6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A sexy extra-terrestrial is sent to seduce a sweet, unsuspecting, recently widowed astrophysicist in order to try to her hands on his research, which may hold the key to saving her planet.
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz, Alyson Hannigan, Joseph MaherSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The relatively recently reviewed Kevin Can F**k Himself: Season 1 brought to mind the kind of odd "transformation" of the supposed American housewife and/or domestic partner in sitcoms from the 1950s to the 1960s. As I mentioned in our Kevin Can F**k Himself: Season 1 Blu-ray review, the 1950's tended to emphasize all knowing fathers, with Mom the agreeable (and typically perfectly coiffed and dressed) helpmate. But the 1960's started to offer what I termed "clueless" males as those seen in Bewitched and/or I Dream of Jeannie, where they were partnered with women with some kind of superpowers. I also mentioned the very little remembered one season sitcom My Living Doll, which offered a savvy male scientist in charge of a woman robot who did in fact have super powers, but who was kind of clueless anyway. My Living Doll might seem in a weird way to be a kind of small screen preview of at least some aspects of My Stepmother is an Alien, a comedy that probably misfires more than it really should, and which is built around the premise of a nerdy but obviously smart scientist named Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd), whose experiments with a high intensity beam (or something like that) wreaks havoc with the gravity of a far distant planet, which in turn brings naive extraterrestrial Celeste (Kim Basinger) to our little nook and cranny of the universe in order to investigate.
My Stepmother is an Alien is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:
My Stepmother is an Alien was restored in 2K by Sony Pictures Entertainment. 4K scanning by Picture Shop, Hollywood from the 35mm Original Picture Negative. Color grading by colorist Mike Underwood, and digital restoration completed at Picture Shop, Hollywood. Audio restoration was completed at Deluxe Audio Services, Hollywood, sourced from the original 35mm stereo magnetic tracks. Restoration supervised by James Owlsey for SPE.This is a great looking transfer that preserves the film's nicely suffused palette, while also offering an organic appearance courtesy of naturally resolving grain. There are some spikes in grain during the composited effects, as should be expected, but I certainly noticed no compression issues. The palette offers some really bold and vivid colors, starting with Basinger's memorable red dress and lipstick in her first appearance as Celeste. Fine detail is generally excellent throughout, and some of the close-ups offer really substantial precision in things like facial features and fabric textures. There's a slight tendency toward brownish flesh tones at times, kind of oddly often in the "office" sections, but on the whole things look natural. Whatever restoration gauntlet the element was put through has all but eliminated any major signs of age related wear and tear.
My Stepmother is an Alien features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 track that achieves some relatively wide imaging in moments like the spaceship landing, or later developments with the "messengers" from Celeste's home planet. The film has some really fun music, beginning with Tom Jones' memorable interpretation of Prince's "Kiss", and all of the scoring sounds full bodied and problem free. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Kim Basinger is an incredibly appealing presence in My Stepmother is an Alien, but she's so appealing that some may not help but wonder how much better the film might have been with sharper writing that was able to take advantage of Basinger's facility with line readings the same way she marauds through the physical comedy side of her performance. There's an undeniably affable mien to much of this film, but it also never quite hits the comedy gold bullseye. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package very enjoyable, for those who may be considering making a purchase.
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