Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Hard to Hold Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 4, 2021

Larry Peerce's "Hard to Hold" (1984) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include new video interview with the director; new audio commentary by entertainment journalist Bryan Reesman; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Hard to Hold is as bad at selling romance as The Prince of Tides. It’s got two completely fake characters doing a lot of bad acting to convince that their fake romance is legit. It is the kind of film that knowingly insults the viewer’s intelligence, and then does it again by pretending that it has no clue that it is so.

Rick Springfield is James Roberts, a handsome rock singer who has sold millions of records and reached the top. If you open up a dictionary and look up the definition of success, the very first thing you would see is his picture.

But James isn’t as happy as his fans believe he is. He needs a big break. He is fed up with the never-ending deadlines he and his band have to keep meeting to make different people in the music business happy, plus his professional relationship with former girlfriend-turned-writing partner Nicky Nides (Patti Hansen) has become too complicated. Years ago, before he was famous, he knew that success would come at a price but had no idea that it could be this bad. It is why right at this moment he would pay a fortune to be able to disappear for a year or two and be a normal person again. The break would allow him to recharge his batteries and come back stronger, almost certainly happier than he has been in the past as well.

After a bizarre car accident James meets child psychologist Diana Lawson (Janet Eliber), whose inability to recognize him or his music instantly turn him on. While pursuing Diana, James then begins to feel like a normal guy again and quickly convinces himself that if she becomes a permanent part of his life the long break his mind and body have been asking for may not be needed. Diana also warms up to the idea of being in a relationship with a rock star but remains cautious because she is unsure if he can willingly walk away from a lifestyle of excess and hordes of very attractive female fans. While spending time together and learning about each other, James and Diana also begin testing the old theory that the strength of a romantic relationship is determined by the ability of the parties involved to keep on compromising.

Larry Peerce directs Hard to Hold like a fairy tale for adults who have absolutely no clue how real people fall in love. It is so simplistic, so cliched, and so unbelievable that absolutely nothing in it works as it should. Indeed, it sells romance in such an artificial way that it actually makes it look like a strikingly annoying experience, one that ought to be avoided, which is an awfully difficult thing to do.

There are many problems with Thomas Hedley Jr.’s screenplay, but the biggest one is that it brings two utterly incompatible individuals and then leaves them struggling with a series of dull but supposedly illuminating experiences that cannot produce the romance the film needs to work as intended. So, having discovered his latest muse, James goes to work to convince Diana that the rock star image that has made him a millionaire is just a shell and inside it is the cutest real guy a single woman would want to be with. Of course, the emphasis is on real, which is why he constantly invents different ways to show her that he does not really care about his money. Then, most predictably, Diana begins to realize that James really isn’t the wild party boy the media has claimed he is, but just to be sure she decides to introduce him to her aging father, who happens to be a hard-drinking chap and can instantly recognize a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Needless to say, enduring the dreadful lines that are uttered while James and Diana slowly become a real couple is quite the cinematic test.

Maybe the end result could have been more convincing if a more talented actor was cast to play the rock star, but then Hard to Hold would have been a very different film. What Springfield does in it is difficult to describe as proper acting. He is mostly himself and does a lot of random improvising that is supposed to work because of his charm and singing abilities. Sadly, it does not.

Hard to Hold Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Hard to Hold arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Video.

The release is sourced from an old but very nice master that was supplied by Universal Pictures. Indeed, aside from a few segments where ideally density levels should be better and darker areas where shadow definition can be more convincing, the rest looks quite good. The best news is that there are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so even the film does look slightly dated it also has a very fine organic appearance. Most close-ups for instance look lovely, while wider panoramic shots with plenty of natural light reveal various fine nuances. A few highlights can be rebalanced, but there is nothing that will affect negatively your viewing experience. The color grading is very convincing. Perhaps a few nuances can be expanded, but the overall balance is very, very pleasing. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, I saw a few tiny white specks and dirt spots, but the master is free of distracting large cuts, debris, damage marks, and other similar age-related imperfections. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Hard to Hold Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track sounded very good on my system. Since there is quite a bit of good music throughout the film, I had the volume turned up a lot and I thought that the clarity and stability of the audio were very solid. There were some interesting dynamic nuances as well, though obviously the film has its production limitations. I don't think that a brand new audio remix can produce a dramatically better audio track. I am quite certain that the basics will be practically identical. I did not detect any age-related imperfections to report either.

Hard to Hold Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Larry Peerce - in this new video interview, director Larry Peerce explains how Hard to Hold was put together and some of the changes that were made along the way, including the reediting of the original screenplay. Also, there are interesting comments about the casting of Rick Springfield and his acting skills as well as a not so pleasant experience with Tony Bennett. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber. In English, not subtitled. (12 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for Hard to Hold. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 480/60i).

• Radio Spots - a collection of vintage U.S. radio spots for Hard to Hold. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, entertainment journalist and author Bryan Reesman shares plenty of interesting information about the staging/filming of the live performances that are see in Hard to Hold, Rick Springfield's popularity with the ladies, the members of the band that Rick's character works with, the blending of romance and comedy, Janet Eilber's performance and career, etc. It is a typically excellent, very nicely researched commentary.

Hard to Hold Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hard to Hold is a hard film to endure. In the past, I have tried many times to like it because it has a lot of great music, so I secretly hoped that this release will somehow change my mind, but once again the acting and especially the chemistry between its two stars looked very problematic to me. Perhaps it could have been a more effective film if it was silly from start to finish, like Mannequin, but it is crystal-clear that its creators wanted it to have a dominant serious side. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an old but very nice master that was supplied by Universal, and features a good new video interview with director Larry Peerce as well as an excellent new audio commentary by entertainment journalist Bryan Reesman. Recommended to the fans, but if you are not one, quickly move on and pick up another release for your library.