5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Lewis Scott is a stuck-up superstar who's about to lead his team to the NBA Championship. Jimmy and his buddy Mike are a pair of die-hard basketball fans who'd do anything to help their team win ... even if it means kidnapping Scott before the final game.
Starring: Damon Wayans, Daniel Stern, Dan Aykroyd, Gail O'Grady, Christopher McDonaldComedy | 100% |
Sport | 26% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Full disclosure: I’ve never read Judd Apatow’s original screenplay for “Celtic Pride.” However, I choose to believe that whatever he was able to come up with in the initial planning stages for the film has to be funnier than what ended up in theaters in the spring of 1996. Here’s a movie about fandom, taking a look at the lengths sports nuts will go to protect the good fortunes of their favorite teams, using the idea to inspire a comedy about extremes and mishaps, while saving a little space to pants the NBA and its collection of arrogant athletes. And yet, “Celtic Pride” doesn’t work, missing a sharp sense of humor and fondness for farce that could elevate some good ideas into an uproarious picture. Perhaps Apatow is to blame for whiffing with a surefire premise, but, more often than not, director Tom DeCerchio is lost, preferring to have his cast scream into the camera than craft a slightly more devilish understanding of the deceptively bitter relationship between fan and player.
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is sourced from an older master of "Celtic Pride," giving the Blu-ray release very little HD oomph for its disc debut. Detail isn't strong, only coming through with any type of confidence during sweaty close-ups, but even then, facial particulars aren't sharp, just a bit easier to study. Crowd views and court action is also on the soft side, lacking compelling definition. Colors are on the muted side, missing natural vibrancy, with purple and green team jerseys and some Boston street views delivering broad enough hues to snap the viewing experience to life. Skintones teeter on bloodless. Delineation isn't overly problematic, but some evening sequences struggle to clarify frame information. Source is in strong shape, with some mild speckling on display.
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix offers a significant amount of loud behavior to inspect, making the track inherently aggressive. The frontal push plays a little too hollow at times, lacking warmer tones, but the sheer force of angry behavior and basketball action tends to even out the mix, which is more compelling away from echoed interiors such as basements and gymnasiums. Dialogue exchanges are never threatened, coming through with intended volatility, which never seeps into distortive highs or muddy lows. Soundtrack selections offer a little heaviness and stable instrumentation, and scoring selections are satisfactory. Sound effects are sharp, and Boston Garden atmospherics are evocative, capturing the feel of cheering fans and courtside bustle.
Though a series of turns and power plays, "Celtic Pride" ends up at a Big Game finale, and spends almost a third of the movie there, trying to make something out of Mike and Jimmy's loss of control when it comes to the theft of a controversial Jazz star, and one who openly disdains his teammates and coach (Christopher McDonald). And yet, despite so many avenues to explore, misunderstandings to manage, and basketball to worship, "Celtic Pride" routinely lands with a thud, absent the direction to brings wilder ideas (including satire of sell-out athletes) to life. Apatow offers a reasonable blueprint to create a Boston nightmare, but DeCerchio doesn't have the cinematic flair to make it all come to life.
Let's Get Sweaty Edition
2008
1998
1996
2018
2005
1999
2012
Extended Cut
2014
2015
2015
2010
2023
2017
2017
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The Next Cut
2016
1985
Mastered in 4K
2013
1991
Outrageous Edition
2013