LOL Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

LOL Blu-ray Movie Review

OMG.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 3, 2012

The problem with Art imitating Life is that Life, to quote Oscar Hammerstein II’s famous lyric from Show Boat, “keeps on rollin’ along” while Art becomes at least relatively static after it’s created. There probably wasn’t quite the sense of irony surrounding LOL in 2010, when it was filmed, than there is now in 2012 after the film’s extremely limited and short-lived theatrical exhibition and now its dutiful dump to home video. In 2010, Demi Moore was still ensconced in a supposedly happy marriage with Ashton Kutcher and was supposedly in an equally happy co-parenting situation with the children she had with former husband Bruce Willis. As incredible as it may seem in the usually manic world of pop culture and celebrity, in 2010 Miley Cyrus was still in Hannah Montana (although nearing the end of her run in the Disney franchise) and was just starting to attempt to make the transition into a more adult persona (something she had already initiated with her now infamous “pole dancing” routine which shocked some longtime fans). But in 2012 we’re awash in all sorts of negative publicity about both the stars of LOL, a stumbling American remake of a French comedy by the same name (which included the “explanatory” subtitle Laughing Out Loud for those not savvy about internet acronyms), negative publicity that in both cases is almost cruelly reflective of the film's story of a tempestuous relationship between a mother and a daughter. The interesting thing here (aside from the pop culture detritus aspect) is that the American version was co-written and helmed by the original writer-director, Lisa Azuelos. The original 2008 French version wasn’t exactly hailed as a masterpiece, but it did sufficient enough Continental business to attract the always febrile imaginations of Hollywood bean counters, and by 2010 the American version is in the can. The fact that it languished there for close to two years tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this LOL, which some people will probably respond to by creating their own new acronym, NSM, meaning “not so much”.

You know what remake I’d like to see Miley Cyrus star in? A reboot of Mean Girls, the 2004 Lindsay Lohan comedy about cliques and the social ramifications they engender. There’s a hint of that same ethos here in LOL, though of course Miley and her BFFs are the nice girls, even as they trash talk everyone else at their school. But Cyrus as an actual real life human being (she is a real life human being, isn’t she?) comes off as smug, self-important and perhaps the perfect example of a childhood warped through a sense of entitlement that only being the headliner in a smash Disney property for years can create. It’s perhaps unfair to be so negatively disposed by supplementary material, but when you have a glut of featurettes with everyone falling over themselves to state how absolutely brilliant Miley is in everything she says and does, and then when Miley herself seems to be only too willing to agree with that assessment, it makes her self-conscious, preening performance in LOL all the more unbearable.

Moore unfortunately isn’t any better. She looks fantastic, with none of the overly anorexic, drawn quality that has been apparent in some recent leaked photos after her alleged breakdown, stays in rehab and really sad estrangement from her daughters. But she’s forced to utter completely risible dialogue here in a variety of unlikely settings and to maraud through scenes first as a sort of harridan mother and then, on a dime, a caring and supportive parental unit. The film is just a weird mishmash of styles and influences, with time lapse, slow-mo and sped up step printed moments existing next to more relatively “natural”, almost “kitchen sink drama”, moments.

The film is really not that much of a comedy, either intentionally or unintentionally, despite its source material and its fitful marketing campaign (it's notable that the press release accompanying the film first identifies it as a "coming of age drama" and then later calls it a "coming of age comedy"). There's no denying the emphasis here is on pretty putrid drama which pits Miley as an “exploratory” teen (for want of a better term) who’s into everything from casual sex (including a few quasi-lesbian hints) to drugs to just standard rebellion and angst, against Moore, a harried mother who is dealing with her own “issues” while not quite knowing how to deal with her increasingly unruly daughter. How anyone thought this could be grist for a comedic mill, even in dribs and drabs, is frankly beyond me.

The best thing about LOL (best being a decidedly relative term in this instance) is Azuelos’ assured direction and framing. Removing all of the silly gimmicks (like the time lapse, slow-mo and step printing mentioned above), Azuelos has a really appealing visual style which, along with Kieran McGuigan’s very sharp cinematography, gives the film some visual style and luster. But it’s all window dressing surrounding a pretty turgid exercise that doesn’t even seem to realize it wants to be a comedy even as it indulges in one melodramatic moment after another.

LOL Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As disappointing as LOL probably will be even to rabid Cyrus and Moore fans, few will find anything to complain about vis a vis the film's sparkling high definition presentation, offered courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. This is an often gorgeous looking film, one which utilizes location footage from both Detroit and France to its decided benefit. Colors are beautifully saturated and contrast is very strong. Fine object detail is exceptional, and since the film deals with so many close-ups, it's even more noticeable. There are some passing and pretty niggling qualms about shadow detail in a couple of dimly lit interior scenes, but otherwise this is a spectacular looking offering. Too bad the film itself isn't as good.

LOL Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, LOL's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix is invitingly immersive and well rendered, especially since the film indulges in a virtually nonstop use of source cues that feature everyone from The Rolling Stones to less iconic acts like Foster the People (Miley Cyrus herself is nowhere to be found in the music credits, which can't have been an accident). Surround channels are used very well in the music elements and also in a number of straight ahead dialogue scenes, especially in some of the crowd scenes both at the high school and at parties and the like. Fidelity is excellent, with a very well prioritized mix, and dynamic range is really rather surprisingly wide for a dialogue driven film like LOL is.

LOL Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Director and Cast Commentary features writer-director Lisa Azuelos along with Ashley Hinshaw and Lina Esco. This is a bit on the chatty side, with several long silent stretches, but Azuelos, who also directed the original French film that this LOL was based on , is quite informative and fun to listen to, even if her accent makes her a bit hard to understand at times.


• The Cast of LOL (1080i; 5:18) is full of OMGs and "likes" and Miley talking about how "super-spiritual" she is.


• Like Mother, Like Daughter (1080i; 4:34) talks generally about the mother-daughter bond and deals tangentially with real bonds in the lives of Cyrus and Moore. This all seems incredibly ironic considering the recent news of the estrangement between Moore and her daughters.


• Lots of Love for Lisa Azuelos (1080i; 3:25) is a brief homage to the director of the film.

LOL Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a glimmer of a decent film buried somewhere deep, deep within LOL. The major problem here is that writer-director Lisa Azuelos doesn't seem to know exactly what tone she wants to adopt here. Is this a frothy kind of teenage sex farce? Or is it an earnest dramatic piece attempting to realistically portray the conflict between a mother and daughter in an increasingly digital age? The bottom line is most people are probably going to respond to this with a resounding "Who cares?" Longtime Miley Cyrus fans will probably flock to this offering one way or the other, and for them there's at least the added benefit of some great looking video and some great sounding audio. All others should probably SFFA (stay far, far away).