I must be a glutton for punishment.  Usually fellow staff reviewer Sean Ferguson reviews all the Disney related Blu-ray titles around here, but when I found out about this romantic comedy starring my favorite screen queen as of late, Odette Yustman (the heavenly goddess from The Unborn), I begged Sean for the chance to review it.  Thankfully, Sean agreed.  Or was my wish ill fated?  Let’s find out as I act as your tour guide conduit in providing you an all-access tour of Buena Vista’s Blu-ray set, You Again.  Ready?

Film  

You Again is a romantic comedy film directed by Andy Fickman.  It stars Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Victor Garber, Betty White and the whole reason I took this assignment, the lovely Odette Yustman.  The film premiered theatrically on September 24^th.  However, I was unable to make the press screening.  Darn!  And oh yeah…I would be doing our world an injustice if I did not mention the appearance of one Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson within the feature.  Aaron Nuewirth needs to know this information.

So remember I used the term ill-fated above?  What a weird way to start off a Blu-ray review, huh?  Well I did that for a reason.  Want to know why?  Of course you do!  So here’s the shizzy.  It’s because of the horrible critical reviews I read about the film after agreeing to review this title.  It’s seemingly up against Troll 2 as one of the worst movies of all-time.  But if you are Sean Ferguson, then you will instantly refute that statement.  Anyway, I wanted to take a quick moment to recap two of my favorite negative reviews I found online.  New York Times critic Stephen Holden penned that “There is not a laugh to be found in this rancid, misogynistic revenge comedy,” and declared “Like so many Disney movies, You Again exalts shallow, materialistic values, then tries to camouflage its essentially poisonous content with several layers of sugar coating and weepy reconciliation.”  And finally, Richard Roeper gave the film an F and stated that it was one of the worst movies he’s ever seen.  Ouch!  If that doesn’t say it all, then I don’t know what does.  Do you think Roeper ever saw Troll 2?  LOL!  So just how bad is You Again?  That’s what I was dying to find out as I pressed play on my PS3 remote.  Read on and I will share with you my innermost deepest secrets.

Oh God!  I don’t even know where to start.  Although I never experienced the awesomeness of Troll 2 like Sean Ferguson has, I can probably guarantee that Sean would like this title more.  Does that make this a great film?  Absolutely NOT!  During the 105-minute runtime I kept asking my wife when this film was going to get good?  She obviously did not have that answer.  And in a very rare feat that seldom happens between us, we both awarded this film only two stars after it was over.  In fact it was quite funny.  I’m one of those people who watch the credits no matter what.  And when the credits started rolling, B-roll and outtakes started flowing.  And my wife and I typically eat those moments up as there are usually laughable things to be found in these types of endings.  Well quite honestly, I think my wife had enough.  She turned to me and said, “You can stop this.”  Ha ha.  It was me who was solely watching the credits.  It was apparent now that she indeed had enough.  I guess that’s why people refer to me as the female and her as the male in our relationship.  LOL.

Anyway, so you all want to know what the story of You Again is all about, don’t you?  You sure?  It’s not for the faint of heart.  We first meet the two leading ladies, Bell and Yustman, in their high school years (circa 2002).  Bell’s character, Marni, is the definition of a geek.  She was an outcast in her high school.  Odette’s character, JJ, was obviously the “it” girl in school.  Now let’s fast-forward some years.  Bell’s character is now a successful PR person.  Her career is flourishing as she accepts a very big promotion that will have her moving from Los Angeles to New York.  But first, she must head home to attend the marriage of her brother.  That’s where the meat and potatoes of the story really begins.  You see, her brother is getting married to none other than her high school nemesis, JJ (now known as Joanna).  Only trouble is, no one knows their feudal history except the two of them.  Marni’s family is oblivious to the fact over how much she truly hates Joanna.  Joanna on the other hand, is now as sweet as…well you know, maple syrup or something like that.  Marni’s family eats her up.  Yum!

So do you see the dilemma here yet?  Wait!  It gets worse.  Jamie Lee Curtis plays Bell’s mother and Sigourney Weaver portrays Yustman’s aunt.  Where are the aliens?  God help me.  I could only wish.  But again!  Wait!  Wouldn’t you know it?  The same feudal history exists between Weaver and Curtis’ characters.  In Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat! He refers to this as Double Mumbo Jumbo.  You don’t believe me?  Would you believe me if I told you it gets even worse?  You just have to watch and find out for yourself.  I will say this, however, everything I just mentioned does play nicely into the actual title of this film…You Again.  Think about it for a minute.  It is pretty clever.  Okay…the film gets a point for that.

So anyway, I think you can see where this romantic comedy is going.  This one is not for the men, save for the ones like me who are just in it for Odette.  But trust me, it’s not worth it.  This movie is as dull as my stills are for it within this review.  If it were not for at least a cohesive story and a few song and dance routines here and there, my score would have been a lot lower than what it really is.  You could have called this Cheetah Girls 4 and I would have not known the difference.  I’m not even sure what the demographics of this film are as it is all over the place.  Sometimes, and I know this is a Disney movie, I think the producers really tried too hard to keep this family friendly.  Parents of the world…I see no reason why your little tikes can’t watch this one with you.  But I beg of you…why not pop in Star Wars instead?  They will grow up to love you even more.  So with that being said.  Let’s find out how this disc looks, sounds and feels…other than the film itself.

But before we move on.  I really want to know who this Joel Amos guy from SheKnows.com is.  On the slipcover of the Blu-ray release he is quoted as saying this film is “Hysterically Funny.”  Joel…do you know what funny is?  That’s all.  Carry on…

Video  

You Again arrives on the Blu-ray format with a stunning 2.40:1 widescreen presentation brilliantly rendered in an AVC MPEG-4 encode.  Here’s how I will covey it quite simply to the masses.  The visual quality of You Again on Blu-ray is as perfect as Odette Yustman is to my 36-year old retinas.  Grade A, people!  Grade A!  It’s a new release…a Disney film…you will be hard pressed to find any imperfections in this Blu-ray release, much like you would with Odette Yustman (a big grin overtakes my smug face).  The colors are vibrant and the detail, for the most part, is sharp throughout.  Every strand of hair and green chlorophyll filled leaf on the trees are remarkably captured on this home video release.  And there are some incredible blue sky shots to behold too.  Grain is kept to a minimum with no intrusions visible and black levels are near reference perfect.  It is what it is folks (God…how I hate this line).  If you are like me, and you are only checking out Odette…oops I mean checking this feature out for Odette, then you won’t be disappointed.  She looks beautiful as ever in this one.

Audio  

You can’t really fault the movie or the studio for the lack of dynamics in this lackluster rom com.  Again…as I stated above…it is what it is.  And I STILL hate saying that!  You Again arrives on the Blu-ray format with a very quiet DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix.  When I say quiet, I mean just that.  If you are looking for wonderful examples of surround sound usage to show off to your friends and family, please look elsewhere.  And here’s a hint.  Just about anywhere else will do.   On the plus side, the dialog is all clear and intelligible.  That’s important, right?  Here’s the situation.  This film is a comedy.  Comedies are generally weak in the surround sound department.  This feature is no exception.  Make the most of this one on Blu-ray because you know it won’t sound this good on DVD.

Special Features  

Like the feature film itself, the Special Features department has very little to offer its viewers.  But that’s not to say it’s not quirky.  Oh, quite the contrary.  I’m not going to spend too much time crafting magical rhymes; I’m paid just to keep it real.  So before I move on with what’s all included here, I’m going to make the following disclaimer.  At least it’s all in High Definition.  Now with that being said, remember the golden rule.  Even though something is presented in High Definition, that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily good.  Please.  By all means…read on…

• Following Fickman: On Set With The Director (HD) - Peer into the madcap mind of Hollywood’s wackiest director, Andy Fickman, as he orchestrates the comedy of Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White.  I think this featurette was better than the movie itself.  Really!

• Ask The Cast (HD) – Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver and Kristen Bell answer questions from fans asking for advice.  Betty’s advice might not be what you expect.  I know…I’m as speechless as you are.

• Funny or Die (HD) – Believe it or not, this is a behind-the-scenes interview spoof featuring Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman and KristenBell.  They discuss the movie and when things get tense between the actresses…it eventually boils over into a cast fight.  You sure you want to spend your time here?  I rate this one as a fans only featurette.

• Blooper Dance Party (HD) – What kind of special features are these?  Cripes!  On-set antics abound as the cast dances to their own beat.
• Deleted Scenes (HD) – Director Andy Fickman provides optional introductions to his deleted scenes: “Sharing A Room,” “Photo Album Memories,” “Riding The Silk,” “Good Morning Sunshine,” “Grandma Bunny’s House (featuring Betty White),” “Meet Georgia King (with Betty White),” “Gail’s Shower/Ramona’s Dress,” “The Compost Heap (with Betty White),” “Covered In Lard (with Betty White),” “Bridal Shower (with Betty White)” and “After The Fiasco.”
• DVD (SD) – Yes it’s true.  There’s a second disc in this set.  It’s a drink coaster.  Oops…I mean DVD.  So if they include a DVD, then why not a Digital Copy too?  It makes no sense.  As much as I was against them in the beginning, I’m starting to think that all Blu-ray purchases should now include a Digital Copy.  What do you think?

Final Thoughts  

Look folks.  I’m a nice guy.  Despite my desire to earn any commission off sales of this title, I would feel guilty taking your money here.  Yes, there are some beauties to behold here, but in the long run…it’s simply not worth it.  It really isn’t it.  Even my wife did not care for this feature and these kinds of chick flicks are right up her alley.   So if you don’t take my word for it, then take into consideration the sentiments of my wife.  If nothing else, then you have been warned.  Here’s hoping Odette picks her roles more wisely in the future.  I believe in you Odette.  Make me proud!

You Again arrives in a Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray and DVD version of the film) on February 8^th.  Pre-order yours today…if you dare!  — FANS ONLY –

BURBANK, CA, November 19, 2010 – This coming Valentine’s Day, don’t miss the opportunity to own the entertaining romantic comedy YOU AGAIN, releasing on Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD in a single package), DVD and Movie Download on February 8, 2011 from Touchstone Pictures. It’s also the perfect heart-filled gift for mom, girlfriend and families alike to sit back, relax enjoy some laughs from the comfort of their own home.

Complete with never-before-seen outtakes, exclusive Blu-ray content and even more Betty White, YOU AGAIN will be made widely available at retail stores across the country as a Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD).

YOU AGAIN features a brilliant all-star cast with comedy pedigree performances by Kristen Bell (Couples Retreat, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Jamie Lee Curtis (Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Freaky Friday), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar, Baby Mama), Kristin Chenoweth (“Glee,” “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue”) and Betty White (“Hot in Cleveland,” The Proposal).

YOU AGAIN is “Fun for the Whole Family” said Lisa Stanley from K-Earth/CBS Radio and “Hysterically Funny With A Heart Of Gold,” said Joel Amos from SheKnows.com.

Film Synopsis:

For Marnie (Kristen Bell), high school was a horror movie, and her brother’s wedding is the sequel when her archrival comes back to haunt her as his bride. Its nice girl versus mean girl in this hysterical reunion with the one person Marnie would really like to forget. And if that weren’t enough, Marnie’s mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) reunites with her own high school nemesis (Sigourney Weaver). Complete with hilarious, never- before-seen bonus material, You Again is one crazy comedy that’ll keep you laughing again and again.

Bonus FeaturesDVD:

? FOLLOWING FICKMAN: ON SET WITH THE DIRECTOR: Peer into the madcap mind of Hollywood’s wackiest director, Andy Fickman, as he orchestrates the comedy of Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White.

?ASK THE CAST: Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver and Kristen Bell answer questions from fans asking for advice. Betty’s advise might not be what you expect.

? FUNNY OR DIE: In this behind-the-scenes interview spoof, Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman and Kristen Bell discuss the movie when things get tense between the actresses eventually boiling over into a cast fight.

?DELETED SCENES: Director Andy Fickman provides intros to his deleted scenes “Sharing A Room,” “Photo Album Memories,” and “Riding The Silk.”

Blu-ray:

Everything on the DVD plus…

?BLOOPER DANCE PARTY: On-set antics abound as the cast dances to their own beat.

? ADDITIONAL DELETED SCENES: Director Andy Fickman provides intros to his deleted scenes. “Good Morning Sunshine,” “Grandma Bunny’s House (featuring Betty White),” “Meet Georgia King (with Betty White),” “Gail’s Shower/Ramona’s Dress,” “The Compost Heap (with Betty White),” “Covered In Lard (with Betty White),” “Bridal Shower (with Betty White),” “After The Fiasco,”

Movie Download

? FOLLOWING FICKMAN: ON SET WITH THE DIRECTOR

? ASK THE CAST

Dictionary.com defines “burlesque” as a humorous and provocative stag show featuring slapstick humor, comic skits, bawdy songs, striptease acts and a scantily clad female chorus.  I can’t really disagree with that definition, but after Monday night’s press screening I would like to add the words “Christina Aguilera” to the term’s meaning.  Pure eye candy!  And oh yeah, the girl has talent too.  Bada bing, bada boom!  In addition to the beautiful starlet, the film also features the ‘forever young” diva Cher, Stanley Tucci (one of my favorite actors as of late), Cam Gigandet (I found my Tom Arnold!), Alan Cumming, Julianne Hough, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell (I thought Gregg was going to fall out of his seat when he saw her) and Grey’s Anatomy TV hunk, Eric Dane (“The Stud”).  Although it’s no secret that the film was built as a vehicle for Cher to shine and pass on the torch to Aguilera, one should not overlook the performance of Tucci.  And that’s all I will say about that…for the moment.

The story of Burlesque goes a little something like this.  When we first meet Ali Rose (Aguilera) she is seen escaping her small-town doom by figuratively cashing in all her chips with dreams to make it big in Hollywood.  Tell me something (as Dave Mustaine would say in “Peace Sells”).  We all have that same dream, don’t we?  Anyway, don’t let Christina’s small stature fool you.  Beneath that brilliant and utterly sexy disguise she dons lies a very big voice reckoning to be heard by the masses.  So she just so happens to stumble upon The Burlesque Lounge by accident, attracted by the bright lights and a sultry dancer adjusting her stockings outside the club.  Isn’t that how we all choose where we are going to work?  But anyway, despite the club’s owner, Tess (Cher), wanting nothing to do with her, Ali takes it upon herself to become a waitress and flawlessly lands the gig.  If nothing else, you have to admire the girl’s spunk and determination.  Wow!  I wish I were that bold in life.

It’s not long before Ali seemingly manages to land herself within the dancing stage show.  It’s ultimately a decision that Tess will never regret.   Trust me!  There’s just one problem.  Ali will never get to show off her killer voice because they only do lip-syncing at the club.  Does that present a problem for Ali?  Of course it does, but we are talking about Christina Aguilera here folks.  She will find a way to use her super powers for all to see.  Don’t you worry!  However, with the good always comes the bad, right?  At least in the world of movies this is true.  I mean it has to be or else where is the drama?  Where are the conflicting factors that glue us to the screen?  Don’t worry.  I have your back here.  It’s during Ali’s rise to the top that a complicated “triangle” (as I term it) of problems develops.  Really though, a girl should only be this lucky.  Let’s see, first there’s the bartender (Gigandet) who befriended her in the beginning and now all the sudden has overwhelming feelings for her despite being engaged to another woman.  Everybody wants to see his cookies.  Next, there’s this sexy siren of a performer named Nikki (Bell) who grows extremely jealous of the spotlight being stole from her (I call this the Showgirls syndrome).  She’s the enemy here…obviously.  You got to have one of those.  And finally, a charming and I guess you can call him handsome entrepreneur, Marcus Gerber (Dane), has dual interests of his own, sweeping Ali off her feet and buying the club outright from Tess for his own properties.  Whoa!  What’s a small-town farm girl ever going to do to remedy all of this?  Don’t stereotype her because she’s blonde.  She’s not as dumb as you may think.  After all, this is Christina Aguilera, folks.  Don’t count her out.  She will save the day and prevail.  She has to, right?  In an effort to remain spoiler free, I’m not going to tell you anymore.

So does it take a legend to make a star?  I would say in this case it doesn’t, but it certainly doesn’t hurt either.  Truly, Christina’s character would have gained recognition one way or another eventually with her God given talents, but having a mentor like Cher could only be more than you could ever ask for, in my opinion.  Thankfully, the movie did not focus on Tess making too many stupid decisions, but every time she did, Tess was there to mentor and guide her in the right direction.  I wish we all had a Tess in life.  But perhaps more importantly, maybe the dynamic duo here wasn’t the Cher/Christina Aguilera tag team, but perhaps the Cher/Stanley Tucci tag team.  Their chemistry here was just perfect.  Sure, Tucci may be stereotyped for his homosexual roles as of late, but whatever I see him in, he’s just a solid actor and he knows how to deliver.  I look forward to many more Tucci film roles.

Well I think you get the big picture.  I LOVED this film!  It will no doubt end up in my “Top 10” of the year list and it will be a Day #1 purchase on my beloved Blu-ray format.  So now, what about that title I gave this review up above?  Don’t you want to know what it means?  C’mon, don’t be shy.  I know you do.  Even if you don’t, I’m going to tell you anyway.   How many Marilyn Manson fans do we have here?   Can I see a show of hands?  Oh alright, I can’t really see your hands anyway.  It was just a figure of speech.  Don’t get your panties all in a bunch.  The film and accompanying soundtrack, for that matter, features a very remixed and refreshingly reprised version of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” and it rocks, in its own little unique way.  If nothing else, it put a smile on my face.  And last but not least, let’s not forget all the beautiful people within this film.  I’m not sure how Cher manages to still look like she’s a prettier version of a skeleton in her elder 40’s, but she’s doing something right without having to don the Star Child KISS makeup.  And let’s not forget about the girls…the dancers of The Burlesque Lounge.  Did you think they would put ugly people in there?  Guess again!  Screen Gems’ Burlesque opens nationwide today and I strongly suggest that you get off you’re a$$ tonight and go see this.  You’re not going to see anything new or revolutionary in the world of filmmaking here, but you will be treated to your fair share of glitter, gams and glam.  What more can a guy ask for?   Thank you Christina!  – From your new #1 fan

The Film 

Louise (Meg Ryan), a confident and successful attorney, arrives home early one day to find her husband of 13 years, Ian (Timothy Hutton), preparing to meet his young mistress Sarah (Kristen Bell) and leave for Paris.  Louise refuses to let Ian walk out on their marriage, so she goes nutty and knocks him unconscious and even duct tapes him to a chair.  Louise vows to keep Ian hostage until he realizes that he still loves her.  The story progresses as the gardener (Justin Long) breaks into the house with his friends.  Ironically, both Louise and Ian end up in the bathroom duct taped where they come to terms with reality and their marriage.  The climax of the film occurs when Ian’s mistress Sarah shows up at the house and joins Louise and Ian in the bathroom as duct tape hostages.

This film is a great dark comedy that will have you laughing and feeling sorry for the characters at the same time.  The cast and crew selection was perfect.  Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton create movie magic and pull you into their desperate situation.  The film is the directorial debut of Emmy® nominee Cheryl Hines (Curb your Enthusiasm), and she does a perfect job of capturing the dark desperation of a failing marriage, but she also sprinkles it with comic relief.

Video 

The quality of the video presentation was very good.  I was impressed with the sharp image, clarity and sense of depth.  It appeared to me as a near artifact-free video compression encoding.  There were no signs of aliasing, compression noise or other encoding deficiencies.  This film represents quality Blu-ray.  The 1080p resolution and ultra-fine detail was obvious even on 60 inches of screen.  Although the majority of the film takes place in a house, the color palettes are striking and dynamic causing the fabric and surface textures to appear authentic.  The low light and dark scenes in the film showed excellent contrast, good shadow detail, and deep black levels.  Overall, it was a good quality video transfer.

Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1

 Audio 

The audio compliments the great video with a clear and crisp 5.1 DTS-HD surround track.  So many times during movies with a large amount of dialog the actors sound like they are whispering.  This is not the case for this film on Blu-ray.  The volume levels are balanced well and you can clearly hear the entire dialog without cranking the volume up.  The producers made excellent use of the surround sound by filling the side speakers with ambient noises from different floors of the house.  Although the majority of the film is dialog driven, it is clear that the producers made a conscious effort to utilize the 5.1 DTS-HD surround track to pull the audience into the film.

Special Features 

• Director and Producer Commentary  - The first special feature is an audio commentary track with the director, Cheryl Hines, and the two producers, Andy Ostroy and Michael Roiff.  The three make entertaining conversion and keep the track lively.  They talk about the script being a tribute to Adrienne Shelly and the process of making the movie.
• The Making of Serious Moonlight - I enjoyed this special feature because it shows behind the scenes interviews and comments from the cast and crew about the film.  Cheryl Hines talks about her experience directing the film, which is interesting because this is her debut film as a director.  Timothy Hutton talks quite a bit about the movie and how much he enjoyed working with the cast.
• HDNet: A Look at Serious Moonlight – This special feature is similar to the previous special feature, but it contains some material that the making was missing.  This behind the scenes feature focused more on the cast and less on the story behind the script and the producers.
• BD Live – The Blu-ray is BD Live enabled, but so far there is nothing to download.

Final Thoughts 

This is clearly Meg Ryan’s best film to date and is a must see.  Everyone can identify with the characters in this movie because we all have experienced problems in our relationships.  The majority of current reviews of this movie claim that it was terrible.  I disagree and I think it should at least make it on your list of movie rentals. 

Bring home Magnolia’s Serious Moonlight today on Blu-ray!

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