Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Look Who's Talking Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 26, 2019

"It's complicated' becomes "it's crazy" in Look Who's Talking, Writer/Director Amy Heckerling's (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Clueless) 1989 film about lust, love, and the little one caught in the middle. From insemination to insanity, the film follows the times and trials of a single mother in New York City, juggling her personal wants for love and affection and security and her infant son's needs for those same things, which don't necessarily jive with her definitions for herself. But amidst the budding love story and comedic currents the film belongs to Bruce Willis who voices the inner thoughts of the film's infant character from womb to toddlerhood, commenting on life, love, and the search for a father figure in his life.

Thirty-something Mollie Ubriacco (Kirstie Alley) is a New York accountant who is having an affair with her client Albert (George Segal), a married father who promises Mollie the moon and signed divorce papers, pronto. He impregnates Mollie but quickly drops her when he becomes smitten with his interior decorator. Mollie keeps the baby and names him Mickey (voiced by Bruce Willis) who internally processes the world around him. Mickey finds a father figure in James (John Travolta), a good looking cabbie who by happenstance rushes Mollie to the hospital when she goes into labor. The two begin a relationship with romantic leanings, but Mollie fears falling for a man who might further complicate her life. But as James' bond with Mickey grows, so too does Mollie's feelings for him.

The aptly titled Look Who’s Talking is primarily Bruce Willis’ movie, the acclaimed actor voicing the unborn, newborn, and toddler Mickey, responding to the world with often lightly crude humor but also cutting commentary about the way things work and why from the perspective of someone who sees but doesn’t understand yet is usually able to cut to the heart of the matter, anyway. Heckerling, however, keeps Mickey balanced between central support and primary focus, a careful juggling act in which the character gets the best lines and the cutest shots and serves as the story’s primary driver but at the same time falls back into the shadows just often enough to allow Mollie and James’ relationship to take shape.

Beyond any playfully biting banter from the mouth of babes, it's the baby's conception that steals the show out of the gate. Heckerling opens the picture with the egg dropping and, minutes later, the sperm swimming to their destination, with the lucky one wiggling inside. The first act consists of cutaways depicting Mickey growing inside of Mollie, discovering his various parts and clamoring for snacks. It's certainly a unique movie perspective and quite the visual accomplishment in the pre-CGI days. But at its core the film is a love story, primarily between Mollie and James, which is a bit on the generic side if only because it's not the central focus, but also between Mickey and James, the former finding a father figure in the man who may not share his biology but who does willingly take on the part. Hekerling develops the bond surely and in the proper time, perhaps the finest of the various juggling acts she performs in crafting a surprisingly affable and unique brand of multi-layered love story.

Look Who's Talking Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Look who's on Blu-ray with fair but troubled results. Look Who's Talking finally debuts on the 1080p format as part of Sony's pressed MOD (Manufactured on Demand) line. The presentation has its ups and downs. On the down side, the picture appears heavily processed with grain transformed from organic to sharp and digitized, removing a more pure film-like state in favor of something far less attractive. It's obvious from the opening scene between Albert and Mollie and follows through the remainder of the movie. Some unsightly compression issues join in, too, oftentimes in conjunction with the processed grain leaving backgrounds in a stage of fussy disrepair. On the plus side, textures remain firm and satisfying. The picture has not been noise reduced to the point of scrubbing away fine details. On the contrary, facial features are nicely revealing, clothes appear sharp (look at the medical scrubs Travolta's James wears when Alley's Mollie is giving birth), and various accents around city interiors and exteriors hold true. Colors are well rounded with little evidence of significant fading. There's a pleasing level of saturation to the entire palette. Black levels fare well enough, ditto skin tones. It's a shame the image stumbles in some areas because it looks fairly good in others. It's still a relatively healthy boost over existing standard definition presentations.

Look Who's Talking Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Look Who's Talking chats up a storm on Blu-ray with a well rounded DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. While not a marvel of sound engineering either at the source or within the encode, the presentation satisfies requirements and meets the movie's needs with a quality structure and delivery. Musical spacing is joyful, with a parade of popular songs spilling into the stage with impressive detail and vigor, primarily situated up front but drifting into the rears as well. The gaggle of sperm seen at the beginning of the movie swim through with indistinct, raucous chatter until Mickey takes charge and plants himself in the egg. Dialogue continues to be a strength, presenting with good front-center position, lifelike clarity, and faultless prioritization. Atmospheric effects are impressively filling, whether exterior city din or bustle inside an accounting office -- adding machines, ringing phones -- heard at the 68-minute mark. There's not much deep end authority or authenticity to a multi car crash late in the film, but the symphony of honking horns to follow does help to set the scene and draw the listener into it.

Look Who's Talking Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sony's Blu-ray release of Look Who's Talking contains a single extra, an audio commentary track with Writer/Director Amy Heckerling. Topics of discussion include the usual coverage of visual effects, characters and actors, story details, filmmaking anecdotes, and a bit more. There are some stretches of silence and Heckerling admits up front that she might not recall everything considering the length of time between shooting and recording the commentary. This is a track only for the movie's most ardent fans. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

Look Who's Talking Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Look Who's Talking is an affable little movie with a few unique perspectives on love and life. The story is at its strongest when focused on Mickey, both his internal vocalizations and his burgeoning relationship with the father figure in his life, John Travolta's James. James' relationship with Mollie is of lesser interest but it works as part of a larger whole. Sony's MOD Blu-ray is a bit disappointing. Audio is fine but video is somewhat troubled and the commentary track is not particularly good. The disc is also overpriced at time of writing. For fans only.