Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 1, 2020

Note: This film is available as part of Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 and 2.

Many years ago when there were things called brick and mortar record stores, I was excited to find two comedy CDs by Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, the "alter egos" of music icons Paul Weston and Jo Stafford (if you don't know about the "fabulous" Edwards duo, I highly recommend some ardent Googling). I was stunned to stumble across these rarities in a tiny little shop in a far north coast village in Washington state, and when I asked the owner how he had ended up with them (he was dispensing of them in the $1 bargain bin, and I happily scooped them up), he hilariously relayed that a customer had special ordered them, thinking he was getting albums by the Jonathan Edwards who had a big hit with "Sunshine" in the 1970s. (Again, for those unacquainted with this Jonathan Edwards and his lovely wife Darlene, just do a little internet sleuthing, and the full force of the hilarity may hit you.) In a similar vein, I wonder if anyone out there intrigued by Brie Larson's Oscar win in 2015 for Room may have led some who misremembered the title to order The Room by mistake. I'm not sure if hilarity would have ensued in that instance, but consternation almost certainly would have, as fans of this now legendary "so bad it's good" opus may understand. The Room's production famously gave birth to The Disaster Artist a couple of years ago, and anyone who is curious about either the original Tommy Wiseau - Greg Sestero outing or the Franco brothers film which grew out of it may find both volumes of Best F(r)iends at least occasionally engaging. Others may simply want to spend the evening listening to Jonathan and Darlene Edwards.

While both volumes of Best F(r)iends offer a questionable “inspired by true events”, any resemblance to actual people or occurrences is probably more than merely coincidental, and borders on wishful thinking. Greg Sestero portrays a homeless drifter named Jon Kortina, a guy who is seen wandering in a bloody t-shirt underneath a massive bridge expanse as the film opens. He also seems to be tailed by a hearse, in what passes for this film’s attempt at “arty” ambitions. The hearse turns out to be driven by a goofy mortician named Harvey Lewis (Tommy Wiseau), a guy who looks like he may have been embalmed at some point, but who is kind enough to offer Jon a job.

It turns out that Harvey is engaging in a little "harvesting" from the bodies he's tasked with preparing for burial, reclaiming gold from fillings and cashing it in for some considerable loot. This activity obviously catches Jon's eye, and soon enough Jon is plotting to claim a little gold of his own, with the help from his new main squeeze, Traci (Kristen StephensonPino). The film tries pretty desperately to work up a little "caper" angst, combined with some off the wall, patently gonzo, comedy, but the improvisational air that a lot of the dialogue offers tends to undercut any suspense, and instead Volume 1 of the story often comes off as simply odd and disjointed.

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 and Volume 2 are (is?) presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.90:1 and 2.35:*. The IMDb lists several different Sony cameras as having been utilized, some of which are capable of native 4K output, but I have a hunch this was finished at a 2K DI. Both films look reasonably sharp and well detailed when lighting conditions allow, and fine detail is often quite pleasing in close-ups, but both transfers have somewhat milky blacks in some dimly lit scenes, scenes which some may feel could have benefitted from a bit more solid contrast as well. Director and co-cinematographer Justin MacGregor often opts for intentionally "arty" framings which can tend to be kind of hazy and impressionistic at times, two artistic choices that also tend to keep fine detail levels tamped down on occasion.

* Update 1/2/20: I had jotted this down in the notes that I took as I watched the films, and then of course promptly forgot to include it in the review when I posted it yesterday, but there are some brief interstitial moments that are framed in 2.35:1 for reasons I personally couldn't discern.

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track available for both parts of Best F(r)iends, and that may mean that some may feel (as I do) that the low end in particular that is so prominently featured in scenes like the big clifftop climax of the first part (with swirling ocean waves below, and some prominent washes of LFE mixed in) might have definitely benefited from a lossless track. That said, there's good surround activity here courtesy of a lot of outdoor material where ambient environmental effects populate the side and rear channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout both volumes, and Daniel Platzman's score sounds fine as well.

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both "volumes" of Best F(r)iends share a disc, and so some of the supplements may be about one part and some about another.

• Commentary with Writer / Producer / Actor Greg Sestero and Actor Tommy Wiseau (Volume 1 Only)


• Deleted Scenes

  Bizarre Stories (1080p; 00:29)

  
  

  I Think We Can Blow This Up, Man! (1080p; 1:32)

  
  

  I Wanna Go (1080p; 1:17)

  
  

  You Can Always Knock (1080p; 00:30)

  
  

  I Am the Map (1080p; 1:22)

  
  

  I'll Clean Everything (1080p; 00:40)

  
  

  Oak Bar Ranch: A Presence (1080p; 1:55)

  
  

  Oak Bar Ranch: Caretaker (1080p; 00:43)

• Behind the F(r)iendship Featurettes

  Welcome to My Paradise (1080p; 5:36)

  
  

  Tommy and Greg: Best F(r)iends Forever (1080p; 2:21)

  
  

  The Tommy Diaries (1080p; 2:55)

  
  

  Uncle Rick (1080p; 3:16)

Best F(r)iends: Volume 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of this pair, The Room (note that definite article, please) and/or The Disaster Artist may find this two-fer oddly engaging, but it's hardly a model of narrative clarity, and as may be expected by its "star" duo, performances are a little wobbly at times as well. Technical merits are okay, though there's only lossy audio, for those who are considering a purchase.