Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

My Boyfriend's Back Blu-ray Movie Review

He'd die for a dance.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 8, 2016

Talk about determination, and talk about unfinished business. Director Bob Balaban's My Boyfriend's Back tells the story of a teenager who is tragically killed in the line of love and who returns from the dead, undeterred by his condition and certain that now, even without a beating heart in his chest, he'll finally open up that heart (maybe literally), overcome his fears (and his rotting flesh), ask her out (to somewhere other than the cemetery), and live (while dead) happily ever after. Though its title is something of a misnomer -- he's not really her boyfriend when he dies, ergo her "boyfriend" cannot be back (though it's an admittedly catchier title than The Guy Who Likes Me But Whom I Barely Know Exists Is Back) -- the movie is a spirited tale of love after life and the importance of following through on dreams, even when zombified.

Oops...

Johnny (Andrew Lowery) has a crush. It's a crush he's kept close to his heart for almost his entire life. Ever since he was six, he's only had eyes for Missy (Traci Lind) who has grown up from cute little girl to high school hottie. And he may finally have his chance. Word is she just broke up with her jock boyfriend Buck (Matthew Fox) and Johnny will do anything to slide in and steal her heart. His advances don't really go anywhere, however, and worst of all is Missy's and Buck's passionate reunion, right in front of his face. He knows it's now-or-never, so he, along with his best friend Eddie (Danny Zorn), hatches a plan to win her over once and for all. Johnny will pose as a shopper at the convenience store where Missy works, and Eddie will don a ski mask, wield a water pistol, and rob the store, allowing Johnny to save the day and, more importantly, save the girl.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned. As fate would have it, a real robber with a real gun shows up at the same time. Johnny is gunned down for his efforts, murdered right in front of Missy. He's buried and the community tries to move on. But he's not ready to rest in peace. He's miraculously resurrected as a zombie, complete with discolored skin, fragile limbs, and a hunger for human flesh. But he can still walk, talk, go to school, and woo the girl. He's not about to waste his final opportunity to win Missy over. He'll do anything and everything he can because, really, what does he have left to lose?

My Boyfriend's Back works as well as it does because it takes a popular schtick and reinvents it. Usually, the dearly departed return in some nonphysical form, as a spirit of some sort, and figure out their business by unconventional and, by human standards, limited means. Ghost is probably the most popular example the genre has to offer. Bob Balaban's film, on the other hand, sees the character risen from the dead but as a very tangible, physical entity. People can see him, speak with him, touch him, even kiss him. Sure, he's a zombie and not a ghost, and zombies are very much real, physical things -- see any number of TV shows and movies for proof -- but it's still an interesting twist on unrequited love and the lengths one will go to in order to make dreams come true.

The movie also has some fun with the "logistics" of life as a teenage zombie. Johnny has his cravings for flesh, and he must fend off the urge to devour anyone he cares about. Other people are fair game, but it's tough going for a zombie when a little love bite threatens to become a gaping wound. Johnny is constantly dealing with rotting flesh, body parts falling off, the kind of things that could really put a damper on a date, particularly if he loses an appendage other than his arm or his leg. The movie actually manages to blend gross-out zombie gags with a deeper story of heartfelt romance, a seriously fine line that both Bob Balaban and Writer Dean Lorey tread rather well. The cast is appropriately enthusiastic, too, really rolling with the humor and milking it for what it's worth. Watch for several high profile actors in early career roles.

My Boyfriend's Back Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Boyfriend's Back features a rugged, but reliable, 1080p transfer. Mill Creek's presentation is largely satisfying. Detailing is fair and clarity is good. Basic fabric textures are easy to see, background details -- particularly all the little colorful gems inside Missy's convenience store -- are clearly defined, and facial features show good basic definition. Light grain accentuates. Colors lack true nuance, contrast is a little overly aggressive, and reds in particular tend to appear overly saturated, but there's otherwise a fairly healthy, attractive balance and pop to the general palette. Black levels hold up rather well, though grain is often sharply accentuated on top. A decent amount of wear and tear is evident throughout.

My Boyfriend's Back Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Boyfriend's Back scuffles onto Blu-ray with a rather mundane and forgettable, but ultimately serviceable, Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Basic dialogue imaging to the center is fine, though it can be, much like music, rather shallow at reference volume. Clarity in those key areas of speech and music never impresses beyond the ability to convey basic, story-required sounds while the track tosses in a few little extra goodies along the way. For example, the track manages a fairly wide sense of front-side space in locations like lengthy school hallways where little bits of student chatter, slamming lockers, and other environmental details help better define the scene. More aggressive effects struggle to find positive definition, whether a ringing alarm clock or gunfire.

My Boyfriend's Back Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

My Boyfriend's Back contains no supplemental content. No pop-up menu is included, and the top menu only offers an option to play the movie. Movie playback begins on disc insertion, foregoing the single-option menu screen.

My Boyfriend's Back Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Boyfriend's Back isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but it plays fairly well. It manages to put a new spin on a rather old idea and it gets a lot of mileage from the concept, even as it must necessarily try and find a balance between humor, heart, and horror. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release features good video with room for improvement, a merely passable two-channel soundtrack, and no supplements. The chances of this movie ever seeing much of an improvement on home video in the coming years is close to zero, so fans may as well pick it up, particularly given its aggressive pricing.