Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie Review

Today is here. Don't wait until tomorrow to buy 'Born Yesterday.'

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 29, 2012

She's a little on the stupid side.

Audiences need not be born yesterday, a year ago, ninety years ago to enjoy Born Yesterday, a breezy and competent little Comedy about a big man and his small-minded arm candy girlfriend. In fact, the only prerequisite to enjoy Born Yesterday is actually, well, having been born, but chances are even future generations might look back on this little fun flick with some nostalgia and a smile. That's not to call Born Yesterday a future classic in the making or even a contemporary hit, but Director Luis Mandoki's (Message in a Bottle) picture goes down smooth and lights up a room with its charming characters and new spin on the old rags-to-riches tale, here "rags" and "riches" replaced by dormant brain cells and sudden jolts of neural activity. Born Yesterday might even be called a picture in the Pretty Woman mold, though the parallel might work better had Edward Lewis rescued Vivan Ward from Philip Stuckey rather Edward merely fending off an advancing Stuckey to protect a remolded and rediscovered Vivian. Certainly, Born Yesterday is no Pretty Woman -- that film being one of the all-time greats -- but it's a fun, serviceable little venture that's sure to leave audiences smiling and, better yet, perhaps even picking up a copy of Democracy in America for some light reading and sitting down to learn the Bill of Rights all over again.

Sign, don't read.

Harry Brock (John Goodman, The Big Lebowski) is a hugely successful businessman, a bigwig in every sense of the term. He arrives in Washington, D.C. to engage in some power lobbying and elbow-rubbing with some of the country's most influential politicians, amongst them U.S. Senator Hedges (Fred Dalton Thompson, Die Hard 2: Die Harder). Tagging along for the ride -- and more, it is later revealed -- is his longtime girlfriend Billie Dawn (Melanie Griffith, Now and Then), a former Vegas showgirl who's all parts eye candy and no parts brains. While Harry's conducting power business, Billie lounges about the couple's $6500-per-night hotel room, snacking and channel surfing during that dull late afternoon stretch between the end of Soaps and the start of "Entertainment Tonight." Obviously, Harry's relationship with Billie isn't built on love. He seems to care for her, but he cares for himself and his bottom line more. He's not abusive -- not physically, anyway, and not yet -- but with him, it's his way or the highway, though Billie doesn't know that; it turns out Harry needs her more than she knows.

Unfortunately, for as much as Harry really needs a cooperative and dumbed-down Billie at his side, she's a liability in social situations. She's grossly uneducated and ignorant to the ways of the world, particularly the politics of Washington, D.C. She's uncultured and an embarrassment in front of Harry's colleagues, business associates, formal acquaintances, allies, even enemies. Harry conducts an interview with acclaimed Writer Paul Verrall (Don Johnson, Machete) and sees an opportunity to get Billie up to speed and to a point where she might be at least socially acceptable in his circles. Harry offers to pay Paul $500 per day to "educate" Billie on the ways of the world, to brush her up -- through any means necessary -- on the political landscape, the world around her, and basic social skills. It turns out, after only a few sessions, that Billie's no fool; she simply hasn't been taught the art of study and knowledge retention. As Billie's foundation for a better future is laid, she finds herself attracted to Paul and disgusted with the way Harry's been treating her. To make matters worse for Harry, Paul and Billie uncover a secret about Harry's business empire that could really change the Washington, D.C. landscape for a long time to come, never mind Billie's subservient relationship with her overpowering man.

Born Yesterday is a pretty sweet and simple movie about self-discovery, about standing up to wrongdoing no matter how close or how distant it may be, how "normal" or "innocent" it might appear on the surface. But look deeper the characters do, and they discover that suppression is perhaps the greatest wrongdoing of all, that closing someone off from their potential just might be one of the worst sins a person may commit towards another. The movie finds a serious dramatic stride amongst its quick and catchy humor. It moves at a noticeably good clip and, even through its moments of corniness and cliché, accomplishes what so many others of its kind fail to achieve: assemble a quality picture populated by a strong cast and that nicely intermixes humor, heart, and fairly heavy drama into one single, likable entity. The cast really sells the movie. Don Johnson seems a bit snotty at times, but he's a good, even foil to Goodman's playboy character who values all else above his trophy girlfriend, the sort he believes should be seen rather than heard. It's fun how his plan to "culture" her turns against him so badly, how the movie shows that just a little bit of effort and knowledge can go a long way in turning the tides in a battle of wits and individualism and self-worth. Melanie Griffith plays the part with a slight robotic cadence, but she handles her character's subtle changes nicely and it's that the movie doesn't transform her character and instead just gives her a chance that is the real highlight; anything else would be too much, too fast, too disingenuous to work in a movie like this.

Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Born Yesterday's 1080p, 1.85:1-framed transfer is amongst the finest Mill Creek titles to date. The image is certainly a bit soft, but naturally so. Light grain retention is constant, and the result is a nice-looking, film-like image that offers up dependable details across the board, whether faces, clothes, or accents around the hotel room. Colors are even and pleasant, never unnaturally vibrant or excessively dim. Black levels never stray too far from a true shade, but darker backdrops are slathered in rather heavy noise. Flesh tones favor a slightly rosy, pasty look. The print is impeccably clean; there's hardly a spot or speckle to be seen. Better, edge halos, blocky backgrounds, banding, and other eyesores are pretty much absent from this release. Born Yesterday looks quite good on Blu-ray.

Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Born Yesterday features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that doesn't do much more than could a two-channel offering. Mill Creek's audio presentation features dialogue that plays with a slightly hushed tone, at least in comparison to music and effects which seem slightly boosted above the level of the spoken word. Music is fairly lively, smoothly delivered and playing with fine clarity and spacing, whether prominent score or light background party music. Minor ambience is handled well, though there's never a total sense of sonic immersion whether the background din at a dinner scene in chapter seven or passing traffic around Washington, D.C. exteriors in chapter eight. Generally, this is a basic but sonically effective presentation. It won't push sound systems, but listeners should be satisfied with this simple but satisfying soundtrack.

Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Mill Creek has only included the Born Yesterday original theatrical trailer (480p, 2:32).

Born Yesterday Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Born Yesterday is a good little movie about the value of confidence and self-worth. It's about escape from a bad situation and the importance of taking the time to see things as they are, not as someone else would have others believe. The movie nicely intermixes humor and drama, shaped by steady direction and good performances from an A-list cast. It's not the finest movie of the 1990s, but Born Yesterday is a solid little venture that should be on every movie lover's radar. Mill Creek Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Born Yesterday features strong video and audio, but contains no extras of substance. Yet given the price, the quality of the film, and the good technical presentation, this release come recommended.