The Game Plan (Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture:
B+/C+ Sound: B+/B- Extras: D Film: D
One of
the surprise hits of the season and worst films of 2007 is Andy Fickman’s
sickening formula comedy The Game Plan,
with one of the worst stars in Hollywood today in what has turned out to be one
of his very, very few hits: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Smarmy sports figure (Johnson in no biog
stretch of a role) is riding high on ego power until he finds out he has an eight-year-old
daughter. When she shows up, chaos
ensures, but not a good film.
With more
illicit appeals to pity than a brainwashing cult trying to break and destroy a
prisoner, the 110 minutes become more and more sickening quickly until you
cannot believe this was ever greenlit.
However, the smug, precalculated mess was worked out in advance by
Disney’s marketing department, issued in an off-season (pun intended) for film
and made money. It is bad, most people
who see it will feel the same and for those who might have liked it, might be
surprised how it does not hold up in a second screening. Kyra Sedgwick and Morris Chestnut are also
wasted, but at least they got their paychecks.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in Super 35mm film by Director
of Photography Greg Gardner and has all the depth and detail of a bad TV
sitcom. Though the image is not
horrible, it cannot overcome its cheeky colors and slight overlighting typical
of such lame commercial fare. The
anamorphically enhanced DVD is worse, with poor Video Black and detail issues
throughout. The Blu-ray’s PCM 48/24 5.1
mix is not bad and even has D-BOX bass enhancement for those who have that
system, but this is a dialogue-based comedy with music almost overtaking the talk
and really does not deserve such fidelity since it knows little of what to do
with it. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes in
both versions are poorer and easily surpassed by the PCM here. Nathan Wang’s score is dippy and annoying.
Extras in
both versions include two dumb ESPN Sports Center pieces, bloopers with Marv
Albert, deleted scenes, a making of featurette, Peyton’s Makeover Madness and the Blu-ray has the exclusive Chalk Talk feature with the star and
director giving a “unique” commentary they can keep.
- Nicholas Sheffo
