I Guess We’re 11 And 2 Now    As the upgrade of our video library to DVD continues its inexorable march, I picked up Stripes - The Extended Cut.  As is typical of such warmed-over editions, the extra footage doesn’t really add anything to the original movie; they were right to cut it.  The commentary track does highlight the misbegotten pitch behind the film ("Cheech & Chong join the army") and wrestles (sorry) with the potentially fatal problem of why would two ostensibly intelligent guys enlist in the first place.
   The "legendary" South American scene is completely dispensible from a plot perspective, but Harold Ramis acting stoned is eerily entrancing somehow.  P.J. Soles finally has a good topless scene, for those who have been feeling that particular void for the past couple of decades.
   On a demographic note: repeated viewing of the army barber scene may prove helpful in helping my three-year-old son overcome his terror of hair clippers.  He has already become enamored of Bill Murray’s esprit de corps, which should come in handy when we’re setting up the New Model Army that we’ll be needing pretty soon now.  (Mon 25 Jul 2005, 00.12 PDT)     @ #