Newcomer Bryan Greenberg is caught between mum Meryl Streep and "mature" girlfriend Uma Thurman in Prime. Indie filmmaker Ben Younger peppers the script with "lots of dry humour", but inevitably fell foul of some critics who compared the film to the early Manhattan-set comedies of Woody Allen. Despite mixed reviews, the names Streep and Thurman still put plenty of bums on seats.

Prime Time

"My directing style is loose and erotic," states Younger in the Prime Time Players featurette. Streep was certainly impressed by his confidence although the filmmaker admits that he freaked out the veteran actress out on the first day of shooting by staring at her persistently. We also get to see him in action on the streets of New York and there are interviews with Thurman and Greenberg too - the latter still incredulous of working with two Hollywood A-Listers.

In his commentary for the film (with producer Jennifer Todd), Younger talks about the challenges of working in Manhattan - like applying for permits and being denied - but insists that everything except one scene was filmed on location. As a writer, he explains how he drew from his own experiences of growing up in big Jewish family, then having to give up the ghost to Streep who went her own way with the mum/therapist character. Younger explains that his own mother was a therapist before revealing the strange quirks of her parenting philosophy that found their way into the film. For instance, just as Streep does to Greenberg in the story, Younger's mum strictly forbade him from cleaning his ears with q-tips... Apparently this commentary is something of a therapy session for the director.

Prime Cuts

Eleven deleted scenes depict more awkward moments for Rafi (Thurman) and Dave (Greenberg) as they try to deal with each other's friends. Perhaps it was the bad lighting that meant scenes at a house party were cut, but there are a couple of nice moments as Rafi tries to make idle chit-chat with a veterinary student and Dave's juvenile buddy Morris (Jon Abrahams). As in the film however, it's Streep who steals the show with what feels like an improvised dinner scene - bizarrely insisting that New York will soon be rife with flying cars.

Finally an outtakes reel is worth tuning into just for the spectacle of Thurman gagging on a quail's egg during a key seduction sequence. This small batch of extras is a lot easier to digest, but fans of the two leading ladies and anyone interested in the dark secrets of a director's childhood will want to spend some time on the sofa with this DVD.

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