5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
At his bachelor bash, Paul isn't exactly the life of the party. Instead he's determined not to do anything he can't live with later--or tell his fiancee, Karen. That's why it comes as a shock when the next morning he wakes up to discover a lovely stranger named Becky naked in bed next to him. Worse yet, his mother-in-law is calling on the phone and Karen is on her way over. Paul zooms into frantic action, shooing Becky out and desperately trying to rid the apartment of any evidence of wrongdoing--even though he can't remember doing anything wrong. When Karen asks him how his bachelor party went, Paul tells a teensy lie to cover up what may or may not be the truth. The teensy lie turns into a bigger one and Paul soon finds himself in an ever-escalating comedy of errors with no apparent way out!
Starring: Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, Selma Blair, James Brolin, Shawn HatosyComedy | 100% |
Romance | 65% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
“Gut-busting laughs! A date movie that men can appreciate too!” So says the blurb on the back of A Guy Thing’s Blu-ray case—courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel—but allow me to present an opposite perspective. Most men won’t appreciate A Guy Thing, but neither will most women. And that’s because the film is a stale, relatively laughless endeavor that seems cobbled together wholesale from bits and pieces of other better, funnier, more heartfelt rom-coms. It’s not an awful movie—it doesn’t inspire outright eye-rolling or hatred—but it is entirely forgettable and not worth revisiting. Or visiting in the first place. Let’s start with the fact that it was directed by Chris Koch, who hasn’t helmed a feature since, and whose only prior film credit was 2000’s Nickelodeon disaster, Snow Day. Not exactly a confidence-inspiring pedigree. “But the cast isn’t bad!” you might say, and there I’d have to agree. Jason Lee’s presence makes the film moderately more tolerable—he is indeed a guy’s guy—and both Selma Blair and Julia Stiles are great performers. The thing is, all three seem wasted here, in the service of a script that tries too hard (and not hard enough) to capture the zany energy and non-stop gags expected of the genre.
Looks like Paul just got lei'd.
A Guy Thing's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer looks to me like it was sourced from an old master, which was itself taken from a less-than-ideal print. The image is perpetually dull and murky and noticeably soft, and this—combined with the specks and flecks that dot the picture—make the film look much older than it actually is. 2003 wasn't that long ago. Film grain is extremely heavy—suggesting what we have here is a copy of a copy —and though there are no signs of DNR or excessive edge enhancement, the image doesn't really look natural. Overall clarity is barely improved over standard definition quality. Even in close-ups, truly fine detail in facial and clothing textures is obscured by pervasive softness. Color has a flat, lifeless appearance as well. Contrast seems shifted too far towards black, with detail crushed in shadows and an overly dim quality in most scenes. There are no compression issues besides some light noise—which is hard to spot amid the chunky grain structure—but you get the sense that this is hardly an ideal presentation of the film.
The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track fares better, if only because we don't really expect much from rom-com sound design. As is usual for the genre, A Guy Thing is heavy on dialogue, accompanied by occasional pop numbers, a "whimsical" score, and some obligatory ambient effects. Outside of the music, which is lightly bled into the surrounds and has a pleasant dynamic presence, the rear channels are limited to quiet city traffic, bar noise, crickets, birds, and other similar environmental sounds. It's hardly immersive, but it works in the context of the film. Most importantly, the vocals are always unmuffled and easy to understand. In short, the track does what it needs to do and little more. Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are available.
A Guy Thing is yet another entry into the stop-the-guy-from-marrying-the-wrong-girl subset of romantic comedy, and it's a dull one at that. Unless you're some kind of serial collector of rom-coms the world should've forgotten by now, I'd stay away and look elsewhere for love and laughs. If it helps, know that the film just doesn't look very good on Blu-ray; if you've already got the DVD, I see no real reason to upgrade.
2004
2003
10th Anniversary Edition
2002
Deluxe Edition
2003
2005
2001
2006
2004
10th Anniversary Special Edition
2002
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Special Edition
2008
2002
2006
2009
2007
Theatrical Version
2005
2011
2004