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My Best Friends Girl: 2-Disc Special Edition
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (4th March 2009). |
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The Film
 I don't like Dane Cook. Probably not the best way to start a review for this vehicle starring the lewd stand-up comic, but I've seen several of his comedies and none of them have really made me laugh. However, in saying that, I though his performance in "Mr. Brooks" (2007) was ok at best (not very strong but showed promise), perhaps he's better suited for darker dramtic roles? In fact there's one scene in "My Best Friend's Girl" which immediatley comes to mind, he's at the wedding near the end of the film and decides to mess things up with Alexis, the love interest of this film (Kate Hudson) and there are a series of shots in slow motion as he lights a cigarette while walking down the isle with this evil smirk on his face. Casting directors take note, if you ever need a villian, one that's particularly good at perfecting the asshole persona, then Dane Cook is the one for you. "My Best Friend's Girl" is another in a line of concept comedies starring Cook, the previous have included "Employee of the Month" (2006) where he competes with a fellow co-worker for the affections of a hot young thing, then there was "Good Luck Chuck" (2007) where he plays a guy who women after having been with him end up finding the love of their lives, and in the meantime he hooks up with another hot young thing... now there's "My Best Friend's Girl" where Cook plays an fixer of sorts who is paid by men to go out with their exes, acts like a total dick only to have them run back into the arms of their previous significant others... and yet again hooks up with a hot young thing (see a trend developing?), normally I'm up for a good comedy that's geared towards the 'R-rated' crowd, but it's hard to like anything whose concepts are usually silly and the films are populated by awful human beings. I'm no conservative when it comes to humor, but in Cook's case it lacks any intelligence (see Judd Apatow or Kevin Smith films for good examples of crude humor with brains). The main problem I have with "My Best Friend's Girl" is that it could have worked, had the filmmaker's decided to spend time fully developing the script, instead they went for the lowest common denominator gags... these include Dane performing cunnilingus on a buritto, Dane pissing in a cactus, Dane exposing his penis to Alexis' mother telling her to suck it, etc, etc, etc. Amidst all of this they try and add some moments that attempt to squeeze sympathy from the audience, the optimum word here is "squeeze" as Dane presents a truely dispicable figure it's hard to root for him. Although for the majority of the time I barely cacked a smile, there were several occasions where I did laugh, and it's mainly due to Dane's interactions with his co-stars, I found the scenes with this father (Alec Baldwin) to be among the few but shinning moments of the film, it's a shame they didn't have much for Baldwin to do here as he pops up over an hour into the film. On another note, what's happened to Kate Hudson, in a matter of years she's gone from box office draw to bad rom-com queen... a few years ago she was nominated for an Oscar for her breakthrough performance in "Almost Famous" (2000) now she's slumming it here with Dane Cook and Jason Biggs... if anyone needs to reevaluate their relationship with their agent it's her, because sooner or later she might end up a female Cuba Gooding Jr. and we all know what happened to his career. "My Best Friend's Girl" is forumalic, occasionally crude and will never go down as a comedy classic, it features minor laughs here and there and might service as a last resort rental, otherwise skip it. This Blu-ray disc features both the "Unrated" cut and the original "Theatrical Cut" versions of the film.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 1.78:1 ("Unrated" version only, the "Theatrical Cut" is in 1.33:1 full screen) and in HD 1080p 24/fps and mastered in AVC MPEG-4 compression. As far as HD transfer go this is fairly flat and there's occasionaly noise amid the black levels. Sharpness is decent and consistent, colors look good and overall the image is clean which is expected for such a recently released film.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround mixed at 48kHz/24-bit and French Dolby Digital 5.1 surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-HD track. For a comedy I was surprised that Lionsgate included a 7.1 track for this film, which seems like a waste, as it's a primarily a dialogue based film. Despite the obvious waste, the track feels broad and depth is pretty good. Dialogue is clear and distortion free, the ambient sounds are well mixed throughout the sound space and good use of the various channels, music is equally broad and displays decent range. For a comedy it's a solid track that services the film well. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, English and Spanish.
Extras
Lionsgate has released this film with two audio commentaries, four featurettes, deleted/extended scenes, bonus trailers and some BD-Live features as well as a digital copy of the film. Below is a closer look at these extras. DISC ONE: The first of two feature-length audio commentary by the film's director Howard Deutch. The director remains screen-specific as he comments on the key scenes of the film, he goes through the basic motions of the commentary which includes commenting on the production, the character, story elements, pointing out some funny moments, etc. Overall it's a rather bland and occasionally boring track as there are plenty of silent moment where the director basically watches the film... he seems like the kind of person that definitely needs the help of other participants. The second feature-length audio commentary features cast member Jason Biggs, screenwriter Jordan Cahan and producer Greg Lessans. After the droll and uninteresting director's track I was glad to finally listen to something with a bit of energy behind it. These three seem to have a nice chemistry with each other and provide a light and entertaining track that covers scripting, the performances and how scenes turned out among other things such as anecdotes form the set, coming up with the various comedic elements of the films, they talk about urine-based jokes, chat about the locations used in the film, etc. Additionally the guys call up a few friends via cell phone including cast member Lizzy Caplan and producer Doug Johnson who chime in briefly. "Making it in Beantown: Where it all Began" featurette runs for 9 minutes 23 seconds, did you know that Dane Cook was from Boston? Well, if you didn't this clip will clear things up, not only is the actor from Boston but the film was also shot there as we take a look at the various locations. "The Cast's Guide to Dating" featurette which runs for 8 minutes 35 seconds, basically a fluff-filled EPK clip that features members of the cast telling viewers about their dating process. It's occasionally funny but not worth repeated viewing. " A to Z: Professor Turner's Sexist Rating System" featurette runs for 7 minutes 57 seconds, in this clip cast member Alec Baldwin talk's about his character's rating system in yet another fluff piece clip that's not really worth exploring. " The Prom: A Teen Rite of Passage" featurette runs for 4 minutes 45 seconds, in this final clip the cast members of this film share their prom memories with audiences. Next up are are a collection of 15 deleted/extended scenes which include: - "Rachel Reconsiders Josh" which runs for 1 minute 6 seconds, in this scene Rachel reconsiders Josh after her nightmare date with Tank. - "Tank's Favorite Porn Titles" which runs for 40 seconds, Tank runs down his favorite porno titles in this extended clip. - "Masturbatory Aides" runs for 3 minutes 26 seconds, Alexis and Ami talk about 'the good guy' and Ami shows her a few masturbatory aides to use. - "Strip Club Bathroom" runs for 1 minute 17 seconds, this is an extended scene where Alexis talks to Ami on the phone while in the strip club bathroom. - "Wedding Cake Taste Test" runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds, Alexis takes Dustin to the wedding cake tasting for her sister's wedding. - "Forget About Alexis" runs for 1 minute 4 seconds, Tank tells Dustin to forget about his ex-girlfriend and that he needs to get laid. - "The Man With No Eyebrows" runs for 3 minutes 11 seconds, an extended version of the scene where Dusty gets his eyebrows shaved off at the hairdresser's. - "My Son The Booty Call" runs for 45 seconds, Tank's dad gives him some advice. - "Alexis Calls In Sick" runs for 1 minute 22 seconds, in this scene Alexis decides not to go to work and surprises Ami about her choice to ditch work. - "Tank Was Born" runs for 2 minutes 15 seconds, another date with Tank as he shares a childhood memory. - "Tank Prepares For Prom" runs for 2 minutes 24 seconds, Tank gets ready for the prom in this montage. - "Wedding Night Blues" runs for 1 minute 58 seconds, Alexis breaks down and tells Dustin about how she feels. - "Reaching Out For Tank" runs for 38 seconds, Dustin shows up to Tank's dad's place to reach out to Tank. - "Who Slashed My Tires?" runs for 1 minute 1 second, Tank finds out who has been slashing his tires. - "Alexis And Tank In Restaurant" runs for 1 minute 43 seconds, in this final scene Alexis sees Tank at a restaurant while on a date. The disc also includes some start-up bonus trailers for: - "Good Luck Chuck" which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds. - "Disaster Movie" which runs for 1 minute 3 seconds. Finally the disc features a Blu-ray exclusive extras, the DB-Live feature for profile 2.0 player only is the "MoLog" which provides viewers access to "Tanking Game" an interactive blog feature that allows you to blog while watching the film and share it with others online. DISC TWO: Features a digital copy of the film for portable devices.
Overall
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