5.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Jane, Elaine and Louise are all feeling the effects of inflation and cannot afford, as the title states, the high cost of living. So they decide to rob the cash from a contest at a shopping mall.
Starring: Susan Saint James, Jane Curtin, Jessica Lange, Richard Benjamin, Eddie AlbertComedy | 100% |
Heist | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
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
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
If you’re old enough to immediately link the word “malaise” with the presidency of Jimmy Carter, you are probably similarly aware of the problems the American economy was facing as the seventies gave way to the eighties. How to Beat the High Cost of Living is a fitfully amusing paean to that troubled time, though it doesn’t really have the courage to completely confront the issues of the era, trading instead on stereotypes and a frenetic, quasi-farcical ambience to whip up whatever minimally comedic sensibility it’s able to. Set in the college town of Eugene, Oregon, How to Beat the High Cost of Living presents a far fetched tale of three housewives (the film rather unapologetically consigns women to traditional roles, despite passing attempts to give at least some of them “careers”) who decide to fight incipient inflation and the lack of available funds by engaging in a dangerous and risky heist caper. Never as funny as it should be, given the setup and the obvious talents of its focal trio of female stars, but similarly never as potent as it might have been had it really peeked beneath the shiny surface of supposedly “happy” suburban life, How to Beat the High Cost of Living is occasionally amusing, but decidedly middling, at least offering co-stars Jane Curtin and Susan St. James a “trial run” to develop their on screen chemistry which would soon prove so successful in the Kate and Allie situation comedy.
How to Beat the High Cost of Living is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The first few minutes of the film, including the animated credits sequence and the first post-credits scene with Jane and Robert, are pretty rough looking, with low contrast, quite a bit of damage, and not much in the way of detail. Once the film cuts to the first scene between Louise and Albert, things improve markedly, though there are still manifold signs of age related wear and tear, as well as slight but noticeable fade that keeps things like flesh tones slightly on the ruddy side of things at times. Detail is acceptable throughout the presentation, but things are never overly sharp and well defined. Close-ups fare best, as should probably be expected, and in those moments elements like the natty pill on fabrics come through with generally commendable precision. Aside from some noticeable telecine wobble in the opening credits, there are no egregious problems with image stability. Finally, as is the case with Olive releases, there are no signs of any restorative efforts having been done, and similarly no signs of excessive digital intrusion or tweaking of the image harvest.
How to Beat the High Cost of Living features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which more than capably supports the film's dialogue and its now kind of dated sounding score by the wonderful Patrick Williams. I've written about Williams' music in other reviews, but simply want to reiterate here what a generally superb composer and arranger he is (I heard him live when I was a kid when he was promoting what became his Grammy winning album "Threshold," and it was one of the most thrilling jazz performances of my youth). Working here with the incredible Hubert Laws and Earl Klugh, Williams crafts a kind of funky pop-jazz sound that is kind of a forerunner for what ultimately became known as smooth jazz. It's enjoyable, if lightweight, but it certainly anchors the film in its era. One way or the other, fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to report.
The three female stars of How to Beat the High Cost of Living are all enjoyable and accessible in this film, but lame screenwriting lets them down and there's simply no real energy to what should be the showcase of the film—the heist! Agreeable but rarely much more than that, How to Beat the High Cost of Living often plays like a made for television film, with a suitably lo-fi ambience and a generally unambitious approach. The film can't quite decide whether it wants to be an exposé of the "malaise" of the late Carter years or an out and out farce, and the disconnect is manifestly obvious in the fact that laughs are few and far between. Technical merits are good to excellent for those considering a purchase.
50th Anniversary Edition
1960
Collector's Edition
1963
1987
1966
2008
2000
2012
1936
Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
1966
2018
2013
1986
1996
2001
1967
2001
Limited Edition to 3000
1976
1954
1987
1989