Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 2, 2022

There's a kind of curious throwaway line in the trailer for Mr. Jealousy (which is included on this disc as a "supplement") where writer and director Noah Baumbach provides the same kind of "narration" he does for the actual film, and where he encourages prospective ticket buyers to "skip the multiplex and head straight for the art house" in order to be able to see "the real green eyed monster". That slightly odd allusion (?) made me wonder if there had been a movie featuring a certain Marvel Comics character that came out circa 1997 - 1998, but, no, the only thing I could find was The Incredible Hulk, an animated series that was airing around that time. Could Baumbach have been referencing a "mere" cartoon in his obviously joking voiceover? Baumbach is on hand in some archival interviews also included on this disc, and if he doesn't address this obviously pressing issue (that's a joke, folks), he does get into some of his tribulations making Mr. Jealousy, and how he perhaps feels a bit ambiguous about the results. Mr. Jealousy kind of unavoidably is a rather peculiar film, at least from a tonal perspective, at it kind of flirts (no pun intended) with supposed "rom com" territory while also having a somewhat darker, maybe even sinister, subtext. That comes courtesy of a plot conceit that posits focal character Lester (Eric Stoltz) as suffering from almost debilitating jealousy which was sparked by him seeing his first girlfriend kiss another guy at a party when Lester was still a teenaged kid. That supposedly traumatizing event turned Lester into, well, a green eyed monster, and as voiceover describes, all subsequent relationships have been destroyed by Lester's unending suspicions and questioning of his prospective partners. Enter Ramona (Anabella Sciorra).

Stories about couples who "meet cute", develop a relationship and then encounter any number of ups and/or downs have been a staple of movies since time immemorial, or at least the 20th century and dawn of the "real" cinematic era, and so Mr. Jealousy may be trying to swim upstream through a current of memories of other, arguably more consistently funny, films. That said, there's an appealing naturalness to at least some of what's being depicted in the film, as Ramona, the sort of woman who is probably too friendly, collides (in a manner of speaking) with the much more thorny temperament of Lester. While Ramona announces almost instantly after meeting Lester that she's "shy", she isn't especially reticent about sharing some of her love life prior to meeting Lester, and of course Lester finds himself falling into "old habits". When Ramona mentions she had a relatively long relationship with a now famous author named Dashiell Frank (Chris Eigeman), Lester begins to become really neurotic, taking to tailing Dashiell around town, where he soon figures out Dashiell is part of a weekly group therapy session headed by the supposedly hilariously named Dr. Poke (Peter Bogdanovich).

Despite probable indications to the contrary, mental health and therapy can be played for laughs, as such estimable television series as the late great The Bob Newhart Show more than admirably proved. And it seems like Baumbach is going to start exploiting that same kind of slightly askew humor after Lester decides to assume the name of his friend Vince (Carlos Jacott) and join the group in order to get "up close and personal" to Dashiell. Suffice it to say that Lester and Dashiell become sparring partners of sorts, in a kind of "bromance" take on the above mentioned "oil and water" aspect of many rom coms. Despite the apparent opportunity for near farcical exploits once the "real" Vince also joins the group, for whatever reason Baumbach never really goes for the gusto, instead diverting into more contentious showdowns between Lester and Ramona, especially after Ramona divulges even more previous partners.

There's some good material here, but I found Stoltz's performance in particular to be somewhat at odds with what might be called the breezier aspects of the script, injecting a kind of "method" seriousness where arguably a lighter touch might have delivered more consistent comedic results. A lot of the supporting cast is goofily engaging, including the aforementioned Jacott and John Lehr as Lint, two friends of Lester's. The film almost feels like an extended Seinfeld or Friends episode at times, with a bunch of overly articulate, not to mention occasionally neurotic, twenty or thirty somethings getting together to discuss the vagaries of life and relationships at upscale restaurants. As Baumbach seems to hint at it in some of the archival interviews included in the retrospective featurette included on this disc, this seemed to be a time when he was struggling somewhat to find his own voice, and while Mr. Jealousy has moments of connection and definite humor, there are some awkward spells as well. Your reaction to this film may well depend on how funny you feel a therapist named Poke is in a film fraught with jealousy over sexual relationships.

Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mr. Jealousy is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Marquee Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As usual with MVD's releases, there isn't any technical information imparted on the back cover. I wouldn't be surprised if this were an older master, though all things considered, there's really very little noticeable damage to report, and detail levels are generally quite good. The palette is reasonably well suffused but can have a slightly blue cast at times which can marginally affect "naturalness". Some of the outdoor material, while seemingly autumnal or wintry at times, pops quite well. Fine detail on objects like herringbone suit jackets can be appealing. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mr. Jealousy features an LPCM 2.0 track that offers good support for what is often a pretty dialogue heavy film, with many scenes playing out either between two or three characters (the group therapy sessions are a seeming exception, except even there scenes are often edited so that just one or two participants may be featured). Some scattered source cues and underscore sound nicely full bodied and all dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Revisiting Mr. Jealousy (HD; 40:47) is an interesting 2021 amalgamation of what looked to me like new interviews with producer Joel Kastelberg, a kind of frail looking Peter Bogdanovich (who has of course since passed), and Brian Kerwin combined with a bunch of (differing) archival interviews with Noah Baumbach. This also gets into Highball (note that the link points to a release that looks to be forthcoming from MVD), a film which featured many of the same cast and which Baumbach later disowned (perhaps for good reason).


• Trailers include Mr. Jealousy (SD; 2:31), and (for better or worse) Highball (SD; 2:01), along with a couple of other releases from MVD Visual.

Mr. Jealousy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Annabella Sciorra is rather lovely in this film, but I personally found Stoltz to be miscast. The supporting cast does its best with sometimes iffy writing, but there's probably enough here for fans of any individual cast member (including Stoltz) to find at least occasional enjoyment. The retrospective featurette is really interesting with tons of both text and subtext. Technical merits are decent (video) to very good (audio), and with caveats noted, Mr. Jealousy comes Recommended.