Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Big Stan Blu-ray Movie Review

And the hits just keep on hitting...

Schneidees assemble! Deny it all you want, but I know you're out there; the faithful few who trot out to the video store with grins and giggles to pick up the latest Rob Schneider masterwork. You lay awake at night praying that the Deuce Bigalow series will become a trilogy, you scour IMDB looking for any news that might confirm a followup to The Animal is on its way, and you sit patiently through every Adam Sandler comedy just to witness that singular defining moment when Schneider appears and scores a well-earned laugh. But most of all, you work hard to tolerate people like me; hardened cynics who shake their heads at the SNL alum's every expression and scoff at his desperate attempts to reinvigorate a once promising career.

Big Stan continues in the not-so-proud footsteps of other recent prison comedies...

In his latest cinematic hemorrhage, Schneider plays Stan Minton, a scheming conman sentenced to a three-year prison term after being convicted of fraud. Fearing all manner of rape and abuse, the insecure weakling hires a martial-arts guru called The Master (David Carradine) to whip him into shape before he begins his sentence. As luck would have it, Stan realizes he stumbled upon the right man for the job when his transformation quickly allows him to establish himself among his fellow inmates as someone to be feared and respected. However, the prison's equally-conniving warden (Scott Wilson) decides to take advantage of the situation. With a legion of faithful followers, his intellect, and his newfound martial-arts prowess, Stan is faced with several tough choices that pits him against the corrupt penal system.

After reading my introduction, you might think I sat through Big Stan without cracking a single smile, but I actually chuckled quite a few times. Sure, the script is entangled with cliches, familiar gags, and flimsy characters, but the story and its setup are strong enough to make some of the film's more inspired scenes sizzle. Considering the countless production mishaps and budgetary restraints this straight-to-video mess had to endure over the last four years, I'm surprised I enjoyed as much of Schneider's directorial debut as I did. Even so, the strains such troubles had on the man as a producer, director, and star are obvious -- he looks frazzled and lost at times; his eyes wide and lively one moment, dead and weary the next. The supporting cast seems at a loss as well, spitting out their lines with trepidation and failing to nail the sort of effortless timing the best comedies are blessed with. Their on-screen chemistry is limp and their interactions often consist of cue-card-esque deliveries. It doesn't help that they don't have much to work with. Josh Lieb's screenplay doesn't offer the bite or wit of his work on The Daily Show; his one-liners fall flat, his situational comedy is too contrived, and his pacing is all over the place.

It may come as a shock, but Big Stan is at its best when Schneider takes on opponent after opponent in a series of lengthy, well-choreographed fight scenes that find the conman utilizing everything from cell-made nunchaku to a prison library book. The fights themselves are fast and fierce, and the actor's face really comes alive every time he enthusiastically plants his foot in a monstrous inmate's midsection. Unfortunately, the technical artistry of the battles are regularly undermined by out-of-place slapstick nonsense, eye-rolling dialogue, and comically inept fighters. If I had to see fingers break on one more prosthetic hand, I think I would have taken my anger out on the remote. Once again, Schneider tries to force laughs when a more subtle approach would have been far more effective and efficient.

Blame it on Schneider's inexperience as a filmmaker, the weight of wearing so many hats, or any number of personal issues like heat exhaustion (as revealed in the film's documentary), but Big Stan is burdened by far too many tangential subplots, missed opportunities, and weak developments to emerge as anything but a shrug-inducing mess. Was it amusing? Sure, I even laughed out loud on a handful of occasions. Is it the worst film the actor has ever appeared in? Not by a long shot. Is it worth watching? Probably not. I certainly could have found a better way to spend an hour-and-a-half, casual fans won't remember most of it within a week, and even Schneider's most diehard loyalists are likely to stop at a rental. Schneidees may enjoy Big Stan for what it is, but everyone else should spend their time and money elsewhere.

Big Stan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Big Stan arrives on Blu-ray with a mediocre 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that comes up short in almost every regard. Colors are notably vibrant, but skintones are often flushed or bronzed, blacks are sometimes unresolved, and primaries waver from shot to shot. While outdoor exteriors look better than anything else on display, low-lit interiors and nighttime scenes are haunted by dull contrast, weak dimensionality, and bursts of distracting, intrusive noise. Moreover, spiking grain, poor delineation, and other digital clutter frequently disrupt texture clarity and fine detail -- all of which contributes to an at-times soft presentation. Object edge definition is also inconsistent, appearing crisp in some sequences and unrefined in others. Worse still, the film doesn't look that much better than it does on DVD. While the picture benefits from the inherent improvements you'd expect from a Blu-ray disc, it's a minimal upgrade that will leave most viewers disappointed and underwhelmed. I'm sure some will blame the transfer's shortcomings on the film's low budget, but it doesn't change the fact that Big Stan just doesn't cut it.

Big Stan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

HBO has granted Big Stan a solid DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track, but the film's front-heavy soundfield and shallow sound design leave too much to the imagination. While dialogue is generally crisp and clear, a few too many lines are muddled, poorly prioritized, or indistinct. Likewise, LFE support is occasionally resonant and full, but often absent from the mix or too subdued to make a proper impact. Even the rear speakers only pipe up in the most chaotic scenes as they're mainly tasked with the bare minimum. Interior acoustics and environmental ambience are merely decent, dynamics are limited, and the film's soundtrack sounds better than anything else (which isn't saying much). Still, pans are satisfyingly transparent, front soundstage directionality is fairly precise, and I wasn't distracted by any other glaring technical deficiencies. As it stands, Big Stan's DTS-HD track does a suitable job of capturing the nostalgic kung-fu clangs and bangs Schneider tosses in the film, but doesn't do anything that will win an audiophile's affections or earn their respect.

Big Stan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray edition of Big Stan offers the same limited collection of special features as its DVD counterpart. While I appreciate the fact that all of the video content is presented in high definition, the supplemental package is a relative bore saved only by the inclusion of an engrossing half-hour documentary.

• Audio Commentary: Producer/director/leading man Rob Schneider sits down with actors Lewis and Salvator Xuereb for an unfocused, juvenile track that doesn't begin to dig into the production, its various woes, or the star's troubles on set. Instead, the trio jokes and jabs at random, filling their commentary with inane babble and lifeless humor.
• Comedy is Pain: The Making of Big Stan (HD, 30 minutes): Big Stan is worth renting just to watch its behind-the-scenes documentary. What I expected would be yet another lame talking-heads EPK turned out to be a candid, revealing glimpse into a struggling project, a passionate filmmaker, and a strong-willed cast and crew. It even gave me an enormous amount of respect for Schneider as a person -- he comes across as such a well-intentioned hard-worker, that I actually felt guilty for criticizing his efforts. Regardless of your love or hate of the film itself, this documentary surprises and impresses from beginning to end.
• Odds and Ends (HD, 4 minutes): An outtake/gag reel of sorts that isn't funny or interesting in the least.

Big Stan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Big Stan is best reserved for the most ardent Rob Schneider fans as it produces little more than a trite and predictable entry in the actor's comedic canon. The Blu-ray edition isn't much better, arriving with a problematic video transfer, a rather harmless DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a slim set of lackluster supplements. Give it a rent (if for no other reason than to watch its excellent behind-the-scenes documentary), but hold off any decisions to purchase this one until you've sat through everything it has to offer.