Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Foul Play Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 14, 2022

Foul Play is a pretty fair Thriller with heavy comedic overtones. The film, from Writer/Director Colin Higgins (writer, Harold and Maude, and director, 9 to 5), tells the story of a young, shy woman caught up in the middle of a high stakes power play. Why and who doesn't matter so much as how she responds to the predicament, which takes her through any number of zany encounters and deadly scenarios. The film is rather fun, a bit long and sluggish through a somewhat repetitive middle stretch, but it's superbly well cast and infectiously entertaining in a way that eases the audiences in and allows the viewer to relax, even as its lead character can do anything but.

Gloria Mundy (Goldie Hawn) is a mundane kind of gal, and everyday librarian in San Francisco whose life is anything but adventurous. That's all about to change when she picks up the wrong hitchhiker: Bob Scott (Bruce Solomon), a smoker who tells her he's trying to quit, and could he hide his cigarettes in her purse? Looking to be a good Samaritan, she agrees, but little does she know that he has hidden a roll of film in the pack, a roll of film that some people will kill to retrieve. Gloria agrees to meet him for a movie date, and when he arrives mid picture, he bleeds all over the popcorn, having been shot in the abdomen. He dies in the theater, but when she interrupts the film to retrieve the manager and report the death, he disappears. Soon, Gloria finds herself on the run from several untoward individuals, including the deadly albino assassin Whitey Jackson (William Frankfather). Who can she trust? Perhaps her landlord, Mr. Hennessey (Burgess Meredith)? Or police officers Tony Carlson (Chevy Chase) and Inspector Ferguson (Brian Dennehy)? With options running out, she finds herself on the run and unable to convince anyone of the madness, mayhem, and murder playing out around her.

Foul Play strings together humor and horror -- not horror as in "horror" but "horror" as in someone's life is in a constant state of jeopardy -- to impressive net effect. The film might not be the king of combinations and it might come across as somewhat uneven at times, but largely it all works out and plays well together, whether during scenes of high intensity cat and mouse peril when Gloria is on the run from her various pursuers or at times of high comedy when Dudley Moore's sex-crazed character sets in motion the process of transforming his seemingly normal flat into a steadily evolving love nest that becomes more and more absurd with every new revelation, all the while ironically, and entertainingly, set to the beats of the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" in what is hands-down the film's best sequence. The former -- the various scares that put Gloria in peril -- tend to wear down to a dull finish at places as these scenes begin to feel more repetitive than original, but even then the film's expert balance keeps everything mostly in line for a fairly fun time at the movies.

That is thanks in large part to a great cast that has a good time running about and handling the film's material with the careful balance between outright humor and terror, the former usually a bit on the subdued side (minus that amazing Dudley Moore sequence) and the latter usually with tongue at least touching cheek. Goldie Hawn is wonderful in the lead, managing to offer an expressive performance that balances her every girl characteristics with increasing scares, some humor, and eventually a flummoxed and flabbergasted state as she struggles to convince anyone -- like Chevy Chase's Tony Carlson -- that something is actually going on. The actors play it up and play it well in the moment and seem to realize, as does Writer/Director Colin Higgins, that it is more how the movie plays in the moment, rather than its end destination, that carries it to success.

Foul Play Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It would be nice to report that Paramount has released Foul Play to Blu-ray with a handsome, filmic transfer befitting the material and the original film source. Sadly, that is not the case. Instead, this 1080p transfer is not the finest the studio has ever released. Far from it, in fact. The picture might look serviceably good at a glance, but its shortcomings are readily apparent on a second look. Grain is frozen in place, leaving behind a meshy, filtered look. The picture does not look dramatically smoothed over to the point that textures have turned to wax, but heavy filtering is readily apparent, and the frozen grain structure is anything but attractive. A few spots and speckles are apparent as well, further degrading the viewing experience. Details may not be plastic, but neither are they organic. There's a dullness, a flatness, to them, leaving would-be complex faces, clothes, and environments looking less than perfect and even less that acceptable. Colors fare well enough, at least, offering decent foundational depth and contrast, but never mind that: the processing is just too much. Why Paramount chose to release this in the current state, when the studio has been on such a role with other catalogue titles of late (even outside of the "Paramount Presents" line) is anyone's guess. Fans long wanting this film on Blu-ray are going to be disappointed, even those who don't label themselves as "videophiles."

Foul Play Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While the 1080p video transfer leaves much to be desired, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is in fine shape. The presentation offers impressively wide and immersive music – a chase scene in chapter four is one of the highlights – that holds for the duration, including during the intoxicatingly fun sequence in Dudley Moore's apartment. There's not a whole lot more going on beyond music. Light atmosphere in bars, city streets, and the like offer good essential immersion elements with fine foundational clarity. Dialogue is clear, clean, well prioritized, and centered for the duration. This is a very good listen overall.

Foul Play Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Foul Play contains no supplemental content. The menu screen offers a static image with options for "Play," "Settings," and "Scenes." No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Foul Play Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Foul Play is more than a fair movie. It slows down a bit during the middle, but the humor and horror are largely in fine working balance and the performances are very good from a terrific ensemble cast. Paramount's Blu-ray is sadly featureless, and the video leaves much to be desired. However, the audio track is good. Worth a look just to check out the movie. At least it's priced right.