Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		2.5

O.C. and Stiggs Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 15, 2023

There's probably no better example of how show business careers can be likened to riding an out of control roller coaster than Robert Altman, an iconic filmmaker who experienced both (to paraphrase a certain legendary series about sports) the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. For whatever reason and whether warranted or not, O.C. and Stiggs is probably relegated to that second category, and in fact as some of the supplements on this disc get into, even some diehard Altman fans may not be aware of this film, which had a very troubled gestational period and then a typically freewheeling shoot in Arizona where both drug use and dog track betting were evidently rampant. Altman could often be a paradigm of "nothing succeeds like excess", and O.C. and Stiggs certainly is an unkempt feature by virtually any standard. Based rather loosely on a well remembered series of articles that ran in National Lampoon, rather incredibly the film was first going to be helmed by Mike Nichols, who somewhat hilariously wanted Eddie Murphy to star as one of the title characters, this despite the fact that both O.C. and Stiggs are middle class white teens wreaking havoc in a conservative Arizona environment. Altman may not have made that mistake, but the film, while occasionally snarkily humorous, never rises to the heights that its rather fascinating cast might lead some to have hoped for.

The vignette driven plot is loosely organized around the conceit that O.C. (Daniel H. Jenkins) and Stiggs (Neill Barry) have taken it upon themselves to deliver regular doses of comeuppance to the Schwab family, a dysfunctional aggregation that includes Randall (Paul Dooley) and Elinore (Jane Curtin), along with their kids (the son is played by Jon Cryer) and in-laws. Randall is an imperious insurance executive who is extremely right wing who has also had O.C.'s gramps (Ray Walston) committed to a group home, which the boys are seeking to undo. The Schwab family is a bunch of misfits, and in some cases nitwits, which makes the boys' series of "attacks" on them seem somewhat churlish at times. A series of calamitous adventures ensues, all of which tend to be very noisy and less funny than Altman evidently thought they were.

This is another Altman effort with a truly stupendous ensemble cast, which includes everyone from Martin Mull to Cynthia Nixon to Tina Louise to Dennis Hopper to Melvin Van Peebles to King Sunny Adé. That variety certainly offers the film a cartwheeling ambience, but this is one Altman roller coaster that is in fact pretty much out of control from the get go.

O.C. and Stiggs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

O.C. and Stiggs is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Radiance sent only a check disc for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage about the transfer that might be included in their insert booklet, but this is a largely very satisfying looking presentation, especially once you get past the rather long optically printed credits sequence, which unavoidably looks rough and dupey, with swarms of grain and near pixellation. Once that issue is resolved, clarity improves markedly and grain resolves tightly for the most part, though there are noticeable spikes during several interstitial moments, not necessarily due to differing lighting conditions. Darker colors like some browns, blues and greens can exacerbate some of the more roughhewn qualities the grain field can show at times (see the left side of the frame in screenshot 3 for one example). The palette is nicely suffused and detail levels are typically very good throughout. There is some curious softness that shows up, especially toward the edges of the frame which may indicate a malfunctioning lens. My score is 3.75.

O.C. and Stiggs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

O.C. and Stiggs features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio and the aforementioned appearance of King Sunny Adé may hint at some musical offerings on tap, which sound nicely full bodied. Dialogue is also rendered cleanly and clearly, though this has some typically Altman-esque overlaps that perhaps pay homage to the likes of Howard Hawks. Optional English subtitles are available.

O.C. and Stiggs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Water is Finally Blue: The Untold Story of the Making of O.C. and Stiggs (HD; 2:08:47) is a really fascinating in depth retrospective, and it's distinctive in how it presents a so-called "oral history" of the story, with absolutely no on screen talking heads and simply either newly recorded or archival audio by various people playing to assorted stills and clips, along with some whimsical animations. It's unusual, but very informative and at times rather funny.


• Robert Reed Altman (HD; 11:21) is a fun interview with Altman's son, who was a camera operator on several of his Dad's features, including this one.


• Gallery (HD) provides an astounding several hundred images culled from a University of Michigan collection.

Radiance only sent a check disc for purposes of this review, and so I can't comment authoritatively on packaging, but it looks like this is being released with another nicely appointed insert booklet and Radiance's quasi-Obi strip on the cover.

O.C. and Stiggs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The title characters in this film are more or less in a war with the lemming like Middle Class, and as such would seem to be near perfect stand ins for Altman's general sensibility, and yet this film just never congeals. That said, the cast is undeniably fascinating, and Altman completists will no doubt want to check out this curio, flaws notwithstanding. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.