On assignment in glamorous Monte Carlo, the clueless Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin) finds himself up to his elbows in slapstick trouble, as usual, while investigating a murder in "The Pink Panther."

Be all that you can be? Some movies answer that question better than others on ...

The big screen scene: Steve Martin steps into Peter Sellers' oversized shoes as the clueless Inspector Clouseau in "The Pink Panther" (Sony), a hit-and-miss update of the 1963 slapstick caper.

Another ace comedian plays himself in "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" (Universal), a 2004 Brooklyn bash featuring Kanye West and Erykah Badu.

Back on the action front, a routine assignment transporting a witness (Mos Def) turns into a frantic chase for a strung-out cop (Bruce Willis) in "16 Blocks" (Warner).

And "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (also from Warner) follows the comically violent (or, if you prefer, violently comic) adventures of a small-time crook (Robert Downey Jr.) in Hollywood for a screen test. Val Kilmer steals the show as his hard-boiled detective adviser.

For more wholesome diversion, the fact-based "The World's Fastest Indian" (Magnolia) stars Anthony Hopkins as an eccentric New Zealander determined to break a speed record aboard his 1920 Indian Scout motorcycle.

"Green Street Hooligans" (Warner), meanwhile, offers definite contrast as an American college student (Elijah Wood) falls in with London soccer hooligans.

And flippant fun bubbles up in "Aquamarine" (Fox), a modern-day fairy tale about two teens (Emma Roberts, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque) who befriend a mermaid (Sara Paxton) seeking true love on dry land.

Rounding out today's recent-release lineup: "End of the Spear" (Fox), about fierce South American tribesmen who killed five American missionaries in the '50s -- and the decades-later quest by one of the slain missionaries' sons to bond with his father's killer.

Critic's choice: Return with us now to the frothy Technicolor musicals of the "Betty Grable Collection, Vol. 1" (Fox). "Moon Over Miami" (1941) and 1945's "The Dolly Sisters" are already on DVD, but the collection marks the DVD debuts of "Down Argentine Way" (1940), which boosted Grable to stardom (and introduced the inimitable Carmen Miranda to American audiences), plus 1950's "My Blue Heaven."

Flashing forward to current titles that never played Las Vegas, the Sundance Film Festival award-winner "40 Shades of Blue" (First Look) focuses on a legendary record producer (Rip Torn) whose Russian trophy wife takes up with his long-estranged son (Darren E. Burrows).

Helen Hunt and Scarlett Johansson, meanwhile, battle over the same man in "A Good Woman" (Lionsgate), which transplants Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windemere's Fan" to '30s Italy. Another stage classic, Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters," inspires the updated "The Sisters" (Union Station), with Maria Bello, Erika Christensen and Mary Stuart Masterson.

Hot docs: On a musical note, "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" (Paramount) features songs from Young's "Prairie Wind" album, plus some greatest hits. And documentarian D.A. Pennebaker captures rock icons Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding at the 1967 Monterey Pop festival in "Jimi Plays Monterey"/"Shake! Otis at Monterey" (Criterion).

PBS, meanwhile, tracks down such train-themed titles as the "American Experience" documentaries "Streamliners: America's Lost Trains, "The Orphan Trains" and "Transcontinental Railroad," plus "Hear That Train A-Comin'." Also from PBS, "Texas Ranch House" challenges 21st-century Americans to find a 19th-century-style home on the range.

Kidvid corner: In "This Is America, Charlie Brown" (Paramount), the "Peanuts" gang explores U.S. history from colonial times to the space age.

Other animated favorites on DVD include a three-disc edition of "Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?" (Shout! Factory), "Dora the Explorer: Animal Adventures" (Paramount) and "The Pink Panther Classic Cartooon Collection, Vol. 4 -- Swingin' Pink" (MGM).

TV transfers: Clive Owen plays an on-the-edge lawyer whose road rage leads to a deadly mistake in "Split Second" (BFS). And James Garner returns to a signature role in "The Rockford Files: Season Two" (Universal).

Four series, meanwhile, debut on DVD -- "Coach: The First Season" (Universal), "Dharma and Greg: Season One" (Fox), "Medium: The Complete First Season" (Paramount) and "Walker, Texas Ranger: The Complete First Season" (also from Paramount).

Other sitcom arrivals include "Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season" and "Frasier: The Complete Eighth Season" (both from Paramount), plus the Britcoms "Good Neighbors: The Complete Season 4" and "Waiting for God: Series 1" (both from Warner).

Rounding out today's TV-on-DVD lineup: "Beavis & Butthead: The Mike Judge Collection, Vol. 2" (Paramount), "Dead Zone: The Complete Fourth Season" (Lionsgate), "MacGyver: The Complete Sixth Season" (Paramount) and "Stargate SG-1: Season 8" (Sony).