My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie Review

Lionsgate's latest comedy release is for genre fans only.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 27, 2009

Before she can love you, she has to hate me.

Dane Cook seems to have found himself quite the niche with Lionsgate. The actor appeared in Waiting..., played a character in Employee of the Month that goes from slacker to hard worker only to impress a new employee, portrayed an object of female desire in Good Luck Chuck, and now, in My Best Friend's Girl, he stars as Tank, a man who's job involves taking girls on the worst dates imaginable. The themes seem similar in his recent trio of "ladies man" films; he portrays a wanderer of sorts, unable to settle down, using women for a challenge, for pleasure, or for money, and always, at first, shows a disinterest in their feelings. He then finally comes to realize that there is more to a relationship than what goes on behind closed doors, decides he may have finally met the right girl, and now must convince her, and himself, that he can change, that he's worthy of their affections and they of his, all with generally comic results. My Best Friend's Girl fully embraces the Cook formula, but does so with mostly ho-hum enthusiasm and mixed, at best, results. A laugh here, a decent visual gag there, keep the viewer watching, but this is hardly the next great Comedy classic.

My Mom's boyfriend is Kurt Russell and he can beat up your mom's boyfriend!

Tank (Cook) has earned a reputation with the ladies, a reputation likely to get him slapped and cursed out rather than a kiss goodnight. It just so happens that being a rude and uncouth date is also his job. Tank is hired to show girls such a bad time that they will come to realize how good they had it with their previous boyfriends. Tank's friend Dustin (Jason Biggs, Eight Below) wants nothing more than to take his platonic relationship with Alexis (Kate Hudson, Fool's Gold) to the next level. Unfortunately, she sees him as "Mr. Right, just not Mr. Right now." Enter Tank, who reluctantly takes on a job for a friend he considers family. Obvious advances and a first date to a strip club don't phase Alexis, and she and Tank develop an attraction for one another that becomes too much to resist. Tank finds himself in the difficult position of sleeping with his best friend's girl, a girl who just might be falling in love with the wrong man.

Fans of vulgar humor will find a new favorite in My Best Friend's Girl. All others proceed with caution, because this is one of the foulest movies around. My Best Friend's Girl, then, is destined to be a love-it-or-hate it sort of movie. Still, even to those who fall into the "hate it" category, there are a few things to enjoy about the experience that make it tolerable. As mentioned above, Dane Cook has found a niche, and embraced it. He's particularly good in this role, and has the delivery, the look, and the mannerisms down pat. He's crude, annoying, and unlikeable, but then again, that's the character he plays. What works so well is the way he is able to deadpan much of the delivery, for his "job" requires just that: to play the most despicable man around, but with a straight face and a serious tone that turns his antics from bad jokes to seriously demented thought processes. He sells the character, and the character's routine, very well, and even if the character, dialogue, and visuals aren't to all audience's liking, there is no denying that Cook is very good at what he does in this film. The remainder of the cast is deliciously devious, too. Jason Biggs and Kate Hudson find the right pitch for their characters, but veteran Alec Baldwin (Suburban Girl) delivers one of the most unexpected, lewd, and terribly funny performances in memory as Tank's womanizing father. A Women's Studies professor by day and a philanderer by night, his dialogue is often shocking, crude, and mostly funny, particularly in the context of the dichotomy he represents.

My Best Friend's Girl, then, is clearly not some happy-go-lucky Romantic Comedy, though several aspects of the film do feel like one. It does poke around in that genre, sometimes trying to play like one, particularly in its most crucial dramatic scenes that leave the comedy behind, albeit briefly, and, a few times, taking aim at the genre and scoring a direct hit. Tank sets out to "meet" Alexis in the most dimwitted, accidental, and implausible way possible, straight out of a Romantic Comedy, as it is his belief that all woman crave that dreamy, funny, chance encounter that can be attributed to nothing other than fate. Tank's staged first encounter with Alexis will delight anyone who has watched their share of Romantic Comedies in the past, though more traditional fans of that genre may want to skip directly to the scene and cut out the rest of the movie. It's the film's most lighthearted moment, and arguably its funniest. Also in the tradition of the Romantic Comedy, My Best Friend's Girl is completely predictable. The arc and the conclusion come as no surprise at all. The film relies on the journey, the gags along the way, to make up for this, and for those who enjoy the sort of humor found in the movie, My Best Friend's Girl will be a rewarding experience, predictability and all.

My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lionsgate delivers My Best Friend's Girl to Blu-ray in a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Two factors immediately come to attention with this transfer: the grain and flesh tones. Flesh tones push towards the red, and many of the actors appear to have a bad sunburn. Colors appear just a bit overblown. The film is very colorful, though the entire spectrum, like the flesh tones, seems to have a red tint to it, lending a warm feel to the picture. Black levels are also hit-or-miss, sometimes appearing a bit too bright and at other times showing off a nice, true, deep, and dark black. A heavy amount of grain is visible throughout the film as well. Unfortunately, fine detail sometimes lacks; there are no cases of outright poor textures or backgrounds, but the transfer isn't always razor-sharp, either. It is also a little soft here and there. Bright outdoor scenes fare a little better than the drab, interior shots, of which there are several. Fine detail fluctuates significantly between sequences, sometimes showing fine resolution, at others lacking in overall depth and breadth. Nevertheless, most of these issues seem inherent to the original intent of the film. It's not a terrible transfer at all, it just won't be one that won't ever serve as demo material.

My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Best Friend's Girl features a full-fledged DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack. As a comedy, not much is expected of the accompanying soundtrack, 7.1 channels of lossless goodness or not, but My Best Friend's Girl manages to impress, even tossing in a few scenes that will put a smile on the audiophile's face. In no way is this a reference track, but it suits the material very well. The track creates a nice environment in many scenes, seagulls heard here and there around the stage in chapter six during an outdoor cafe scene, for example. Music is the track's strong suit, pouring out from every speaker with good clarity and definition. Bass is solid, but never very deep; it won't rattles the windows, but has a decent presence. The track does a sufficient job of creating a sense of envelopment; a rainstorm in chapter eight sounds rather good, but most of the rain is focused up front, with ambient support, like claps of thunder, heard in the back channels. Dialogue reproduction is excellent when not drowned out by loud music and bass, which happens on several occasions. Lionsgate once again delivers what audiences crave in the audio department, and this soundtrack generally doesn't disappoint.

My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Lionsgate presents My Best Friend's Girl on Blu-ray with a long list of special features, though most of them are fluff rather than substantive. The film is available in both its theatrical and unrated editions. First up are two commentary tracks, the first of which features director Howard Deutch. The track is generally bland as the director discusses how to sell such a rude character, shooting in various locales, pointing out some of the improvs in the film, what remained from the script and what changed, stories from the set, the assemblage of several scenes, and accolades for his cast. Track number two features actor Jason Biggs, writer Jordan Cahan, and producer Greg Lessans. Compared to the director's track, this is far more lively and engaging, aided tremendously by having more than one person in the booth. It's still informative, but not as dry and focused as the director offering. Fans will likely enjoy this one more than the first.

Making it in Beantown: Where it all Began (1080p, 9:23) is a piece devoted to examining Dane Cook's Boston roots and some of the shooting locations around town. The Cast's Guide to Dating (1080p, 8:35) is a fluff piece featuring members of the cast discussing their thoughts on the dating process. A to Z: Professor Turner's Sexist Rating System (1080p, 7:57) features star Alec Baldwin discussing his role in the film and delving into the specifics of his rating system. The Prom: A Teen Rite of Passage (1080p, 4:45) features the cast recalling their prom memories. Fifteen deleted scenes, presented in 1080p high definition, are included, as are 1080p trailers for Good Luck Chuck and Disaster Movie. Finally, disc one also features MoLog, a Blu-ray profile 2.0 feature that includes both the exclusive Tanking Game and functionality that "allows users to insert and animate shapes, text, and other graphics right into the film to create 'blogs' to share with other MoLog users." Disc two of this set contains a digital copy of the film. Replayed on a second generation iPod touch, the image quality is subpar, with nice detail and colors, though featuring distracting heavy blocking in many shots, perhaps the worst yet on a digital copy. The audio is nice and spacious, sounding better than several action-oriented movies do on the iPod.

My Best Friend's Girl Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Best Friend's Girl isn't for everyone, but those inclined to enjoy crude sexual humor will find this to be a regular in their Blu-ray rotation. The film features some good performances, a solid concept, some funny lines and physical gags, and a nice mix of actors that mesh well together. Unfortunately, the film does drag just a bit too long, particularly the unrated extended version, but all in all, either cut of this film should satisfy its core audience. Lionsgate's Blu-ray presentation of My Best Friend's Girl won't impress in any one area, but the overall package is acceptable. The film features a grainy, often rough looking picture, a nice soundtrack, and a rather large selection of bonus materials. Fans of this sort of cinema should have no reservations when it comes time to add this one to the collection.