Summer is here and Mother's Day is around the corner. Can you blame the folks at Play All for getting a little schmaltzy? It doesn't hurt that the three DVDs this week are a heartwarming Latino-American tale, a French film, and a melodramatic TV movie of the week. We should just let our mums take over the column this week. But, no, we barrel through to give you the options on the DVD shelf that might be placed behind PS I Love You, I'm Not There, and Over Her Dead Body. And, in case you're looking for it, like the rest of the world, we're ignoring the release of The Hottie and the Nottie this week. You should too. It just doesn't it in this week's feel-good Play All. Go by your mom a card and some flowers and then hit Play All.

Bella
Studio: Lionsgate
Starring: Eduardo Verastegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angelica Aragon, Jaime Tirelli, and Ramon Rodriguez
Features: Audio Commentary with Director Alejandro Monteverde, Behind-the-Scenes Featurette, Behind the Journey of Distribution Featurette, Exclusive Alejandro Sanz Music Video, Theatrical Trailer, and TV Spot

How does a movie go from the top of the world to barely registering on the public consciousness at-large? Bella, a good, heartwarming little film looked like it could be the next festival hit to take the world by storm after it won the 2006 Toronto Film Festival People's Choice Award. Previous films to take that honor include Hotel Rwanda, Amelie, American Beauty, and Life is Beautiful. But Bella didn't have the names of even those films. It was a labor of love and those can be very difficult to get to mainstream audiences. Those who did see Bella loved it. It was rated highly by Yahoo!, The New York Times Reader's Poll, and Fandango. It's an easy movie to fall in love with. Even as the critical side of me was fighting some of the more melodramatic cliches in this story of a damaged soccer player bonding with a recently-pregnant waitress, I fell for the film more than just a little bit. It's immensely likable. Both of the leads - Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard - are incredibly believable, making the cliches easier to bear. Bella is a heartwarmer and if you give yourself over to it, you'll love it. Millions of people already did and it's only a matter of time before millions more eventually do. (The DVD also features a great series about the troubled distribution of the film that any fan of the festival and indie scene should really see.)

Dans Paris
Studio: IFC
Starring: Marie-France Pisier, Joana Preiss, Alice Butaud, Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, and Guy Marchand
Features: "Rendez-Vous With Louis" - A Short Film By Director Christophe Honore, Deleted Scene

This week's French entry comes courtesy of IFC and director Christopher Honore. Dans Paris stars Joana Preiss as Anna, a woman who has just left her man and forced him to move back in with his father in Paris. The man in question, Paul, is forced to deal with his younger brother Jonathan, a womanizer. But Jonathan hides some deeper issues that still haunt him after the death of his beloved sister. Paul's depressed. Jonathan's haunted. Anna is sullen. The whole thing sounds very French to us. Dans Paris played at the Cannes film festival in 2006 and opened stateside in early fall 2007 to mostly mixed reviews. This ode to the French New Wave worked for a few critics - Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, and Hollywood Reporter - but others felt it was a bit too mopey and, well, French. Your interest in Dans Paris will probably come down to your tolerance for the stereotypical traps of French cinema. Just don't say we didn't warn you.

Mitch Albom's For One More Day
Studio: Lionsgate
Starring: Michael Imperioli, Ellen Burstyn, and Samantha Manthis
Features: None

The phrase "Oprah Winfrey Presents..." always makes us a little nervous. You usually have to have a very high tolerance for cliches, melodrama, and over-the-top hand-wringing to deal with an Oprah TV movie of the week and then when you add in the fact that this one is based on the already-cliched For One More Day by Mitch Albom, you might want to have an insulin shot around for the sugar shock. But around this time of year, with good thoughts of our mothers around the holiday, even the hardcore critic can be a little lenient on a film like this one. Based on The New York Times best-selling book, For One More Day stars The Sopranos' Michael Imperioli as a broken-down baseball player who has collapsed into alcoholism and despair. He's about to take his life when he's magically granted one more day with his departed mother (played by the always-great Ellen Burstyn). The description alone will probably scare cynics away. If you can get past it and the name above the title, you'll probably have a heartwarming time this Mother's Day. At least for one day.