Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 5, 2014

If you’re a fan of lighthearted fish out of water tales where a country or region assumes unexpected importance for outsiders, films like, for example, Local Hero or the criminally underappreciated Oka!, Save Your Legs! may be right up your (international) alley. If you also happen to be a sports fan, and your favorite sport happens to be cricket, you have stumbled upon a near perfect entertainment trifecta that combines all of these elements in an ebullient but also unexpectedly moving way. Save Your Legs! is based on a real life D-level cricket team about which a similarly titled documentary was made some years previously, but this film attempts to delve in a slightly fictionalized way into the story of hardscrabble middle aged Australian cricket players who take off on a quixotic quest to India to play a tournament and just perhaps meet the “God of cricket”, real life cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar.

While Save Your Legs! is undeniably formulaic in its culture clash meets underdog sports wannabes mishmash, it’s also just as undeniably breezy and entertaining. Team President Teddy (Stephen Curry) is used to encouraging his teammates even as they turn in one unspectacular season after another, but he also senses the team is starting to fray with the onset of middle age and the calls of wives, kids and mortgages. When a chance comes to get the team to India to compete in a cricket tournament, Teddy and the team head off for the adventure, with both shenanigans and perhaps the hint of romance in the offing. Cricket fans will probably get more out of the film than the general public, but with its bright, colorful settings and larger than life characters, even those who don’t care one whit about sports in general or cricket in particular should get a kick out of this often delightful film.

Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Save Your Legs! is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.36:1. This recent vintage film appears to have been digitally shot, and that results in a beautifully sharp, clear and stable image here. Colors are gorgeously suffused and radiant, including everything from the bright blue jackets of the cricket team to some luscious purples, reds and oranges that crop up with fair regularity around India. Location photography includes some stunning outdoor work with excellent depth of field. Contrast is strong and stable and there are no artifacts of any import to mention.

Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Save Your Legs! is a boisterous and even noisy affair, and the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix here is often a riot of immersion, with some incredibly impressive low end when the film ventures into Bollywood territory (yes, the film does venture into Bollywood territory). Dialogue is clear, even if some accents can be a bit difficult to decipher (the included subtitles help in this regard). Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is very wide.

Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Save Your Legs!: The Documentary (480i; 52:01)


• Bound 4 India with Ted and Col (1080p; 6:01)


• Original Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:09)


• Isolated Music and Effects Track is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.


• Audio Commentary with Director Boyd Hicklin, Producers Robyn Kershaw & Nick Batzias, and Actors Stephen Curry, Brendan Cowell and Damon Gameau.

Save Your Legs! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Save Your Legs! doesn't really have any incredibly deep ambitions, despite the passing nod toward cultural similarities and differences, but it's so brisk and inviting that any lack of high-falutin' intentions is incidental. Rather cheekily humorous quite a bit of the time, while not forsaking a requisite amount of heart, Save Your Legs! is a fantastically enjoyable experience and comes Highly recommended.