Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Shag Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 5, 2017

Zelda Barron's "Shag" (1989) arrive son Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original theatrical trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Y'all behave yourselves now

Do you remember the various ‘beach’ comedies that Frankie Avalon appeared in during the 1960s? Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo? Well, Zelda Barron directed Shag in the late 1980s, but her film is set in the early 1960s and is a lot like the three ‘beach’ comedies with Avalon -- basically blending huge doses of silly fun and some truly great music.

Shag follows closely four girls from a small town in South Carolina who decide to travel to Myrtle Beach and spend a few days having proper fun. The group’s leader is Luanne (Page Hannah) who is giving them a ride and has arranged that everyone stays at her father’s beautiful mansion -- without the senator actually knowing any details about their trip, which means that the mansion has to be kept in perfect condition until they pack up their bags and head back home. Pudge (Anabeth Gish) is the most mature of the four but secretly hopes that perhaps this would be the time when she finally meets a boy that values intellect more than female curves. Melanie (Bridget Fonda) is the most outspoken girl, a bit of a rebel really, and ready for some wild adventures. And Carson is the most reserved one and not really in a mood to party because she is engaged to Harley (Tyrone Power Jr.) and this is all that matters now.

Shortly after the girls enter Myrtle Beach, however, their plan to stick together and avoid trouble begins to crack. First Melanie attracts some slightly inebriated boys without manners and seriously annoys Luanne. Later on, Carson meets Buzz (Robert Rusler) who steals her heart and she begins to wonder if she really has to marry Harley. And eventually Pudge begins flirting with the geeky Chip (Scott Coffey) who turns out to be a much better listener than she had anticipated. But things really get out of control when Melanie decides to enter the popular Shag contest and impress Jimmy Valentine (Jeff Yagher), a bored star from Hollywood who might be looking to hire a new girl to work with him.

The concept behind Shag is pretty simple. The script essentially forces the four girls out of their comfort zone and then gives them the freedom to do the things that horny college boys typically do in these types of feel-good comedies. However, instead of gratuitous nudity there is plenty of great music, so anyone expecting a zesty reimagining of, say, Private Resort with four wild girls would be gravely disappointed.

It is also worth pointing out that while it is tempting to compare Shag to Dirty Dancing the former truly belongs in an entirely different category. Indeed, the music and the dancing never emerge as key elements of its narrative; they are only essential for the type of period atmosphere that is needed to make the experiences of the four girls look credible.

The performances have the lightness and proper energy that these films need to be enjoyable. They also give the film the right kind of character. Sure, there is nothing here that hasn’t been seen before in countless other films about young people having fun and getting stuck in some pretty awkward situations, but anyone that approaches Shag with the right expectations will end up enjoying it. Guaranteed.

The original soundtrack is loaded with classic tunes by The Drifters (“Up On The Roof”), Jackie Wilson (“Baby Workout”), The Sensations (“Let Me In”), and The Skyliners (“Since I Don’t Have You”), amongst others.

Shag Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Zelda Barron's Shag arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The master that was used to source the release isn't brand new, but it is very, very good. The daylight footage boasts very pleasing depth; perhaps only the the highlights could have been balanced a bit better but there aren't any distracting anomalies to report. Fluidity is also good, though ideally this is also an area where some minor cosmetic improvements can be made. The darker/indoor footage maintains nice shadow definition and if there is any crush it is minimal at best. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. A brand new master would have introduced an overall tighter grain structure and better density, but the current master is already very strong and even on large screens the visuals are often quite impressive. The primaries remain stable and look healthy. Admittedly saturation should be better, but you will like a lot the vibrancy of the current primaries and the nicely balanced nuances. There are no distracting age-related imperfections. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Shag Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

There are a few sequences where I felt that depth should be better. To be perfectly clear, the mid/low registers can appear a bit 'thin' at times and as a result the overall dynamic intensity can suffer a bit. However, plenty of the outdoor footage has various organic sounds and noises so it is possible that some of these minor fluctuations are actually part of the original mix. The dialog is always clean, stable, and easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.

Shag Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Shag. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Shag Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I was very pleasantly surprised by Zelda Barron's comedy Shag. My expectations were set quite low, but I enjoyed the film immensely. The story is fairly predictable but the cast is great and the soundtrack is loaded with classic retro hits and some more recent popular tunes. It is just a great little film to see on a hot summer night. Olive Films' technical presentation of Shag is very good, but the only bonus feature on the Blu-ray is an original trailer. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.