Paul Rodriguez: Just For The Record (2012/Image DVD)/Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011/IFC/MPI DVD)/Portlandia: Season Two (2012/VSC Blu-ray Set)/That’s My Boy (2012/Sony Blu-ray)

 

Picture: C/C/B/B-     Sound: C+/C+/B-/B-     Extras: C-/C-/C/D     Main Programs: B/D/C+/D

 

 

Here are some of the latest comedy titles to consider seeing or skipping…

 

 

One of stand-up comedy’s great survivors is back with one of his most personal routines in Paul Rodriguez: Just For The Record (2012) where the more-successful-than-you-think comic gets very honest, autobiographical and down to business joking about what has been happening lately, human nature, politics and where we stand as a country.

 

At 93 minutes, this is one of the best stand-up comedies we have seen on DVD to date and shows Rodriguez in rare form in a new personal best peak that is sadly not being seen or heard by enough people.  His timing, bluntness and personability make him one of the best in the business and this release is more than enough evidence of that.  Kudos too to the stage design.  Some extra jokes are the only extra.

 

 

Next is a would-be counterculture comedy, Bruce (Driving Miss Daisy) Berseford’s Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011) wants to be a smart throwback to the past, though set today, but just gets more preposterous until it becomes ridiculous and flatlines.  Catherine Keener is dumped by her husband (Kyle MacLachlan), but instead of getting mad, she takes her kids and goes to Woodstock, New York to visit her somewhat estranged Summer of 1967 mother (played amusingly, if not totally believably by Jane Fonda, who makes sense to cast buy does not ring totally true here believe it or not) in a film that tries way too hard to be a comedy.

 

Between how unfunny and implausible the script becomes, the historical and pop culture references piling up, this gets goofier and goofier until it feels like an overbloated telefilm.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan shows up as a new love interest as does an also-appropriately cast Rosanna Arquette, but the entire project becomes too enamored and self-impressed with itself, has no edge or any moment that feels real as soon as mom takes the kids away so we have a dud that could have worked with some discipline and something to say.  This has zilch to say.  Extras include a trailer and featurette.

 

 

The Lorne Michaels-produced absurdist sitcom Portlandia: Season Two (2012) with Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen arrive don Blu-ray and though it at least has some amusing moments and fun guest turns by Penny Marshall, Jeff Goldblum, Eddie Vedder and Tim Robbins, it is more of the same hit or miss humor we found in the debut season covered at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11376/Absolutely+Fabulous:+Absolutely+Eve

 

I do like the idea that something eccentric is a moderate hit versus the usual junk, but we get a series of occurrent skits ala Tracey Ullman and unless you like most of the set-ups, the show will disappoint or just stay steady.  All 10 half-hours are here plus bonus material including the leads and Jonathan Kristel offering audio commentary on four select episodes, two specials tied to the show, excerpt from a new tie-in book release, a deleted scene and longer director’s cut of the Brunch Village episode.

 

 

Last and least is one of the worst films of this or any year with another Saturday Night Live alum, Adam Sandler, dragging down fellow SNL alum Andy Samberg (who also appears on that Portlandia season above) in the catastrophically horrid money-loser and brain killer known as That’s My Boy (2012) directed (if you can call it that) by Sean Anders going for an all-0time hack award.

 

The premise (if you can call it that) has goofy oaf (Sandler in a role that is not a stretch in the least) finds out that he fathered a son (Samberg playing 18-years-old?) as ‘dad’ is about to get married.  A horrid mess follows that is a waste of 116 minutes of perfectly good human living in which even James Caan is conned (hope the paycheck was big enough) into participating (one of his worst appearances ever anywhere) with mostly unfunny unknowns trying for career suicide we gather.

 

Sandler still has his contract with Sony (without Hotel Transylvania, when did he really make money for them or anyone in recent years?) that should be cancelled for breach of contract, but not being funny is not illegal, though Sandler is on the verge of making it so for all comic talents (I use that last word loosely with him).

 

This is worse than my words could ever begin to describe, but avoid this dud at all costs.

 

 

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Portlandia is the best-looking of all the titles here with nice definition, consistency and color throughout, while the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Boy is not as good with more motion blur, detail issues, color limits and some sloppy camerawork.  The anamorphically enhanced DVDs are much softer with the 1.78 X 1 image on Rodriguez just too soft and with some motion blur that distracted, while the 2.35 X 1 image on Peace was almost softer with more motion blur and only color to save it from being worse.

 

The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Boy is sadly about the best-sounding of the four releases, but oddly, the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Portlandia has nice Pro-Logic surrounds, is fuller than the previous season and can compete with the Sandler mess that has sound too much towards the front speakers as well as the center channel.  The lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Peace is too peaceful with a dialogue-based and quiet moments sometimes interrupted by mixed music and surrounds kicking in, so the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Rodriguez manages to be able to more than compete with it.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo