REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES ***½ (HBO on Comcast) A gritty, joyful self-esteem fairy tale, “Curves’’ tells how a smart and large teenage girl from East LA might draw her own road map to life. Lupe Ontiveros is a nasty force of nature as the heroine’s small-minded mother, but even she can’t overshadow the calm charisma of America Ferrera as Ana. (PG-13; runs through Oct. 31) TY BURR
FATHER OF THE BRIDE PART II ** (Encore on Comcast) Steve Martin’s wacky midlife crisis is interrupted by the simultaneous pregnancies of his daughter and his wife. The concept is thin, the jokes are thinner, and the comedy ultimately disintegrates into shameless schmaltz. Hard as he tries, Martin fails to save this sequel. (PG; runs through Nov. 3) MATTHEW GILBERT
