Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

My Girl Blu-ray Movie Review

This Mill Creek Blu-ray release of 'My Girl' is currently only available as part of a double feature with 'My Girl 2.' The film was previously released by Sony in 2015.

My Girl Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of My Girl, which shares a disc with My Girl 2, compares somewhat favorably with the Sony disc, and at first glance one might even think the images to be identical, but there are some obvious shortcomings here that leave the image lacking behind the Sony presentation. Mill Creek's disc maintains a fairly high level of detail and a decent grainy appearance, but it's clear that some corners were cut during the encode process. Some clumpy compression artifacts are frequently visible but not excessively or overwhelmingly so. The filmic facade generally holds serve and the artifacts might only bother more hardcore videophile audiences. Detail quality is quite pleasing. Facial textures are appropriately strong, certainly not so sharp and intimae to the fullest extent but well capable of offering solid foundational textures which also extends to clothes, furnishings around the funeral parlor, and the like.

There's a mild warmth to the image, common throughout but more obvious in the parlor and creative writing classroom interiors where rich dark woods are commonplace. Most interiors take on a slightly flatter look. Outdoors, the image thrives with lush natural greens, well defined period clothing colors as well as assorted automotive tones, bicycles, and building facades. Some examples of slight black crush are evident (Veda's bedroom at the 44-minute mark) but the net effect is by no means poor. Overall, this is a fairly good image. There are some compromises to be sure, and the Sony disc is plainly superior, but this is a decent runner-up.

My Girl Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is perfectly fine, albeit front heavy. There's very little back channel engagement and practically no obvious subwoofer usage. Granted neither score nor effects demand much from the bottom, but it essentially takes the movie off. Music is nicely spread along the front, with some very mild back drift, but mostly remaining the property of the front left and right channels. Clarity satisfies for musical delivery as well as for ambient effects, which are also largely limited to front end placement. Dialogue is clear as it plays from the front-center channel.

My Girl Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are included. The Sony disc featured a commentary, a couple of featurettes, and a trailer.

My Girl Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My Girl tells a timeless story. It's a heartfelt and good-natured 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. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of My Girl delivers solid video and audio, though a bit lacking behind Sony's disc. There are no extras, either, where the Sony disc included several. This is a cheaper alternative, but it also has a few corners cut.