She-Devil Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

She-Devil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 25, 2015

They say that politics makes strange bedfellows, but were there ever two stranger bedfellows than Meryl Streep and Roseanne Barr, the co- stars of the fitfully amusing if tonally shaky She-Devil? Barr had just become a bona fide superstar courtesy of her hit sitcom, and it seemed at least possible she could parlay that success into a big screen career. While Barr’s performance is enjoyable wacky in She- Devil, she has yet to make a follow up, and so this 1987 Susan Seidelman film serves as the comedienne’s one big screen foray.

Barr portrays frumpy housewife Ruth Patchett, a frazzled woman fairly far removed from the “domestic goddess” status Barr championed in her comedy routines. Ruth is married to accountant Bob (Ed Begley, Jr.), a guy with a wandering eye and unexpectedly lothario abilities. A “meet cute” accident at a party brings Bob into contact (literally) with stunningly successful romance novelist Mary Fisher (Meryl Streep), and soon the two are ensconced in a passionate affair. Ruth is initially fairly sanguine about it all, but when a showdown with Bob reveals how he really feels about her, she throws caution to the wind and decides to give him a taste of his own medicine.

The rest of She-Devil plays out as a kind of one sided The War of the Roses, with Ruth literally checking off a laundry list of vengeance. The film is undeniably hyperbolic and relentlessly silly, but it struggles at times to balance effectively between a trenchantly arch quality and a (somewhat surprisingly) sweet demeanor.

She-Devil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

She-Devil is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1. Elements utilized for this presentation are in very good condition, with only very minor speckling and the like occasionally being noticeable. Colors have made it through the gauntlet of time agreeably intact, and the film's prevalence of pastel pinks pops quite convincingly, as do bolder primaries or even the weird sickly green-yellow of Ruth's unavoidable lip mole. Close-ups offer very good detail and fine detail. Contrast is consistent, and there are no issues with image instability. The grain field is occasionally a bit on the heavy side, but resolves naturally throughout the presentation.

She-Devil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

She-Devil features an energetic lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, one which capably supports the film's dialogue and goofily lunatic score by Howard Shore. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range a bit wider than might be expected from a comedy of this ilk. There are no issues of any kind to warrant concern.

She-Devil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements of any kind on this Blu-ray disc.

She-Devil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

She-Devil is unabashedly cartoonish, and if taken on those unambitious merits, it works surprisingly well most of the time. There are some tonal stumbles along the way, and the film may come off as a bit too mean at times, especially since it wants so desperately to be loved, kind of like Ruth Patchett herself. Technical merits are generally strong on this release, and She-Devil comes Recommended.