5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 2.9 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.9 |
When Denis (Rust), the geekiest guy in high school, proclaims his love for super-popular Beth Cooper (Panettiere), during his valedictorian speech, everyone is...well... speechless! But the real shock comes that night when Beth shows up at Denis' house with her two best friends to show him how the cool kids party.
Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Paul Rust, Jack Carpenter, Lauren London, Lauren StormComedy | 100% |
Romance | 57% |
Teen | 40% |
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
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of reviewing Say Anything, Cameron Crowe’s classic coming-of-age teen romance, forever immortalized by the image of John Cusack holding a boom box over his head in an act of defiant love. As fans of the film know—and the film has many, many fans —it’s touching and tender, funny, witty, and wholly original while still working within the confines of its genre. In short, it’s everything that I Love You, Beth Cooper is not. I hate to compare films to one another—each should really stand on its own merits—but in its constant pilfering from better teen movies, Beth Cooper invites comparisons, and not favorable ones. Former scribe for The Simpsons Larry Doyle, who authored the novel and screenplay on which the film is based, readily admits that I Love You, Beth Cooper is a kind of homage to the great teen films of the ‘80s. And while he posits that the story is an attempt to condense and subvert the conventions these films were famous for, the end result is a soulless union of satire and sentiment, a film so endlessly derivative that it feels like a twice-removed, carbon-copy collage of John Hughes scripts and Brat Pack personalities.
Beth Cooper, this guy loves you.
If I Love You, Beth Cooper has one thing going for it, it's that the film's 1080p/AVC- encoded transfer is vivid and detailed. It doesn't fall among the ranks of Blu-ray's best, but for a film of this caliber—and genre—it looks swell. The opening graduation scene sets the tone for the film's visual look; the cap 'n gowns are bright and colorful, with excellent depth, a warm cast saturates the image, and clarity is strong in both close-ups and mid-to-long range shots. In general, this quality holds up throughout. Black levels are amply deep while preserving shadow detail, contrast runs a little hot at times, but appropriately so, and the fine grain structure is barely apparent at normal viewing distances, even during some of the darker scenes. Skin tones do have a tendency to look somewhat yellowish, but this seems largely part of the palette of the film. This has nothing to do with the transfer, but all the shots inside Beth's car were accomplished using what looks like rear- projection for the views outside, and while this might slide by on DVD, in high definition it looks incredibly fake. No biggie though. I doubt you're watching this film for realistic driving scenes. But that begs the question: Why are you watching this?
Equally sufficient is the film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, which offers few opportunities for impressive audio action, but definitely pumps out the jams that the film so regularly employs to make us feel young and alive. The music does sound excellently loud and raucous here, especially when the kids are all driving around in the car, singing along to Alice Cooper's "School's Out." Bass is weighty, the high end is detailed, and the music floods the soundfield from all sides. The rear channels get some modest interaction throughout the film— cheers erupt at graduation, crickets sing in the woods, etc.—and there are a few cross-channel movements, like a stampede of angry cows moving from front to back and mooing all around. Finally, dialogue is clean and easily understandable, though I make no claims that you'll want to hear what's being said.
Alternate Ending (1080p, 6:59)
There's no way, no way, they could've ever seriously considering using this as the ending to the
film. I know it's the original ending to the book, but it just doesn't work at all here and I can see
why they didn't use it. I won't give it away, but I will say it involves a bear costume, a shotgun, a
canoe paddle wielded like a lightsaber, and the potential for a sequel. Scary stuff.
Deleted Scenes (1080p, 7:36)
The four deleted scenes included here offer up more of the same. And when the same is this bad,
do you really want more?
I Love You Larry Doyle (1080p, 5:54)
Writer Larry Doyle talks about how he's trying to skewer teen movie clichés and offer some sort
of commentary on the genre. Hmmm.
We Are All Different, But That's A Good Thing (1080p, 8:54)
This cast profile let's each actor say a little something about their character and how fun it was
working with the other cast members.
Peanut Butter Toast (SD, 2:48)
A completely improvised song about peanut butter toast by Paul Rust, who happens to be making
peanut butter toast at the time. I laughed more here than I did through the entire
film.
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character With Paul Rust (SD, 3:02)
Paul gets to chat about his character, but the most interesting revelation here is the he is
significantly older than his character.
Fox Movie Channel Presents In Character With Hayden Panettiere (SD, 3:02)
Likewise, Hayden says a few words about Beth Cooper and her own acting style.
Trailers
Includes high definition trailers for My Life in Ruins, Adam, Fame, and
The Marine 2.
20th Century Fox has released two other relationship films this week—Say Anything and Two Girls and a Guy—and either of them would make a better choice than I Love You, Beth Cooper. In fact, I urge you to pick up Say Anything; it's one of the best teen love stories of the '80s. Stay away from Beth Cooper though. It's like a freeze-dried, desiccated, beef jerky version of Say Anything, if that makes any sense.
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