5.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
Two wealthy sisters, both heiresses to their family's cosmetics fortune, are given a wake-up call when a scandal and ensuing investigation strip them of their wealth.
Starring: Hilary Duff, Haylie Duff, Anjelica Huston, Lukas Haas, Maria Conchita AlonsoComedy | 100% |
Teen | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
I don’t pretend to understand America’s obsession with heiresses and neo-socialite celebutantes, those poor little rich girls famous just for being rich and famous. Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, the Kardashians—all inexplicably command legions of Twitter-following, reality show-watching fans, and it’s our fault. Consumers drive pop-culture, so we have only ourselves to blame for why the airwaves are clogged up and dumbed down with the vapid, talentless, sex-tape-making spawn of the upper class elite. If only we could collectively ignore them, they’d eventually go away, but we can’t, and so they won’t. There are simply too many fame-obsessed plebes gobbling up this nonsense and living vicariously through it—the sordid tabloid headlines, the panty-less upskirt shots, the drunk driving, shoplifting, and drug arrests. Material Girls, presumably, is for them. The film is billed as a comedic satire of the heiress lifestyle, but it has the same trashy, tone-deaf, unbelievably obnoxious sensibility.
Material Girls
For a terrible film, middling picture quality. It seems fitting. Material Girls makes its Blu-ray debut with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that was most likely sourced from an old high definition master prepped for DVD release. The image is murky and soft, and although the film's grain structure looks fairly natural, it is quite thick, a trait that's amplified by frequent swarms of what looks like compression noise. White specks dot the print and you'll notice occasional moiré-like shimmer on objects with tight lines, like Ava's knit hat. While the image is recognizably "high definition," there's little fine detail to be found in the places where you normally expect it—the actors' faces, hair, and clothing. Even a usually distinct texture like the looped threading of a terrycloth bathrobe becomes spongy and indistinct here. The transfer's color reproduction also has a few less-than-desirable issue. Highlights are frequently overexposed and blown out, and the color balance sometimes has a harsh, garish quality, with too-pink skin tones. At least black levels seem solid, but that's about the best I can say. For whatever reason, Material Girls looks about twice its age on Blu-ray, and I can honestly say I've seen silent films that look better in high definition.
Material Girls' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track fares better, but it does little to exert itself over the film's 97-minute runtime. As a lightweight comedy—or, an attempt at one anyway—Material Girls' mix is talk-heavy and front-centric, and the voices cut through cleanly, with no muffling, peaking, crackles, or drop-outs. There are moments, however, when you'll wish the Duff sisters' inane utterances were obscured in a devouring wash of white noise. The dialogue is that bad. The rear channels are only sparsely used for ambience—chatter at the club, quiet environment- establishing sounds, etc.—and there are few cross-channel effects of any kind. There's a score, by Jennie Muskett, but I'm trying my best to banish it from my mind forever. It sounds strong, at least, with decent range and clarity at all times. Rounding out the mix are a handful of pop songs, including, yes, a cover of Madonna's "Material Girl" by the Duff sisters. The disc also includes Spanish and French dubs, as well as English SDH and Spanish subtitles in easy-to-read lettering.
Subject me to The Room, lock me in a basement and force me to watch Troll 2 on repeat, but please don't make me sit through Material Girls again. I don't think I could handle it. If I see the Duff sisters whip out their pink, gem-encrusted cell phones one more time, I just might have an aneurism. Material Girls should be treated like the celebutantes it celebrates—ignore it, and hopefully it will disappear from the pop culture landscape for good. We can only hope.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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