6.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A high school valedictorian who gets baked with the local stoner finds himself the subject of a drug test. The situation causes him to concoct an ambitious plan to get his entire graduating class to face the same fate, and fail.
Starring: Adrien Brody, Michael Chiklis, Colin Hanks, Matt Bush, Cody AnthonyTeen | 100% |
Comedy | 4% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Gettin' high, it's like freedom.
HIGH School is a surprisingly enjoyable "Stoner Comedy" that focuses on characters and plot more than it does bong hits and puffy smoke
clouds and tripped-up visuals and low-down humor. It's a fairly simple movie, a race-against-the-clock sort that champions the notion that the best
way to hide a misdeed is to hide it in plain sight, in this case so plainly that everyone's guilty and nobody can escape the high. As films like Mac & Devin Go to High School and TV shows like "Weeds" show some of the lighter sides of marijuana usage, as medical marijuana
gains popularity around the world, and as the legalization movement gains steam, is it possible that a new age of "Stoner" comedies could be the next
big
thing in cinema? If it is, HIGH School should rightly lead the charge. It's a movie that typically pits the hard-edged authority figures (though
here with some whacky personality traits) and the clean-cut, stiff-lip preppy villain up against the longtime drug user and the novice brainiac who are
only out to have a good time, man, and not harm anyone along the way. It's a classic "establishment versus rebel" tale, and in a way, it's the exact
same set-up found in Mac & Devin. But in HIGH School, there are no CGI talking joints and there's a better flow to the plot and more
fully-developed characters. It's a simple but fun and catchy little flick that will leave audiences tripping and ready to watch it again.
The p[l]ot thickens.
HIGH School features a dazzling 1080p Blu-ray transfer. Anchor Bay's latest is one of the studio's finest yet. It's a remarkably filmic, accurate, natural video presentation that offers crisp, consistent, and complex details all around the frame. Whether intricate skin textures, highly detailed clothes, odds and ends around the school, brick walls, or concrete surfaces, the transfer reveals most everything in the movie with pinpoint accuracy. The image is equally clear and naturally sharp, very well-defined and hardly even a hint soft. Colors aren't blinding but instead true to life. There's a good, lifelike array within the school, with all the shades balanced and never dull or over pumped, arguably just a hair warm at times but pleasantly so. Black levels are rock-solid, and flesh tones are natural at every turn. There's no major wear and tear or unwanted bouts of banding, aliasing, or edge enhancement. This is a wonderful high definition presentation that will satisfy all viewers.
HIGH School puffs out a technically proficient yet sonically unremarkable Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. There's a consistent sense of clarity emanating from the track. It handles all of the film's mostly-limited elements to satisfaction, maintaining a rather confined range but doing well to deliver music, dialogue, and effects with ease. Music stays primarily the responsibility to the front channels, but plays with a decent spread away from the middle. The side speakers additionally carry a few minor but effective and necessary mood- and environment-setting sound elements, such as a light din in a school hallway or or a minor echoing sensation inside the gymnasium. Listeners will be hard-pressed to find more than a few scattered surround sound moments of note. Dialogue is even and accurate, firmly grounded in the center channel and never lost to any musical or supportive elements. This is a very simple track, one that lacks charisma or any notable elements, but it's clear and refined, a good example of a sturdy lossless soundtrack.
HIGH School contains the following three bonus features:
What's special about HIGH School is how well it works just taking the simple route. It's not overcooked, half-baked (ha ha), amateurish, or excessive. It's balanced and practical, a fun little slice of high school escapism that's as harmless as these sorts of movies can be. It's very well acted; evenly directed; and built on the foundation that is a tight, consistent, and enjoyable script. It's probably not destined to be the next genre cult classic or go down as the quintessential Stoner flick, but this is a quality under-the-radar motion picture that genre fans should love. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of HIGH School features very good video, adequate audio, and a couple of extras. Recommended.
Collector's Edition
1987
Extended Survival Edition
2008
2015
2012
2006
1992
2006
30th Anniversary Edition
1985
2004
1985
2014
1986
Special Edition | MVD Marquee Collection
2004
2010
1985
2013
2009
1989
Unrated and Cream-Filled
2008
2009