics’ classic superteams, “Teen Titans” has Batman’s sidekick Robin leading the half-robot Cyborg, the shape-shifting Beast Boy, the sorceress Raven and the powerful alien Starfire. The show’s exaggerated, anime-inspired visual style and frequently wry jokes bring brightness and zip to straightforward, genuinely thrilling action stories. Special features: Featurettes
From the archives Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Twilight Time Blu-ray, $29.95
more than 15 years as an actor and screenwriter before making his splashy, socially relevant 1969 directorial debut: the swinger comedy with Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Dyan Cannon and Elliot Gould as successful L.A. marrieds who experiment with open relationships. Like most of Mazursky’s work, this one is focused on cultures in transition, showing how ordinary people try to keep up with a world where mores and values are constantly evolving. The movie is gently mocking while also expressing sympathy for folks just trying to fit in. Special features: A cast and crew commentary and a scholarly commentary
Three more to see
Goodbye Christopher Robin 20th Century Fox DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98; also available on VOD The Killing of a Sacred Deer Lionsgate DVD, $19.98; Blu-ray, $24.99 Thank You for Your Service Universal DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98; also available on VOD