Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

A Night at the Roxbury Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 20, 2021

Director John Fortenberry's (Jury Duty) A Night at the Roxbury is the film adaptation of the Saturday Night Live sketch, reuniting the head bopping, skit starring duo of Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan as they live their lives one beat at a time. And that's why the film was critically panned upon release: the movie rarely veers away from that central idea that these guys just move to the beat, their own beat, and the rest is just filler to get them to that next head bob. The film begins and ends with the brothers moving to the music and everything in between yields little deviation from their rhythmic tandem movements. But maybe the film was hit a little too hard. Sure, Roxbury is otherwise an empty vessel, but its leads are infectiously likeable, even if all of that nodding has jarred loose the few operating brain cells inside. The film's got a hip and happening score working in its favor and the beats alone are enough to pull the audience into the clashing worlds of SoCal glitz and glamour and the lovable buffoons who so desperately want to be a part of a social scene when they really, deep down, desperately just want to be part of one another.

By day, brothers Steve and Doug Butabi (Ferrell and Kattan) work at their father’s (Dan Hedaya) Southern California flower shop. By night, they are hip to the SoCal social club scene. Or at least they want to be. With their spiffiest clothes and relentlessly upbeat attitudes (and constant movement to the music), they hit whatever clubs they can but dream of getting into the famed Roxbury. Try as they might, they’re not on “the list,” and they never will be. But they need to get in. They need to see how a great club operates. After all, it’s their dream to open one of their own. When they are accidentally in a fender-bender with club regular Richard Grieco (himself) of 21 Jump Street fame, they get in when Grieco realizes he can leverage his way out of a court appearance and costly settlement by claiming them to be his guests. Will the experience change them or reinforce who they know themselves to be?

A Night at the Roxbury isn't a clubbing movie or even a Comedy: it's a Bromance. The movie is centered on Steve and Doug's relationship, brothers who are all but joined at the hip and so committed to their dreams that they have no idea what happens, or what to do, when they become a reality. Hitting on girls in their own clumsy way and desperately trying to get past Roxbury security is part of their daily routine, but when each of them finally steps through those doors and lands his own hottie, and find themselves separated from one another and in a room alone with a girl, the fantasy does not become the reality they envisioned. No, they are in love with one another: not sexually, but emotionally. They thrive on one another and with one another. They work and play best together, marching -- literally (including a fun Saturday Night Fever homage) -- to their on tandem beat. Anything that pulls them apart -- even if it's exactly what they've always wanted -- will only break them psychologically rather than satisfy them emotionally.

So there really is a "story" here, albeit one that's developed and implemented in such a way as to just keep the flow going and stretch a sketch about nodding to a musical beat to feature length, but there's some character depth to it. But even if one dismisses the admittedly generic narrative there's still an underlying agreeability to the movie simply in the chemistry Ferrell and Kattan build. They compliment one another because they are, in essence, one another, and the actors understand that for the movie to work they essentially have to be two peas in a pod, so to speak. Really, they're like Beavis and Butt-Head with a hint of sophistication, a few more brain cells, and a whole lot more money: not exactly a compliment, but it's an apt comparison of their life approach, thought processes, and inseparability. Ferrell and Kattan embrace the bromance and seem to have a lot of fun along the way.

A Night at the Roxbury Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount brings A Night at the Roxbury to Blu-ray with a proficient 1080p transfer. There appears to be some scant signs of slight digital processing and sharpening. Grain doesn't look fully organic but the picture has certainly not been scrubbed of fine detail. What's here is solid enough, revealing good essential facial and clothing definition while holding tight to well defined environmental details, whether in a dark club interior or in a bright flower shop during the day. While a far cry from "perfectly filmic" and true Blu-ray beauty, the picture quality is more than passable as it is. It's also free of serious print blemish and encode flub. Colors are bold but not as vivid as one might expect. The clothes and club colors are loud but they're not leaping off the screen with the sort of intense saturation one might expect. Again, they're good, jut not great. The image does hold firm to solid black levels and well defined skin tones. There's room for improvement here, but chances are this is the best A Night at the Roxbury is gong to look for the foreseeable future.

A Night at the Roxbury Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Night at the Roxbury dances onto Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Like the video, the presentation is solid but leaves listeners feeling like there could be some more oomph, dazzle, and delight at work. Music is appropriately engaging and clear but not so deep and intense as the film really deserves. It's not timid, either -- spacing is great, clarity is strong, and volume is not low -- but as the film's lifeblood, and with so many terrific Dance beats in play, a little more jump would have greatly benefitted the presentation. As it is, the music is certainly adequate, just not of reference excellence. The track folds in some nice city and street ambience as applicable. Dialogue is clear and center positioned. It is always well prioritized for the duration, even when competing with intense club backgrounds and music.

A Night at the Roxbury Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of A Night at the Roxbury includes four featurettes, all of which are carryovers from previous home video releases. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• Score! Reliving A Night at the Roxbury (480i, 24:14): Exploring inspirations, project roots, transitioning the material from "a sketch into a screenplay," cast and characters, locations, and more.
• Roxbury Rags: Costume and Fashion Guide (480i, 9:08): As the title suggests, this is an in-depth guide of the what's, how's, and why's of the film's wardrobe selections.
• Do That Dance! (480i, 5:13): This supplement explores the film's dance choreography.
• Making the List (480i, 8:50): What makes a great club? Music, staff, atmosphere, the clientele, and more.

A Night at the Roxbury Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Night at the Roxbury is no great film but it's underrated as a feel-good escape with a contagious beat and a couple of leads who play well off of one another, largely because they're both playing the same character. The film is more about the relationship they have with one another rather than the relationship they have with their hopes and dreams, and it works well enough, vapid as it may be, thanks to a compact runtime, great music, and enthusiastic performances. Paramount's Blu-ray includes solid video and audio presentations as well as a few supplements. Recommended.