5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.1 |
Chester is a salesman looking for a little respect... and a big job promotion. To impress his boss, Chester becomes the coach of the company-sponsored girls' soccer team, the Ladybugs. But when Chester and his assistant coach see their woefully unskilled players, they realize the Ladybugs are going to get squashed! Chester decides the team needs a girl who plays like a boy, so he secretly enlists his fiancée's son, Matthew, to become Martha, the Ladybugs' newest member.
Starring: Rodney Dangerfield, Jonathan Brandis, Vinessa Shaw, Jackée Harry, Ilene GraffComedy | 100% |
Sport | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
Considering the polarizing effect of Rodney Dangerfield as a stand-up comedian, it’s not terribly surprising to discover his film career followed the same path. After reasonable box office success with films such as Caddyshack, Easy Money, and Back to School, Dangerfield returned to the silver screen for his last starring performance in the film Ladybugs. Grossing a mere 14 million at the American box office, the film was largely considered a financial flop, and resulted in a remaining acting career that exclusively consisted of supporting roles. From a personal standpoint, I can’t say I’ve ever been much of a Rodney Dangerfield fan, so I’d encourage you to qualify my assessment of Ladybugs with that in mind (after all, nobody enjoys receiving hate mail). After all, we can all admit most hilarious films are built around a starring comedian and require a certain appreciation for his or her particular brand of comedy from the outset. I can name plenty of personal acquaintances that find Adam Sandler’s early films either appealing or appalling, and the same can be said of Jim Carrey. If you don’t like the comedy style, chances are good you’ll hate the films.
Jonathan Brandis as Martha.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 28Mpbs), Ladybugs kicks its way onto Blu-ray with a transfer that never looks exceptional, but still appears decent for a low-budget comedy (that's rapidly approaching its 20th anniversary). Fine object detail demonstrates limitations in the display of textures in the foreground from time to time (especially age lines or other facial features), but the depth of the image is surprisingly strong thanks to the upgrade to 1080p. Initially, I had some worries concerning the use of DNR to wipe film grain from the surface of the transfer, but eventually arrived at the conclusion that the diminished textures are due to the soft-focus film style, and not over-manipulation on the part of the video engineers. Turning to the color palette of the film, I was a bit distracted by the dominance of reds in the spectrum, which take their toll on facial tones and often lend the appearance of a slight sunburn. Despite this tendency, the rest of the image sports wonderful color accuracy with orange uniforms that stand out against a lush green backdrop, and splashes of color seen on the billboards circling the soccer field. Black levels aren't the greatest, but considering the majority of the film was shot during the daytime, it doesn't present much of a concern. Finally, I never noticed any digital anomalies during the course of the film, but you'll likely detect occasional moments of print damage (specks, dust blobs, etc.) that present a minor distraction.
If I hadn't read the back of the packaging and confirmed it for myself (on my PS3 display), I'd laugh at the suggestion that this is 5.1 surround mix. As most of you know, low budget comedies of this sort don't rely on immersive audio effects to deliver the goods, so it should come as no surprise to find an excessively front-heavy mix on Ladybugs. Dialog, wacky effects, and the goofy musical score all register with equal weight across the front three speakers, without one particular element overwhelming another. Clarity is more than adequate to meet the needs of the subject matter, but I wouldn't go so far as to suggest it rivals the clarity of many other lossless presentations on the market. Adding to the ho-hum nature of the track, several of the audio elements register on the bright side, leaving the LFE portion of the audio experience to wither outside in the cold, while subsequently generating a dated feel to the sound design. This diminished quality also extends into instances of high volume static, which never manifest during the musical numbers, but dominate Dangerfield's yelling sessions. It's entirely possible this was present in the source material and not something Lionsgate could do anything about (without remastering the track), but it adds to the shrill nature of the sound spectrum within the film.
The negative aspects of the audio track likely paint a fairly poor picture of the overall audio experience, but you should keep in mind this is a comparison with the best Blu-ray has to offer. A film of this nature and vintage simply can't keep up with the proficiency of a newly produced action offering, making it a tough uphill battle for Ladybugs. Most fans of the film recognize this from the outset, but I felt I should at least clarify the basis for my harsh assessment.
The only supplement included on the disc is a trailer collection for other films in the Lionsgate library.
Ladybugs is the type of comedy that's built a cult following among fans of nostalgic memories over true substance. It requires a core appreciation for Dangerfield's stand-up work, an ability to find entertainment value in juvenile and adult humor, as well as a thick skin for bad acting. I'd wager most viewers with an interest in Ladybugs are either card-carrying members of the Rodney Dangerfield fan-club, or simply recall the grin produced at a young age when they first realized their parents had been duped into thinking this was suitable for children. Either way, I'm not here to dissuade long-time fans from purchasing this reasonably priced Blu-ray upgrade, since the technical merits offer adequate justification for you to take the leap.
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