Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Bad Manners Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 1, 2020

“Bad Manners” was reportedly conceived as a cult film for young audiences, giving an unrepresented audience a moment of midnight movie madness with an anti-authoritarian tale of terrible kids engaging in terrible behavior while in the care of terrible adults. The recipe is there, but someone, somewhere decided to turn the picture into an R-rated romp, making it nearly impossible for the target demographic to see the work without permission from a parent. It wasn’t the brightest production choice, but there’s not a lot of brain power going around “Bad Manners,” which primarily details a war between obnoxious characters, decorated with uncomfortably aggressive behavior that makes it impossible to pick a side. Everyone should be institutionalized in this dreary comedy, which aspires to provide Mad Magazine-style shenanigans with rambunctious, cynical personalities, but can only muster a Cracked Magazine sense of humor.

Life is bleak at the Home of the Bleeding Heart orphanage, with Piper (Georg Olden) its latest addition, passed into the care of evil Sister Serena (Anne De Salvo), while order is maintained by her Nazi-admiring, cattle-prod-wielding, second-in-command, Kurtz (Murphy Dunne). Piper is all sorts of trouble, refusing to go along with the rules, and he also carries a dangerous reputation, making him exotic to the kids already locked in cages. After a bout of aggressive behavior, Piper is locked in a freezer with Joey (Pamela Adlon), Whitey (Joey Coleman), Blackie (Christopher Brown), and Mouse (Michael Hentz), soon developing a bond with the rejects that escalates to a blood brother oath. Becoming a gang facing severe rule from Sister Serena, the children are wrecked when Mouse is selected for adoption by Warren (Martin Mull) and Gladys (Karen Black), two rich people who’ve blown it with their older children, Sarah (Kimmy Robertson) and Garth (John Paul Lussier), hoping to start anew with fresh addition to their family. Sensing a scam, Piper and the others elect to make a break for it, manufacturing an escape from Bleeding Heart, with plans to travel to Mouse and collect their friend.

Co-writer/director Bobby Houston isn’t taking it easy with the extremity of “Bad Manners,” aiming to go overboard with the conditions at Bleeding Heart, an orphanage that’s more of a prison, welcoming tough cases with a staff that can’t defy Sister Serena. The children are locked in large cages, sleeping in lines of military-style bunk beds, and the property is lined with an electric fence, discouraging escape via the threat of death. There’s Kurtz, a creepy, comb-smelling goon who enjoys using his cattle prod on the kids, embracing his inner Hitler as he exerts power over the residents. Serena is a sneakier villain, acting as the cheery face of the organization, hoping to entice outsiders to take one of the abused pre-teens home with them. The orphanage keeps the food gross and patience thin, facing adolescents who have their own assortment of behavioral issues, including Piper, the new addition, who openly smokes, carries a switchblade, and arrives with a rumor that he murdered his own parents.

Perhaps in the screenplay Piper was meant to be the hero. He’s a take-no-guff type who’s unafraid of punishment, welcoming time in the “meditation chamber,” which is actually a walk-in freezer. It’s there where he bonds with the worst of the worst, making contact with Joey, Whitey, Blackie, and Mouse, who remain hesitant to trust the newcomer, but can’t deny his special powers of rebellion. There really should be more story to explore in “Bad Manners,” but Houston doesn’t want to pursue it, content to deliver tedious shenanigans around the orphanage (e.g. Mouse walks in on a topless nun) and numerous fart jokes, trying to play directly to a young audience with R-rated tomfoolery. And when jokes fail, creepiness comes into play, finding Blackie something of a fan of sexual assault -- a violent character detail that keeps “Bad Manners” miles away from the “Bad News Bears” vibe it desperately wants to replicate.

Mouse’s adoption occurs at the midway point of “Bad Manners,” following the child as he deals with borderline insane parents and troubled siblings, making time to photograph Sarah in the shower (the character being in her early teens makes Robertson’s nudity requirements all the more uncomfortable), while Garth has transformed himself into a samurai, which appears to be a nod to Houston’s previous directorial offering, “Shogun Assassin.” Mouse is unleashed inside a mansion, depleting bank accounts and driving the household nuts, and just as much chaos is found on the other side of the story, where the Bleeding Heart gang manages a prison break-out, dodging Kurtz and electrocution to taste freedom as they strive to reclaim their missing blood brother. Hope for snappy camaraderie is lost at the opening of “Bad Manners,” which doesn’t trust in dialogue, instead allowing the young characters to casually converse, offering a “Goonies”-style atmosphere without the charm. Such jabbering teamwork is put to the test at a bus station, where the orphans turn to crime to make some money, further diminishing whatever appeal was originally meant to be there.

Bad Manners Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Bad Manners" is billed as a "Brand New 2019 HD Master," providing a slightly more alert viewing experience for a deep catalog title. Detail emerges with some softness, dealing with the low-fi technical achievements of the film. Textures are satisfactory on facial surfaces and interiors, which are highly decorated with graffiti and pictures in the orphanage, while the suburban tour provides more traditional interior design. Colors aren't powerful, but they connect adequately, with natural skintones and period clothing, which delivers more alert primaries. Delineation is communicative, but some solidification is present. Source has periodic scratches and speckling.

Bad Manners Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix secures a pleasant understanding of dialogue exchanges, with clear voices delivering a range of performances choices. Amateurs and professionals are supported with clarity. Scoring selections retain their synth-driven thinness, buttressing shenanigans with satisfactory instrumentation and power. Atmospherics are minimal, but group activity inside the orphanage is acceptable. Sound effects also register mildly.

Bad Manners Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Trailer (1:40, SD) is included.

Bad Manners Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Perhaps it comes as no surprise to learn that "Bad Manners" ends with gunplay -- another unnecessary amplification of tone in a movie that's already working so very hard to be hyperactive as a way to communicate irreverence. It's all very similar to 1990's "Problem Child," a wretched picture, but one that at least had the good sense to deliver a PG experience for a young audience eager to devour every last morsel of troublemaking. "Bad Manners" doesn't share the same marketplace foresight, keeping the viewing experience threatening instead of madcap. Everyone in the cast and crew are trying too hard to make "Bad Manners" into an edgy good time (scoring is provided by the art rock band, Sparks), but they don't have smart, sassy material to generate premium nonsense, weirdly choosing to aim low to remain low, wasting the time of genuine talent (Mull has nothing interesting to do here) as non-stop mischief quickly turns into dreariness.