6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The year is 1972, and, like most high school students, Betsy Jobs (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene Lorenzo (Michelle Williams) just want to have a good time. During a class field trip to the White House, they cluelessly wander into a behind-closed-doors, top-secret shredding session, and now it's time to both wag the dog and walk it. Seeking to uncover just how much the witless duo discovered, the Commander-in-Chief appoints them "Official White House Dog Walkers," and it isn't long before the girls go from taking out Checkers to taking out Tricky Dick in this fun-raising comedy of historic distortions.
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Will Ferrell, Bruce McCullochComedy | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
At any given time in the United States, about half the populace would love nothing more than to (non violently, hopefully) see the sitting President removed from office, to dig up some kind of dirt on him or her, to catch the president in a serious lie or scandal, and force him or her into resignation. That's particularly true of the current political climate but it's been the case for many years, many decades, and well beyond. In Director Andrew Fleming's (The Craft) Dick, a pair of ditzy high school girls earn inside access to the Nixon White House and inside access to the Watergate scandal's most salacious and presidency-destroying secrets. The film is pure fiction and fantasy, a light and breezy look at teenage infatuation, dirty politics, and the story of how a couple of airheads bring down a president.
As expected with Sony catalogue releases, Dick's Blu-ray presentation meets, and even surpasses, expectations for quality. The movie was shot on film and maintains a handsome, organic, light, and complimentary grain structure. Cinderblock walls in a Watergate parking garage near film's start are wonderfully tactile and complex, ditto details in a stairwell. But those are flat, low light locales without much of interest to see. The White House interiors are beautifully rendered, including decorations and furnishings in the Oval Office. Suits are finely appointed and sharp while facial textures are detailed and precise. There are some lovely close-ups, particularly of President Nixon, that push the Blu-ray format fairly close to its most cinematically capable and revealing limits. Image clarity is first-class, sharpness is natural and maintained throughout, and that manicured grain is the exquisite exclamation mark. Colors are healthy and punchy. The palette is very diverse and cheerful. The movie is well-lit, in most scenes, allowing the finely tuned saturation and color boldness to stand out. Black levels and flesh tones appear spot-on. Neither source deterioration nor encode anomalies are readily apparent. It's difficult to imagine the movie looking much better on this format.
Dick features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack but it rarely expands beyond the front confines in any meaningful way. The track is a little flat, but the movie's sound design is not particularly robust, anyway. It's content to linger across the front with only rare moments of rearward expansion, such as when Arlene has a dream sequence about the President in chapter four, which is the first real example of surround integration and a scene with some of the most impressive width and musical clarity in the film. Atmospherics in the White House or in various exteriors or homes throughout are fairly basic in delivery, never really engaging the soundstage with much in the way of meaningful immersion or pinpoint place recreation. Music is healthy and wide along the front, though, and dialogue maintains front-center positioning while always clear and well prioritized. It is rarely in competition with other elements, anyway.
Dick's Blu-ray release contains an assortment of special features, outlined below. No DVD or digital versions are included. The release does
not ship with a slipcover.
If Dick starred a couple of guys rather than gals in the lead roles, no doubt someone like Pauly Shore would be right there in the lead, or maybe a Rowan Atkinson if one wanted to add a little more weight and class to the movie. Dick cannot match the brain-dead wit and endlessly humorous shenanigans of movies like Clueless and Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, two greatly superior films next to this (and pretty great on their own). Dick often feels forced, with the girls gravitating to empty stereotypes rather than carefully developed personalities that could be believably ditzy and at the same time a major part of history. Nevertheless, it's a decently fun and innocent diversion with a few adorable scenes, such as when the girls help avert a nuclear crisis with the Soviet Union with a few homemade cookies. Sony's Blu-ray delivers exceptional 1080p video, serviceable multichannel lossless audio, and a handful of extras. Don't wait 'till noon tomorrow. Buy today. Just don't show this movie during history class. Recommended.
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Nine to Five | Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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