May 11, 2007 By Lou Gaul, Calkins Media Film Critic 5 min read

A relationship picture (“Because I Said So”), an imported drama (“Breaking and Entering”), a melancholy tale (“Catch and Release”), a broad satire (“Epic Movie”), an impressionistic work (“Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus”) a romantic comedy (“Music and Lyrics”) and a novel adaptation (“The Painted Veil”) are the top titles arriving for this Mother’s Day weekend. The top DVD rental and sales titles are:

Best Renters

1. “Dreamgirls” (PG-13); Grade: A-; with Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson in an adaptation of Michael Bennett’s musical about a Supremes-like Motown group.

2. “Music and Lyrics” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant in a romantic comedy about a fading singing star who asks an eccentric young woman to help him write a pop song.

3. “Night at the Museum” (PG); Grade: B-; with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams in the comedy smash about a night guard who discovers that the displays at the Museum of Natural History come to life each night.

4. “Epic Movie” (Unrated and PG-13); Grade: C; with Kal Penn and Fred Willard in a broad and gross comedy that spoofs big-budget hits.

5. “Because I Said So” (PG-13); Grade: C; with Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore in a forced comedy about a driven mother obsessed with finding an eligible bachelor for her youngest daughter.

6. “Deja Vu” (PG-13); Grade: B; with Denzel Washington in a fun-to-watch thriller about a DEA agent who may be able to prevent a deadly incident by using cutting-edge technology to travel back in time and stop a bomb from detonating.

7. “Catch and Release” (PG-13); Grade: C; with Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant and Kevin Smith in a dull romantic comedy about a woman who must rebuild her life after her husband-to-be dies the day before their wedding.

8. “Smokin’ Aces” (R); Grade: B; with Jeremy Piven and Ryan Reynolds in a stylish thriller about a Las Vegas magician who becomes the target of hired killers after he agrees to testify against the mob.

9. “The Queen” (PG-13); Grade: A-; with Helen Mirren delivering her Oscar-winning performance as Elizabeth II in a compelling drama about the royal family member and her seemingly indifferent reaction to the death of Princess Diana.

10. “The Painted Veil” (PG-13); Grade: B; with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton in a drama, based on W. Somerset Maugham’s novel, about an unfaithful wife forced to accompany her stern British doctor-husband on a seemingly suicidal trip to China to treat victims of a cholera epidemic.

11. “Little Children” (R); Grade: B+; with Patrick Wilson and Oscar-nominee Kate Winslet in a melodramatic satire of desperate housewives and househusbands in suburbia.

12. “Code Name: The Cleaner” (PG-13); Grade: C+; with Cedric the Entertainer playing an ordinary guy mistaken for a government agent embroiled in a conspiracy.

13. “The Last King of Scotland” (R); Grade: B+; with Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker delivering a powerful performance as the equally charismatic and chilling Idi Amin.

14. “The Hitcher” (R); Grade: C; with Sean Bean in a remake about a madman who terrorizes two on-the-road college students.

15. “Notes on a Scandal” (R); Grade: B; with Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench in an intense melodrama about a married teacher who begins an affair with a teenage boy student and then is blackmailed by an older instructor with her own agenda.

16. “Happily N’Ever After” (PG); Grade: C+; with the voices of Sigourney Weaver and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a computer-animated tale about a battle that threatens to alter all of the feel-good endings of fairy tales.

17. “Alpha Dog” (R); Grade: B; with Justin Timberlake in a chilling, fact-based picture about some gang members who consider murdering a young rival after kidnapping him.

18. “The Pursuit of Happyness” (PG-13); Grade: B+; with Will Smith in an uplifting, fact-based story about a homeless single father struggling to earn an internship at a prestigious stock-brokerage firm.

19. “Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus” (R); Grade: C; with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. in a 1958-set impressionistic drama about the brilliantly eccentric photographer and her relationship with a man who suffers from a condition in which hair covers every part of his body.

20. “Breaking and Entering” (R); Grade: B-; with Jude Law and Juliette Binoche in a drama about how a robbery connects the lives of very different people living in London.

Best Sellers

1. “Dreamgirls” (PG-13); Grade: A-; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, special-edition DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD

2. “Music and Lyrics” (PG-13); Grade: B-; $28.99, DVD

3. “Night at the Museum” (PG); Grade: B-; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, two-disc DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc

4. “The Queen” (PG-13); Grade: A-; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc

5. “Dirty Dancing: 20th Anniversary Edition” (PG-13); Grade: B; $19.99, DVD; $29.99, Blu-ray Disc

6. “Deja Vu” (PG-13); Grade: B; $29.99, DVD

7. “Smokin’ Aces” (R); Grade: B; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, DVD/HD DVD combo disc

8. “Happy Feet” (PG); Grade: A-; $28.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc; $39.99, HD DVD

9. “Charlotte’s Web” (G); Grade: A-; $29.99, DVD

10. “The Hitcher” (R); Grade: C; $29.99, DVD

Partial source: Video Business, wire-service and Web reports