From Prada To Nada (2010/Lionsgate Blu-ray) + Hall Pass (2011/Enlarged Edition – Extended Cut/Warner Blu-ray
w/DVD) + Muay Thai Fighter (2009/MagNet/Magnolia
Blu-ray) + Wild Cherry (2008/Image
Blu-ray)
Picture: B-/C+
& C-/B-/C+ Sound: B-/B- &
C+/B-/B Extras: C+/D/C+/C- Films: C+/D/C+/C-
Comedy is
not easy, but that is no excuse for so many of them to be so bad. They could at least try and here are some
cases that teeter in the middle of that…
Angel
Gracia’s From Prada To Nada (2010)
is a mostly Hispanic cast remake of Sense
& Sensibility with Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama,
Nicholas D’Agosto and Adriana Barraza, it is an amusing variant with some good
performances and good humor throughout that is worth a look and is a nice change
from all the other stuffy versions of the original and all the other Austen
adaptations overall.
For those
unfamiliar with the original, here is the link to the only version of Sense we have reviewed to date:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/6864/Jane+Austen%E2%80%99s+Sense+&
This one
is the best of the three releases here simply because it is trying to be
different and do something different with familiar material and have fun with
it. The cast also produces some charm
and chemistry, which helps, but this is only so realized and is a victim of
Austen burn-out that no form of adaptation can avoid. Still, I would like to see these actors more
and hope this helps. Extras include
three featurette, Deleted Scenes that also amuse, Theatrical Trailer and
Bloopers.
Peter
& Bobby Farrelly (Stuck On You)
are back, which does not excite me, but at least they can be funny on
occasion. Unfortunately, Hall Pass (2011) wastes Owen Wilson,
Richard Jenkins and Christina Applegate, while Jason Sudeikis does not come
across as funny and has not been funny much to be to begin with. The guys are not grown up despite being
married, so their wives (Applegate and Jenna Fischer) give them a week to go
anywhere they want (the title refers to what they call it) so they can supposed
get their silliness, immaturity, goofiness and hyperness out of their
system. However, the script is
predictable, sometimes obnoxious and I never bought this for a minute, even in
a leave-your-brain-at-the-door way. Some
might, I did not and it was not a big success, yet you should see it if you
idea of comedy is really, really dumb comedy, but do that at your own
risk. Extras include Blu-ray exclusive
BD Live interactive features, Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices, an
additional scene and “is it really funny?” Gag Reel.
Muay Thai Fighter was previously reviewed by fellow
writer Ricky Chiang on DVD at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10954/Muay+Thai+Fighter+(2009/Magnolia
This was
more of an awkward Rocky/Karate Kid redux than anything else,
but at least is consistent and amusing, so you might be interested. I was only so impressed, but it was still a
little better than I expected simply because there is at least some energy here
and it is in locales I have not seen much.
Extras include Blu-ray exclusive BD Live interactivity, international
trailer, trailer gallery, a making of featurette and behind the scenes
interview with cast.
Finally
we have Dana Lustig’s Wild Cherry
(2008), a would-be female teen sex comedy about three virgin gals (Rumer
Willis, Kristin Cavallari, Tania Raymonde) who find out they have been matched
to football players as if they would be the young men to loose “the Big V” to
without being told, so they go out for a sort of revenge. Oddly, this gets sidetracked by various teens
supposedly being asked about sex, though that comes across as phony filler and
Rob Schneider shows up as an overprotective father of one of the gals, bit that
does not work and is not funny either.
This is a very rare case where I will not blame Schneider. Tia Carrere even shows up (she is not here
enough) and cannot save this predictable bore either. A trailer is the only extra.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image on Nada
and Muay have their share of motion
blur and flaws, but still look better than the 1080p 2.35 X 1 on Pass, which is somehow weaker and
sometimes phonier-looking. This is worse
for Pass on the anamorphically
enhanced DVD also included, which is sometimes unwatchable. The 1080p 1.78 on Cherry is as bad as Pass and shows already the age of the older HD
production. The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio)
5.1 mixes on all three may not be perfect, but are at least professional and
warmer than lossy mixes and these are all essentially dialogue/joke based, with
Cherry having surprisingly the best
mix of the three; its only highlight. I
expected Pass might sound better
with a larger budget, but that was not the case. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix on the Pass DVD is the weakest of all, as
expected.
- Nicholas Sheffo