6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him.
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin, Anna Chlumsky, Richard MasurFamily | 100% |
Romance | 81% |
Teen | 49% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
Italian: Dolby Digital 2.0
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, Turkish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Region free
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Remember when a kiss was controversial? My Girl featured the most widely-discussed smooch of 1991, a blink-and-miss it pressing of the lips between child stars Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin that might have been singled out but was merely a smaller part of a much larger coming-of-age story from Writer Laurice Elehwany (The Brady Bunch Movie) and Director Howard Zieff (The Dream Team). Certainly, My Girl is about much more than a first kiss. It's a tender and goodhearted movie that confronts life's challenges in a boldly but beautifully straightforward manner. It offers a compelling yet accessible and innocent look at life and death and all of the complexities in between. The film effortlessly explores heartbreaking drama with an uplifting spirit through a simple yet challenging narrative that sees several characters grow, mature, and come to understand, to the best of their abilities and through the prism of their experiences, the realities of life from its most simple pleasures of friendship and love to its darkest moments of loneliness and death. It's one of the most effective films of its kind and remains relevant, accessible, and welcoming even decades removed from its release.
Friends forever.
My Girl's "Mastered in 4K" 1080p Blu-ray release looks excellent with only a few caveats. An organic, medium-density grain structure appears and remains for the film's entirety. Those who appreciate cleaner digital photography may find it distracting, but it lends to the picture a pure, handsome, film-quality texture. Details are strong, as is image clarity. Natural sharpness abounds in every scene, and minor softness only appears in short, largely inconsequential bursts. Concrete and brickwork around town looks marvelously rich and tactile, while clothing and faces enjoy proper, full definition. Colors appear a touch muted and the palette a hair warm. Still, the picture benefits from lively, rich color presentations, evident where the most robust array of hues appear, notably in a grocery store produce section around the 52-minute mark and moments later on an American flag. Flesh tones likewise go a bit warm and rosy. Black levels are a concern, but not a deal breaker. The darkest scenes appear a bit too overpowering and sometimes push slightly purple and noisy, particularly evident in some shots later in the film. Earlier shadowy, but not entirely dark, moments appear more balanced and true. The image is free of any print wear. On the whole, this is a fine, filmic high definition presentation from Sony.
My Girl features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's not a revelation in any way, but it's a serviceable listen that fits the movie well enough. It's not particularly aggressive, even in its musical delivery. It's alive and healthy and nicely spaced with good, balanced back channel support. Clarity never quite reach its zenith, however, leaving the music sounding slightly limp in spots. Nevertheless, the track works well in other areas. Light background neighborhood ambience -- children at play by day, insects at night -- impresses in terms of placement and relative distance from the action. There are a few good directional effects as well, while a couple of heavier elements, like a buzzing swarm of bees, play with an adequate sense of energy and space. Dialogue is naturally center-focused and cleanly delivered.
My Girl contains a commentary, a couple of featurettes, and a trailer. Inside the Blu-ray case, buyers will find a voucher for a UV digital copy
of the film.
My Girl tells a timeless story. It's a heartfelt and goodnatured yet somewhat dark but at the same time hopeful and forthright movie about life and death and all those things entail as seen through the eyes of a young girl who is no stranger to loss, whose life is, in fact, defined by it. The film's grace and beauty comes from its rich understanding of life's complexities and its honest and open exploration thereof through a child's eyes. It's easy and difficult at the same time, a film that reflects the realities of life as smartly, simply, and openly as most any other film out there. Combined with high quality performances from every lead, My Girl ranks as not only one of the better movies of 1991 but a testament to the film medium's ability to so finely yet accessibly explore even the most challenging of narratives. Sony's Blu-ray release of My Girl features strong video, good lossless audio, and a few supplements. Highly recommended.
1994
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1988
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Extended Edition
2007
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Available on Double Feature
2004
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