Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Late for Dinner Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 29, 2015

As a Man Out of Time movie, 1991’s “Late for Dinner” aims more for sweetness than shock, though it certainly doesn’t discount the value of a nice surprise. It’s a strange time travel feature from director W.D. Richter, who previously helmed the eye-crossing cult comedy “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension,” making an obvious effort to soften his touch with complex storytelling by taking on a screenplay (credited to Mark Andrus, “As Good as It Gets,” “Georgia Rule”) that’s more emotional, surveying a tale of cryogenic reawakening and the sacrifice of time. The plot is obviously scrambled, with visible staples in place to hold the narrative together, but sincerity remains, helping to guide light comedy and warm dramatics to a welcome place of personal reunion, highlighting the picture’s strengths with intimacy.

In 1962, Willie (Brian Wimmer) is having difficulty holding on to his house, which is set for foreclosure by ruthless real estate developer, Bob (Peter Gallagher). Trying to protect wife Joy (Marcia Gay Harden) and young daughter Tess (Colleen Flynn plays her as an adult), Willie confronts Bob about the unfair situation, only to receive a bullet in return. Shooting a man in self-defense, Willie and his mentally challenged brother-in-law, Frank (Peter Berg, better in front of a camera than behind one), take off from Santa Fe, arriving hungry, pained, and desperate in Pomona. With Willie unconscious, Frank seeks help from a mysterious doctor who eventually talks the vulnerable adult into cryogenic stasis, freezing the pair to aid a grandiose experiment. When an accident breaks the ice in 1991, Willie and Frank are confronted with a radically different society, unsure what’s happened to them. Gathering clues and making harsh realizations, the duo returns to Santa Fe to figure out just what happened to their lives while they were away for the last three decades.

As engaging a movie as it is, “Late for Dinner” does reveal considerable post-production handling to find narrative focus. The opening act feels as though it could potentially carry on for two hours, delving into Willie’s heated interactions with Bob, which eventually extend to accusations of kidnapping when the real estate ghoul’s son elects to remain with his new buddy Frank instead of returning home to his monstrous father. Misunderstandings ensue, finally reaching a point of no return when guns are drawn and Willie is struck by a bullet. The shooting is severe but important, kicking off an escape element that brings Willie and Frank to the cryogenic lab, but pieces of the subplot are barely tended to, with the production turning to intrusive, overly-expository narration from Frank to patch the holes left behind, also serving a hand-holding purpose to soften Willie’s harsh game of self-preservation. Overall, “Late for Dinner” feels edited down from a considerably longer first cut (also diluting what appears to be an “Of Mice and Men”-inspired relationship between Willie and Frank), but the opening half hour is where the most obvious changes have occurred, finding the production in a hurry to freeze the main characters and get the reunion started.

Following many films of this ilk, “Late for Dinner” has some fun with the disorientation of time change. While Willie and Frank think they’ve woken up the next morning, 29 years have passed, offering the pair a chance to interact with male phone operators, cell phones, and rap music. Willie even takes his dated history a step further, congratulating a black doctor on his racial progress. Richter doesn’t always go for laughs, though some lightness remains, funneled into a burger joint encounter where Frank is confronted with modern food pricing (Janeane Garofalo makes an early career appearance as a cashier). The men are also caught up in the process of thawing, with California heat pressuring them to find sources of cold to stabilize their body temperatures. Adding tension is Frank’s kidney disease, which requires pills and patience to balance out, with the promise of a transplant initially used by the doctor in 1962 to lure the trusting man into deep freeze.

While confusion and discovery are always amusing to watch, bringing out head-spinning inspection from the time travelers, “Late for Dinner” eventually evolves into a homecoming, finding terrific suspense from Willie’s desire to find Joy and Tess, only to be confronted with their older selves. Instead of immediately targeting hugs and tears, Richter and Andrus play confrontations with stupefaction, studying sophisticated responses to the reality of a family reunion where the father and uncle were designated missing persons decades ago. Harden and Flynn capture astonishment perfectly, finding wonderful beats of apprehension and acceptance that make critical scenes feel honest to the situation. The last act of “Late for Dinner” is rich with emotion, but keeps away from a saccharine sense of manipulation, making time with Willie and Joy appropriately unsettling for both participants, paying off the premise with sincerely cautious communication.

Late for Dinner Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a stable viewing experience. Grain is tastefully managed, supplying a more filmic quality. Fine detail is generally good, with inherent cinematographic softness displayed without disruption, while facial features and costuming retain textures. Colors are stable, often caught battling the Southwestern sun for vibrancy. Evening encounters featuring neon signs and greenish cryogenic particulars bring out more varied hues. Skintones are natural and accurate. Delineation isn't challenged, supplying satisfactory distances and communicative blacks. Print remains in decent shape, with a few points of damage detected, along with some mild speckling.

Late for Dinner Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix doesn't deliver much in the way of weight. Opening with a song from the 1950s, the track isn't built for bigness, keeping sharper and milder with thin soundtrack selections and light scoring. However, fullness isn't entirely missed, as dialogue exchanges are clean and secure, capturing an emotional range tied to feverish revelations that never slips into distortion. Atmospherics are mild but perceptible, creating a feel for public spaces and desert expanse. Sound effects tied to accident scenes are welcomingly boosted.

Late for Dinner Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Late for Dinner Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some weirdness remains in "Late for Dinner," including the introduction of a cryo lab assistant (played by Kyle Secor), who's still alive when Willie and Frank awake. He's written out of the movie in a suspiciously swift manner. Richter also leaves in a movie mistake, with Wimmer clearly calling Harden "Tess" during an intimate moment, watching the actress break character and correct him during the scene. It's a shame there isn't an audio commentary included on this Blu-ray to help understand how this Freudian goof made it into the final cut. While it's a bumpy ride at times, "Late for Dinner" does retain substantial charm and an encouraging amount of tenderness as it winds through the time travel routine, finding fresh areas of disbelief to explore.