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People Like Us
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan Stevenson (8th December 2012). |
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The Film
 Sam: Most doors in the world are closed, so if you find one that you want to get into, you damn well better have an interesting knock. With its shuffling-jukebox soundtrack, delightfully and quintessentially quotable dialogue, cliché but fully realized characterizations and capable if overly precocious adolescent actor in a central role, odd mix of tones that can best be described as “earnest humor”, and sentimental but emotionally honest semi-autobiographical story, “People Like Us” is quite like a Cameron Crowe movie. In fact, it might just be the greatest Cameron Crowe movie Crowe never made. Inspired by true events, and propelled by a love of music—late 70's rock in particular—the plot of “People Like Us” follows a somewhat predictable, improbably romanticized, path. The people in “People Like Us” all talk as only people in movies do, often coughing up killer Crowe-isms—i.e. saccharine speeches that are both poignant and on point, before lapsing into ludicrousness (or, whatever your opinion, given to amusing axioms). And, as I sometimes think only Crowe can do, the sentimentality somehow works, and seems genuine. But “People Like Us” is not a Crowe movie, and is actually the directorial debut of Alex Kurtzman, also known in some circles as The Other Roberto Orci, and in others, NOT J.J. Abrams (and by “some circles”, I mean in my mind). Kurtzman is the spectacled half of the successful writing duo responsible for sometimes-stupid scripts of big Hollywood blockbusters, like the atrociously not-written “Transformers” series (2007-2011), “The Legend of Zorro” (2005) and “Cowboys & Aliens” (2011). But, on their better days, Kurtzman and writing partner Roberto Orci have also given us decently scripted J.J. Abrams movies—“Mission Impossible III” (2006) and the rebooted “Star Trek” (2009)—so they’re not totally terrible, I’ll give them that. Still, it's a total surprise that “People Like Us” is as good as it is. Entirely outside of their usual wheelhouse, "People" is modestly budgeted dramedy, with an excellent cast that includes Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer, and in a cameo role, Jon Favreau. You could say "People Like Us" is Kurtzman and Orci (who shares producing and writing credit with the first time director) attempting to show people that they’re capable of less blockbuster-ish, perhaps better, things. Surprisingly, it seems they are. The schmaltz on display in “People Like Us”—a return to its creator's roots, and a passion project eight years in the making—gets a bit much, but in the end, is a sweet and well meaning story. Credible acting and a well-balanced tone ultimately made me like the movie more than I was anticipating. Sleazy salesman Sam Harper (Chris Pine) is a thirty-something trying to make his way in the world, and live his life with some luxury in New York City. This is a task that he’s failing on a fantastical level, making him miserable and feeling his existence lacks meaning. When his father—a music producer of some note in the 1970's and 80's—dies, Sam is forced to return home after years of self-enforced exile. With his girlfriend Hannah (Olivia Wilde) in tow, Sam lands in Los Angeles to find that his grieving mother, Lillian (Michelle Pfeiffer), has almost wasted away herself while watching her husband die from cancer. Resentment is strong on both sides. Sam cannot forgive his father, even in death, for the years of neglect and emotional abuse in he suffered through in childhood, while Lillian harbors a near-hate for her son’s familial abandonment and unwillingness to forgive and forget. When his father’s attorney (veteran character actor Philip Baker Hall) reveals to Sam that his father has left $150,000 in cash to a mysterious young mother and her son, Josh Davis (Michael Hall D’Addario), he investigates the matter and discovers the woman is his illegitimate half sister, Frankie (Elizabeth Banks). At first, Sam is angry. Mostly, he’s pissed his father left so much money—and, by default, the promise of a financially-secure future—to a woman Sam didn’t even know existed. After all, Sam was only given his dad’s massive collection of LP's. Deep in debt, and with legal fees likely mounting in light of recent worries at work, Sam thinks he could use the money for himself. His father owes him, and, in a way, sees material wealth as the ultimate representation of what he was never given—speaking to the morally broken, and lost, soul Sam has become in the absence of perceived parental love. But Sam is also fascinated by the fact his father had a secret second family the whole time he was neglecting his first for a music career. With Sam, his father was emotionally distant, but physically around. He was absent in both forms for Frankie, after the age of eight, which had profound impact on her life. And so, Sam seeks out his sister, finding her as troubled, and emotionally and morally wrecked, as he is, from the complete, actual, abandonment by their father. Frankie is an unfortunate alcoholic, who has to work as a bartender to make ends meet. In her fragile state, she is struggling to raise Josh properly and doing a pretty poor job at that. And meanwhile, romantically maintaining a mostly one-sided relationship, in which she’s the emotional abuser, with her downstairs neighbor Ted (Mark Duplass). The more he learns, the less angry Sam becomes. Instead, Sam feels sorry for his sister—and Josh, who reminds Sam of himself the more he sees from afar—and decides to help them any way he can. Wiggling his way into Frankie and Josh’s lives, under a vague false identity with a little white lie and a few trips to Alcoholics Anonymous, Sam soon begin his attempt at mending their collective broken lives. At first glace, “People Like Us” seems quite the pointless, pretentious, exercise for its creators. As though Kurtzman, Orci and co-writer Jody Lambert made a serious drama only to prove they can. But underneath the pretense superficially overflowing in the trailers and promotional campaign, “People” is a surprisingly well-done picture with a lot of heart and an overstuffing of talent. Kurtzman proves a capable director, wrangling his cast with a sure hand, and mounting a production that’s beautifully shot, and unexpected in its restraint and subtlety. Although the plot could be undone by a simple act of honesty—this is one of those troubling little tales that shouldn’t be complex at all, and wouldn’t merit a short film, let alone a full feature, if characters actually said what they were thinking and feeling without hesitation—it really doesn’t matter because the characterizations in “People Like Us” are strong, and Pine, Banks and the rest are so absolutely excellent in their respective roles. Newcomer Michael Hall D’Addario, who won the part of Josh after a long search, is a rare child actor who’s not totally terrible. I suppose that his character is meant to be an annoying, troubled, little jerk actually, weirdly, makes him less annoying. Pfeiffer is exceptional. Her part in the film is the best work she’s done in years. Shucking off her more glamorous qualities, as Lillian, Pfeiffer is worn and raw, exactly like a woman, broken and beaten down after a year of watching her beloved husband slowly die at her side, would be. But it’s the chemistry between Pine and Banks that is most captivating, driving the dramatic core of the film through the would-be sluggish middle. In other films, the long and drawn out with-held secret of Sam’s true identity—which makes up most of the drama holding together the second act—would grow tiresome, but it doesn’t seem so long and drawn out here. Over the runtime, there’s an organic growth for these characters as they work through their problems together. The secret lingers, but never nags. There’s also hints of, at least one-sided (and unknowing), incestuous attraction, but don’t worry… nothing actually happens. And in a way this only makes Sam and Frankie’s relationship more interesting and dynamic. The two leads have a strong, and real, rapport—that is instantly infectious—and watching Sam struggle with striking a strictly platonic link to Frankie, who incorrectly assumes more romantic things are at work, is quite the uncomfortably humorous but eventually heart-breaking thing. It’s uncommonly well handled for an American film, a Disney film, and a Kurtzman-Orci film. There’s a quality of real-ness, and sincerity, to the film, which at first feels bizarre, and is entirely unexpected, based on the co-writer’s previous works. “People Like Us” is nothing like Kurtzman and Orci’s other films, which are mostly genre pics (and, in some cases, quite terrible). Perhaps the reason for this drastic divergence in style, and tone, is that the film might be the most personal thing either writer has ever committed to the page. Inspired by Kurtzman’s own story—who, as an adult, met his half-sister, born from his father’s previous marriage, for the first time at a party held by a mutual acquaintance—and co-writer Jody Lambert’s relationship and history with his own father, Dennis—who was a producer/songwriter in the 70's L.A. music scene—“People Like Us” doesn’t feel false. Because, at least in part, it isn’t—it’s dramatized reality. Much of the movie rings true. It’s an honest examination of how deep wounds scarred over by time can have a lasting impact on who and what people become. But what’s truly impressive is, although it's serious if hardly somber, the film is also surprisingly funny. Like, genuinely filled with jokes that aren't offensively stupid. The film is packed with excellent scenes that are organically funny. Characters argue over music, whether it’s one’s tastes in tunes or the virtues of vinyl over CD. The peppering of pop culture references don't feel forced. And there's no uncomfortable racism-used-for-laughs. (Maybe they we're lying when they blamed Michael Bay for some of those scenes in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (2009)?) And there are some terrific little exchanges in the film. They're imitation Crowe-isms if you will, but well imitated. Sam’s six rules for life (Rule 1: “Don’t like something just because you think other people will like it. They won’t.” Rule 2: “What you think is important isn’t. What you think is unimportant is”… Rule 7: “always assume your mom is listening.”) is particularly well done. Fine-tuned in tone, Kurtzman, Orci and Lambert’s script—and Kurtzman’s direction—make the shifts between seriousness and humor subtle, natural, and not-at-all-jarring. A few straggling subplots for side character are somewhat lost along the way, leaving the sibling’s two romantic interests—Ted and Hannah—underdeveloped. There’s the feeling we’re only getting a fraction of them in the film. But, these flaws are not enough to spoil an otherwise surprisingly spry script brought to life by a capable cast of otherwise well-rounded characters, and actors turning some of their best work to date. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are surprisingly well suited for drama, and “People Like Us” is a very decent picture that’s not at all the portentous piece of pretentiousness is was initially expecting.
Video
DreamWorks and Disney grant “People Like Us” a nearly perfect 1080p 24/fps high definition presentation, using the AVC MPEG-4 compression codec and pressed onto a BD-50. The top-spec encode allows for an exceedingly faithful transfer of Alex Kurtzman’s well-shot, often impossibly detailed, film. Framed in 2.40:1 widescreen, Kurtzman and cinematographer Salvatore Totino primarily shot “People Like Us” in the super35 format, with a few sequences shot on Flip Video HD cameras, and a few others on super8. Finished on a 2K digital intermediate, the mixed formats mesh surprisingly well, and the film looks every bit as good as most modern, medium sized, productions, if perhaps even better than most. A word of caution: the footage not shot on medium-gauge film stock—that is, the Flip HD cam, and the old super8 material—looks pretty ragged, but by design. The lower resolution digital has a processed look, with mushier details, sharpening artifacts and both noise and banding. The super8 stuff is thickly grained, soft, flickering with damage and flash burns. Fortunately, both atypical formats are seen sparingly. The rest of the film, the super35 material, which is often very attractively framed, is quite striking. Close ups and wide shots—whether in interior or exterior scenes—are staggeringly sharp, with an impressive level of detail on display. Eyelashes, pores, fine intricacies in fabrics… all impeccably rendered, with nary a sign of aliasing. Colors are lush, with a warm push towards a sun-drenched yellow cast. Bold primaries pop sporadically into the picture, like the rich red of Sam’s convertible, which peppers scenes with attractive hues. Although mostly accurate, skin tones are a tad uneven in a few scenes with noticeable flushing. Blacks are deep and saturated, but weaken in a handful of scenes. And contrast is layered for the most part, giving the picture nice depth, if also leaving it infrequently flat too. And film grain is finely rendered, and never noisy, but naturally spikes at times with heavier grit. Keep in mind, a smattering of short scenes suffer from these collective issues. And largely, the image excellent in all basic regards—the disc is detailed, colorful, a showcase of great depth, with stable and natural film grain, about 95-perect of the time. Traces of digital noise reduction, edge enhancement, or other unwanted anomalies are nowhere to be found. Overall, “People Like Us” is a very good-looking Blu-ray. Like the film itself, this presentation has its share of surprisingly praiseworthy attributes. Some of the close ups are extraordinary, with the clarity and detail rivaling, and in places surpassing, the best non-IMAX film footage on the format.
Audio
“People Like Us” sets itself apart from most dramas, with a surprisingly engaging English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) surround mix. The film starts off with a sound check over the opening credits, with instruments and vocals bouncing around the room, as through to purposefully point out “People Like Us” is not going to be the typically dull—the polite term is intimate—dramatic piece. And indeed, the disc has a lively lossless mix, exceeding expectations for a dialogue-based drama. Of course, dialogue is crisp and always intelligible, coming through with force trough the center speaker. But there’s also an unanticipated amount of sound-mixing niceties, which give the film an expanded, atmospheric, quality into the full 6-channels at play. Early in the film, during a scene where Sam is tailing Frankie on the busy streets of L.A., attempting to eek out her true identiy, all sorts of crowd and street effects bounce around the soundstage: roaring engines, honking horns, and the like. On the opposite end, a simple scene where Sam listens to a self-help CD on his father’s stereo—while high, of course, having found his father’s stash of medical marijuana—his heightened senses send the chattering therapist’s voice scattering through the speakers, with tweaks in attenuation and amplification adding odd variance to something that’d otherwise be mundane. Later, in a scene in the bar where Frankie works, loud club music has powerful, almost deafening, low-end bass. Most effective of all are the various musical montages. “People” features an diverse soundtrack, with an unusually understated score by Academy Award winning composer A.R. Rahman, and a bounty of rock songs from the 70's and 80's, including tracks from The James Gang, Foghat, The Clash, Bob Dylan and others. These montages crank up the volume—as they’re free of dialogue—but have fine fidelity and fill the full 6-channel soundscape to great effect. DreamWorks and Disney also include French Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 dubs, and an English Descriptive Video Service 2.0 surround track, with optional subtitles in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
It’s an increasingly rare thing to come across a new-release film with a such a solid supplemental package on these days, which is why “People Like Us” surprised—and delighted me—with its three worthwhile audio commentaries, above average making-of featurette, and sizable selection of deleted scenes excised from the final cut. A blooper reel and small handful of bonus trailers have also been included. The two-disc combo pack includes both a Blu-ray and DVD of the film, with the standard definition platter housing slimmed down supplementals. DISC ONE: BLU-RAY “Number One With A Bullet: The Story Behind ‘People Like Us’” (1.78:1 1080p, 14 minutes 28 seconds) is a featurette with Orci, Kurtzman, Chris Pine and others. Kurtzman talks at length about the origins of the screenplay, based on his own experience of meeting his half sister from his father’s previous marriage. BTS footage, of the actors and director working on set, is interwoven with talking head interviews. This is an above average EPK that is unexpectedly well produced. It’s short, but not worthless. There are three (yes, three) audio commentaries on this disc. “People Like Us” includes a trio of excellent tracks: two feature-length discussions—one with the director and cast members, and another with the writers—and a third, select-scene, commentary featuring director Alex Kurtzman and actress Michelle Pfeiffer. The first audio commentary, with Alex Kurtzman and actors Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, is a lighter, more self-deprecating, affair than I was expecting considering the serious, personal, nature of the project for its director. Recorded after the release of the film, there’s a rare retrospective quality to the track, something not usually heard with newer films (which often have their commentaries recorded far in advance of release). The comments range from the obvious—the conception of the screenplay, the actors and their careers, and the film’s characters—to the far more interesting, including the underperformance at the box office, critical response, and slight studio meddling (mostly, the title change: from the much better “Welcome to People”, a callback to the tape Josh’s therapist gives him). The track is surprisingly honest, always engaging, and fun in a self-aware way. Banks, who’s a hilarious natural comedienne, keeps the track alive, while Kurtzman tries to keep it on topic. It’s fluffy at times, but informative, with the director discussing his process, the actors opening up about their characters, and all sharing stories about the making of the film. More technical is the “writers” audio commentary with Alex Kurtzman and co-writer Jody Lambert. The two discuss the development of the screenplay, which took almost a decade to reach its finished state. They talk about the autobiographical elements of the story, the characterizations and character arcs, the overall plot structure, the lengthy casting and rehearsal process and more. This is a less entertaining commentary than the first, but perhaps even more informative. A select-scene audio commentary with Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Pfeiffer (2.40:1 1080p, 35 minutes 17 seconds, play all) is more of in-depth interview between the director and the usually elusive actress. The duo discuss Pfeiffer’s career, how she came to work on the film, the character of Lillian and making her relatable—and not too unlikable, as to be unredeemable in the eyes of the audience by the end—among many other topics. Broken into seven parts, this audio commentary—with Kurtzman mixed in the left channel, and Pfeiffer mixed in the right—plays over select clips from the film edited into topic specific, mostly linear, chunks denoted by a title card. These segments, playable individually or all at once, are: - “Welcome to People Like Us” - “The Journey” - “The Artist” - “A Long Night” - “Emotions of a Scene” - “Your Story” - “It Can Only Happen Once” - “Opening the Door” In his introduction to “Taco Talk” (1080p variable AR, 4 minutes 51 seconds), an interesting featurette about the creation of one of the many excellent character moments between Banks and Pine, director Alex Kurtzman explains: “This is an editors assembly of the footage that we had from the taco scene, which was a really fun scene to shoot. Half of it was written, half of it was improvised. Chris and Elizabeth had a really great time doing it. We had a really fun time shooting it. And I just wanted to show kind of the broad view of these scenes. We ended up cutting a lot out. For posterity, here it is.” So, basically, this is an extended take, replete with raw audio (“action… cut”) and timestamps in the letterbox bars. But it’s worth checking out. Kurtzman returns to introduce a large collection of deleted and extended scenes (1080p variable AR, 18 minutes 25 seconds, play all), viewable individually or in one solid reel of footage. The scenes are: - “Chicken Soup”—cut for pacing, this scene features Sam and Hannah talking about their relationship, and Sam’s relationship with his father, the night Sam learns his dad has died. - “At a Loss”—cut because it was running too long, this is an extended argument scene between Sam and Hannah, which ultimately ends with her leaving for New York (that part is in the final cut). - “The Talk”—a series of scenes, all cut for their extraneous nature, offers additional character closure: more of Sam and Hannah reconciling, Frankie and Ted taking their relationship to the next level, and Josh reaching out for help from his mom for the first time. - “Milk and Cookies”—an extended scene of Josh and Lillian meeting for the first time. - “We Are Family”—the first version of the film’s penultimate scene, between Sam and Frankie. The scene was ultimately discarded, rewritten and reshot, after several botched takes. Bloopers (2.40:1 1080p, 3 minutes 54 seconds) is a typical gag reel, full of flubs, mishaps and many takes ruined by Chris Pine’s frequent giggle-fits. Pre-menu bonus trailers are for: - “The Help” (1.85:1 1080p, 1 minute 44 seconds) on Blu-ray and DVD. - “ABC TV on DVD and Blu-ray” (1080p various AR, 1 minute 20 seconds). - "Anti-Smoking" PSA (1.78:1 1080p, 30 seconds). - “Castle: The Complete Fourth Season” (1.78:1 1080p, 1 minute 2 seconds) on DVD. - “Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 25th Anniversary Edition” (1.78:1 1080p, 1 minute 1 second) coming soon to Blu-ray. DISC TWO: DVD Also included in the package is a standard definition DVD. The second disc, a DVD-9, features the film in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen with English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, English DVS 2.0, and subtitles in English, Spanish and French. Extras include the audio commentary with Kurtzman, Banks and Pine and the select-scene audio commentary track with the director and actress Michelle Pfeiffer, as well as the pre-menu bonus trailers.
Packaging
DreamWorks and distributor Walt Disney Home Entertainment bring “People Like Us” to Blu-ray in a 2-disc Blu-ray + DVD combo pack. The dual layered BD-50 and DVD-9 are housed in a Vortex eco-case. A cardboard slip-cover has been included with first pressings.
Overall
The trailers made “People Like Us” look pretty pretentious and terrible. And, in theory, sitting through a schmaltzy drama from the guys who “write” the "Transformers" movies sounds like just about the least appealing thing ever. Yet, in actuality, the film—as saccharine and sentimental as it occasionally is—isn’t terrible. Although I can hardly believe it myself, Kurtzman and Orci have created something that’s clearly personal—a passion project. In “People Like Us”, they’ve produced an honest and worthwhile picture. It seems, although they’re been playing the part of shock-y storytellers specializing in the “art” of Michael Bay-ish awfulness, Kurtzman and crew are actually, at heart, dramatists in the style of Cameron Crowe. They’re somehow able to sell this slushy story with heart and humor. The cast is credible, and the characters well rounded, which helps sell the entire setup. Pine shows surprising rage, Banks turns in a typically fine performance, and their chemistry carries the film to its end. Michelle Pfeiffer does some of her best work in ages. The rest of the cast is respectable too. The Blu-ray release from Disney and DreamWorks has one of the most impressively detailed transfers in recent memory, an unexpectedly engaging soundtrack, and some solid extras. Unbelievably, "People Like Us" is a solid film and a spectacular Blu-ray release, and comes highly recommended.
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