Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Sisters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 9, 2016

Life's linear cycle is a funny thing. Kids quickly want to grow up and grown ups want to be kids again. Kids can't wait to get away from home but can't bring themselves to leave when they come back as adults. The future looks bright but the past almost always looks brighter. People love to remember, with fondness, the days of old, the simpler, freer times when life's burdens weren't so burdening and the challenges of adulthood were seen only through the prism of ignorant, youthful bliss. Sisters is a Comedy about coming home and accepting the final death knell of days gone by when the childhood home is sold to strangers. Suddenly it's not a memory or even a safe place, it's a battleground for survival. But this losing war won't be fought with sticks and stones. No, it'll go down in a blaze of liqueured up and drugged out glory. The popular comedic duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler team up as sisters who send off their past with one final shebang before reaching the point of no childhood return...unless they come to learn that four walls and a roof does not a home make.

Who to invite...who to invite...

Maura's (Amy Poehler) parents (Dianne Wiest and James Brolin) have decided to sell the family abode in Orlando, the house Maura called home for much of her life. It's a shock -- it represents most everything she's ever loved -- and if she's not taking it well, there's no way her sister Kate (Tona Fey) will take it better. Maura surreptitiously convinces Kate to come with her to Orlando to help her clean out their rooms, but no sooner do they arrive, they find a "sold" sign in the yard. The house is off the market, and it's only a matter of hours before all of the contract I's are dotted and T's are crossed. It's a real bummer, but the girls have fun reminiscing about the good old days as they rummage through their room. They come to the conclusion that the only way to give the house a proper send-off is to throw one last big party in it. Most everyone is invited, including old acquaintances Dave (John Leguizamo) and Alex (Bobby Moynihan), but not Brinda (Maya Rudolph), who feels slighted by the diss and who will do everything in her power to make sure the party doesn't go as planned.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are not real life sisters, and physically they don't resemble sisters, but they seem indelibly attached at the hip in the greater world of celebrity and certainly in Sisters. In the film, they command the screen with an uncanny depth of combined character. Neither Fey's Kate nor Poehler's Maura are particularly novel or even interesting characters, but the actresses' abilities to so richly shape their relationship almost completely hides the rather unimaginative character angles that drive them throughout the movie. They are, for all intents and purposes, Sisters, and everything else merely seems like background noise supporting their antics and relationship with one another, even when they're occasionally left to their own devices, Kate working through her personal issues and playing "party mom" and Maura engaged in hijinks with a hunky handyman. The chemistry-laden duo laps up every last bit of uncreative nonsense the movie throws their way and transforms all of those been-there, done-that shenanigans into an entertaining romp through midlife crises by way of a childhood prism blended with the mother of all over-40 parties.

And all of that filler around Fey and Poehler really is just that: filler. The movie plays home to all of the party movie permutations and character angles, the comically accidental overdoses, the strange hookups, and all sorts of mayhem. The characters and the house all get wrecked in their own zany ways and in support of the core theme about the bond of blood and its ability to withstand even the most upsetting changes. The movie does well enough to balance its underlying message with the nonstop party assault, at least in its second half. The first half can be a drag as the sisters reunite and drone on in scenes that are too long for the comedic value they offer, such as when they try on new clothes at a trendy shop. Nevertheless, those who stick with it are rewarded with a full-on assault of well balanced and legitimately funny humor once the party gets rolling. The movie's supporting cast really nails down several key and/or fun side roles, including good work from Maya Rudolph, Bobby Moynihan, and WWE Superstar John Cena.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sisters' 1080p transfer is dominated by its barrage of cheery Florida colors. When the sisters arrive in the airport, the audience is greeted by eye-popping pinks and blues and, outside, greens. Every color is vibrantly pronounced, perhaps lacking the most subtle nuances but certainly presenting with enough vigor and vitality to nearly blind everyone in the audience. Image detailing is excellent, even as the digitally sourced presentation suffers from an inherent flatness and, sometimes, almost plastic-like veneer. It's a terribly smooth image, but at the same time raw texturing always stands out, whether rough brick and mortar, finer fabric lines, intimate facial features, or all of the little odds and ends background graffiti, bottles, and home accents seen strewn about during the party. Nighttime exteriors hold up well, producing positive black levels. Skin tones are always more neutral than anything else. Light but almost always evident noise is an unwelcome intrusion, particularly in darker scenes, but Universal's transfer is otherwise technically proficient and absent any other unwanted artifacts.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sisters parties hard on Blu-ray with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack that, like the movie, only intensifies in its second half. Nearly the entire first hour presents a rather flat, bland listen, dominated by dialogue and music that's not particularly forceful or robust. Ambience is minimal. Heavier party beats later in the movie, like Snow's Informer, offer a much more substantial and wide stage presence and, most appreciably, a heavier low end support. General party din is always nicely filling across the wild interior segments and even some of the more prominent outdoor moments. Two key sound effects later in the movie range from fair to great. To avoid spoilers, a large object falls but does so without the sort of tremendous, foundation-shaking oomph one would expect, but another effect moments later offer a punchier, fuller presence fit for a moment of that scale. Dialogue is always clear and well prioritized, even under the challenges of the heaviest musical beats and din at the party.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sisters contains a wide array of fluffy bonus features alongside an audio commentary track and a number of deleted and extended scenes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase. The disc also includes both the film's theatrical and unrated cuts.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): The Dan and Kim Story (6:29), The Cover Charge Runner (2:29), Arrival at the Parents' Condo (1:14), Kate's Tale of Woe (1:24), Maura Controls Her Feelings (1:38), Maura Pushes Too Hard (1:29), Brinda Wreaks More Havoc (0:57), The Geernts Get Theirs (1:56), and Maura Takes One Last Look (0:29).
• Extended Scenes (1080p): Shopping with Brinda (4:25), Hae-Won Arrives (0:59), Uh-Oh -- It's A Popo (1:41), Kate Has to Party-Mom Kelly (2:19), Kate and Alex Go Downhill (0:58), Maura and James Review High School (1:14), Hae-Won and Kate Reminisce (1:12), Brinda Gets the Sale (1:25), and Be That You (2:42).
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:17).
• The Improvorama (1080p, 8:40): The cast makes up funny lines on-the-fly.
• How to Throw a Party (1080p, 1:36): The sisters get some advice on throwing a great party.
• Grown-Up Parties Suck (1080p, 5:18): A collection of awkward character moments from a dead party.
• The Alex Chronicles (1080p, 2:51): Bobby Moynihan outtakes.
• The Kate and Pazuzu Chronicles (1080p, 2:05): Fun outtakes featuring Tina Fey and John Cena.
• A Teen Movie...For Adults (1080p, 10:26): The meatiest featurette sees cast and crew offering a quick overview of the production, story themes, characters, genre tropes, sets and locations, the movie's humor, Director Jason Moore's work, making one of the major sequences near film's end, and more.
• The Original Sister (1080p, 6:40): Writer Paula Pell, along with her sister Patti, discusses her real-life inspirations for the movie, followed by readings from her real teenage diary.
• Pool Collapse VFX (1080p, 0:50): A quick breakdown of the one of the movie's key special effects.
• Audio Commentary: Director Jason Moore, Star/Producer Tina Fey, Star/Executive Producer Amy Poehler, and Writer Paula Pell deliver a well-versed track that covers a broad range of anecdotal details and technical insights that fill in the movie and reveal some of its secrets. Fans should find this an agreeable listen.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sisters probably won't go down as a genre classic -- its burdensome and uneven first half all but ensures that -- but it's a lot of fun once it gets rolling. A terrific lead tandem and a strong supporting cast accentuate the movie's finest qualities and story themes. Universal's Blu-ray release comes packed to the gills with featurettes, deleted and extended scenes, and an audio commentary. Picture quality is great and sound is fine. Recommended.