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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest Blu-ray discs and DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph go places, 20th Century Fox releases a legendary three-disc set and Oz celebrates 70 years.

Pick of the Week

For people who want to know whether Maggie Gyllenhaal reacts to car seats the same way she does strollers: Away We Go

Away We Go, a small dramedy from distributor Focus Features, marks a sharp departure for director Sam Mendes, who previously helmed more Blockbuster-y type projects – American Beauty, Revolutionary Road – that broke out to big success with American audiences. In the movie, Office star John Krasinski and former SNL player Maya Rudolph play a young couple who take a trip across the United States (and even into Canada) to lock down the best location to raise their unborn child.

While both Krasinski and Rudolph do good work in their respective roles – and in particular Rudolph, who finally lands a co-star part after serving up a considerable amount of screen time in 2006's A Prairie Home Companion – it's the performances of the secondary actors you meet along the journey who steal the spotlight. Highlights include Jeff Daniels and Catherine O'Hara as Krasinski's totally aloof parents, Allison Janney as an obnoxious, yet extremely likeable whack job and Maggie Gyllenhaal as, essentially, the queen of bohemians.





The movie, which previously went under the names This Must Be the Place and Farlanders (yikes), boasts an impressive soundtrack. Nine of the 13 folksy tracks come from Brit singer-songwriter Alexi Murdoch. Murdoch's "All My Days", which plays in both the trailer and film and comes recommended by me as a must-listen, is arguably the flick's unofficial anthem.

Disc includes: The Making of Away We Go featurette, Green Filmmaking featurette, audio commentary

For people who can't believe NPH will ever settle for one woman (or any woman for that matter): How I Met Your Mother: The Legendary Season Four

Fact: I've seen 64 episodes of How I Met Your Mother. However, for the purposes of this column, I'll go ahead and admit that I've yet to see a single episode of season four. Before writing me off as a traitor, I do feel I reserve the right to back up my reasons for boycotting all of last season. (And, so far, the pair of season five episodes that aired this month).

Is it just me or did How I Met Your Mother jump the shark when it became less about the characters (i.e. shortly after Ted and Robin started dating for reals) and more about finding ways to put them in wacky situations? Essentially, HIMYM transitioned from a solid, character-driven comedy (with a ton of heart) to what appears like your everyday laffer, albeit with a stronger eye for episodic continuity and pop culture gags than other modern sitcoms. And, after being blindly dragged around for years without a valuable hint at who the mother of Ted's kids actually is – a yellow umbrella? Really, that's the best you can do? – I just had to put my foot down.

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