Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		2.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Personal Effects Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Sir Terrence May 17, 2009

Personal Effects could have been a better movie than presented here. The story is there, but the direction, the acting, and the pace are not. The story could have been told in less than ninety minutes, but the pacing of the story dragged to the point that you lose interest halfway through the flick. While it is great to see Ashton Kutcher not playing an immature air headed juvenile male, as Andrew, he is uninspiring, sometimes boring, and almost never that interesting. He overplays the part to the hilt. There are far too many shots of him brooding and trying to look serious, that you just want to put him out of his misery. Michele Pfeiffer fares no better, as she often looks uncomfortable and awkward, and her sexual desperation makes her look cheap instead of lonely.

The failure of this movie to pop off the screen is not isolated to the actor's performances. The in-ability of director David Hollander to coax some real emotion out of the actors is hurtful to the production, and to the story itself. In watching this film, we are “forced” to feel sorry for the characters, when good direction would not have made that necessary. The plot plods along like a pregnant yak, and ultimately you just want it to be over before the ending is in sight. This makes you depressed, as the story is already a dreary one and didn't need any additional help. I didn't believe in the characters, and I didn't believe them either. The only bright spot in this entire movie was young actor Spencer Hudson. His performance was very believable, and I felt his frustration and anger. I felt sorry for him when he was bullied, and I was happy for him in his triumph. His performance was not enough to save an ill acted, and ill directed movie.

Walter (Ashton Kutcher) is a 24 year old college wrestler competing for a spot on the national team. His dream is interrupted when he learns of his sister's murder, and comes back to his hometown to help his mother, and attend the trial of his sister's suspected murderer. He attempts to handle his emotional stress by working at a dead-end job in a chicken suit, and help care for his sister's daughter. In court he meets Linda (Michele Pfeiffer) attending the trial of the murderer of her husband, who is also awaiting a verdict. They find comfort in each other in dealing with the devastating impact of the murders that have affected their lives. Linda asks Walter to a wedding she is working on, and he agrees to attend. This leads to another invitation, and pretty soon the two are falling for each other, further complicating their own personal situations. Linda has a deaf son Clay (Spencer Hudson) who is very troubled with the death of his father. Since Linda has her hands full, Walter volunteers to work with Clay. When Walter's sisters case ends with an innocent verdict, Walter emotional state turns towards the worst. He threatens to leave Linda and his home town, another problem surfaces that could profoundly affect Walter's, Linda's and Clay's life.

Personal Effects Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Personal Effects wanders onto the Blu-ray format in an unremarkable 1080p/AVC encode framed at a 1:78:1 aspect ratio. I have to give credit where credit is due, the picture quality of this release is as drab and lifeless as the story telling and acting. Every aspect of the image is toned down to reflect the mood of this story. Images are always clean and clear, and artifact free. I could not find any compression issues either. Blacks are inky deep and stable, and contrast appears spot on. Colors are drab and toned down, with the only vibrant color happening when the chicken suit (yes chicken suit) appears, and during the scenes at the weddings. Otherwise a blue tint, cloudy skies, or the use of dark colors in the clothing maintain an appearance of dark and moody tone.

Personal Effects Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As dark and uninspiring as the picture quality is, the audio is even less so. Featuring a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio encode, the mix is very sparse and dialog driven. Dialog is well rendered, and sounds very natural as the texture and tonality of each actor's voice is well distinguished. The only other elements to this mix include the sound of a thunderstorm, and the music in the wedding scenes. The surrounds are largely silent through ninety-nine percent of this movie. The LFE is virtually non-existent on this movie, as there are not many opportunities for its use in this film. This sound track is as bare-bones as it gets, so don't look for audio reference moments here.

Personal Effects Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is only one extra on this disc, and it is in the form of a Making of Personal Effects documentary that runs 19 minutes, of which 11 minutes are long boring takes from the movie itself. The rest is the obligatory "how great it was to work with everyone" back slapping that usually accompanies these kinds of flicks.

Personal Effects Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are looking for an upbeat fun to watch film, you should pass on this. This movie is truly depressing, has poor pacing, average to poor acting, and a very boring and drab visual palette you have to stare at for 110 minutes. This movie seems to fare better with women, so it might be a good rental if you are looking for something to share an evening with your wife or significant other. If I wanted to watch something this depressing, I would pass on this flick, and check out the evening news reporting about this country job and financial picture.