5.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A magical crab works wonders for a terrible chef's culinary skills, leading her towards the man of her dreams.
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patricia Clarkson, Dylan Baker, Lawrence Gilliard Jr.Comedy | 100% |
Romance | 83% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
There's a lot of magic in the air.
There's some old saying about how a woman should attract a man, about the best, direct way to his heart being through his stomach. That may
hold
true for some, not-so-true for others, but either way it's an old favorite for a reason: because it works. Well, it works some of the time. And if it
doesn't work?
Just pick up a magical crab at the local open-air market and, with its crusty pincers pinching and creepy eyes watching, whip up some deliciously
mind-altering
and behavior-modifying treats sure to get even the
most stubborn man (even the gym rat with the bulging biceps and "I'll Pump You Up" T-shirt who wouldn't eat a sweet if his life depended on it) to
melt
like butter in a warm pan. Yeah, that'll do it, most defin...wait...what?
Magical crab? That doesn't make any sense, but Writer Judith Roberts and Director Mark Tarlov hope that such a trivial little detail won't
interfere with the audience's enjoyment of their otherwise terribly standard and flat Romantic Comedy, Simply Irresistible. But, yes, it's all
thanks to a magical crab, which is a really, really bad idea, like "movie of the week" bad. Pixar made a movie
about a master chef rat very, very good, but this? Not so much (insert joke about "if
only the movie was as irresistible as its title suggests" here).
Our hero.
Simply Irresistible doesn't provide an irresistibly gorgeous transfer. Anchor Bay's high definition presentation of a 1999 Fox catalogue title suffices, but it's a very modest sort of transfer that won't be dazzling even the easiest-to-please viewers. It's rather dim and dull, with colors that never explode off the screen and rarely hint at any sort of vibrance. The same may be said of details. The image benefits primarily from the heightened resolution of Blu-ray over standard definition but doesn't usually look significantly more film-like or better textured over lower-res DVD. Faces and clothes fall rather flat, clarity is but so-so, and the image is never razor-sharp. However, it doesn't fall into extreme lower end territory, either. Black levels are decent, but flesh tones take a rather obvious push towards a warmer-than-natural appearance. On the plus side, the transfer doesn't struggle with any excess edge enhancement or noise reduction pushed to the unwatchable, waxy extreme. It's a not-so-happy middle ground for this transfer, one that's perfectly watchable but not at all a looker.
Simply Irresistible's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack isn't very desirable. It opens nicely enough, with upbeat notes flowing from the speakers, playing with fair clarity and nice spacing across the front and drifting through to the back as well. Unfortunately, the track takes a downward turn from there. Clarity is lacking to the point that there's a light muddiness to the presentation. It's not so unclear and unfocused as to lose even the basic elements, but it sounds stunted and not really allowed to flow naturally into the stage. This includes music, general sound effects (notably the plate smashing in chapter two), and dialogue, the latter of which isn't consistently problematic but doesn't always find the same level of evenness and clarity throughout. Light ambience is handled adequately but not with any sort of spunk or real, honest atmosphere; clanking pots and pans, for instance, are identifiable but not realistic. This is a terribly uninspired track that's only really good enough to get the listener through the film, no more and no less.
Simply Irresistible contains no extras, and no menu is included. The film begins playback immediately after disc insertion. Optional English SDH subtitles must be switched on or off in-film with the remote control.
Can a crab jump a shark? Simply Irresistible feels like the result when the Romantic Comedy has run out of ideas and transitions from the believably magical and whimsy to the downright absurd. It wouldn't look quite so ridiculous had the crab been replaced by a more believable ingredient, but no matter the catalyst the romance still feels dull and trite, lacking imagination and simply going through the various RomCom motions. There's a spark of chemistry between the leads, but it never ignites. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Simply Irresistible features decent video, mediocre audio, and no extras. Skip it.
1998
25th Anniversary Edition | Remastered
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