Corteo; Lovesick

World-renowned Canadian theatrical troupe Cirque du Soleil's Corteo—which opened stateside in New York City this past April—is “situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth,” in which a clown witnesses his funeral and reflects back on his life. Within this framework, the usual Cirque acts are interwoven (albeit with some of the performers sporting angelic wings): a sexy-underwear-clad female quartet dangling from swinging chandeliers, another foursome circling the stage in what look like giant hula hoops, a dazzling trapeze act, etc. One of the early highlights has a group jumping back and forth between a pair of beds (actually trampolines) in an intricate dance, while another involves an impressive bit of sustained whistling. Some of the segments feel a bit shopworn (jugglers, seesaw jumpers, and—most disappointingly—a standard gymnasts-on-bars finale), and one particularly wondrous routine featuring pairs of disembodied shoes jogging across the stage is ruined because of the too-close camerawork revealing the trick. But, overall, Corteo is a solid, if very traditional, addition to the Cirque oeuvre. DVD extras include an extensive 45-minute “making-of” documentary, a featurette on a Cirque performer couple, a bonus scene, and a featurette on the filming of Corteo. Recommended. Aud: P. Filmmaker Lewis Cohen's Lovesick chronicles the mounting of Cirque's anything-but-traditional, adult-themed Las Vegas show Zumanity, interweaving rehearsal and preview footage with backstage footage and interviews, while also following a handful of the cast and crew. Viewers will meet emcee Joey, an insecure former NYC drag queen who is counseled to tone down his act; Cuban male stripper Alex, who bounces back and forth between his pregnant girlfriend and his new flame—a coworker he gets jiggy with during an onstage orgy scene every night; Laetitia, a formally-trained ballerina doing a whip-toting S&M act (who is initially crushed when Cirque founder Guy Laliberté sums up his suggestions for fine-tuning the show in one phrase: “not enough tits”); Jonel, whose Canadian fiancée is stopped at the border by U.S. customs; and Andrew, the nerve-wracked creative director of Zumanity. Filmed over a two-year period, Lovesick—like Zumanity itself (which has received mixed reviews)—wants to be on the edge (although some of the “real” footage from the group-grope cast parties looks a bit staged), but the film doesn't really present enough of Zumanity to give viewers a real feel for the show, and the scattershot stories of spotlighted individuals are only intermittently interesting. DVD extras include a brief “making-of” featurette, a short Zumanity preview, and a plug for the music CD. Optional. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)