The Favor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

The Favor Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 10, 2019

“The Favor” endured a rocky road to a theatrical release. It was filmed in 1990, willing to hire a young Brad Pitt for a supporting part as a hunky artist, just before his big break in “Thelma and Louise.” However, due to bankruptcy issues with Orion Pictures, the feature actually crawled into theaters in 1994, where nobody made the trip to see it, despite the presence of Pitt, whose marquee value surged during the movie’s lengthy time on the shelf. Watching the effort today, and even a 1990 production year seems too modern for the endeavor, as “The Favor” often resembles product from the mid-1980s, providing audiences with a moldy take on marital blues and escalating misunderstandings, with director Donald Petrie (then the helmer of “Mystic Pizza” and “Opportunity Knocks”) trying to stitch together a proper farce with lackluster elements of comedy. It’s halfhearted work at best, providing a vanilla viewing experience while downplaying edgier viewpoints on domestic satisfaction, secret desires, and an unplanned pregnancy.

Kathy (Harley Jane Kozak) is a mother of two children, making a living as a bookkeeper while her husband, Peter (Bill Pullman), is a professor at a local college. While they appear to have a functional relationship, sexlessness has creeped into their union, with Kathy’s mind wandering to thoughts of Tom (Ken Wahl), her old high school boyfriend, who represents the sexual excitement she left behind when adulthood arrived. As her 15th high school reunion nears in Denver, Kathy grows obsessed about Tom’s current status, wondering if he even remembers her. Emily (Elizabeth McGovern) is Kathy’s best friend and a woman who enjoys one-night stands, currently dealing with lover Elliot (Brad Pitt), a younger artist who craves something more from the busy woman. When Emily is sent to Denver on business, Kathy requests a favor: to look Tom up and get a sense of the man he is today. Unexpectedly, Emily ends up sleeping with the mystery man, sending Kathy into an emotional tailspin, inspiring her to abandon family responsibilities and obsess over Emily’s experience. Peter, unsure what’s going on, tries to get to the bottom of things, crossing paths with Elliot, who’s also rattled by recent revelations, aching to connect with Emily as she experiences an estrangement from her best friend.

“The Favor” establishes Kathy and Peter’s average marital experience, with the wife co-managing a household teeming with two active kids, also making a living balancing the books for local businesses. Peter is a professor who’s connected to his computer, maintaining mental balance through a love of the blues, which comes in the form of a harmonica he loves to blow day and night, making up songs as a way to delight his spouse. They clearly love each other, but sex has been placed on the backburner, finding daily chores and a birthday party fatiguing the thirtysomethings, pushing them apart. This distance inspires Kathy to experience elaborate fantasies about Tom, with Petrie adding a sense of the unreal as the woman puts herself into the position of a sex object ready to be ravaged on a city street, or even a widow eager to make love to her ex on her dead husband’s coffin. Such mischief is helpful to the overall mood of “The Favor,” and while the asides aren’t particularly funny, they keep silliness flowing, which this film needs more than it realizes, capably performed by Kozak, who delivers the feature’s best performance.

Emily’s subplot doesn’t quite carry dramatic urgency, finding the gallery owner trying to make sense of her time with Elliot, a younger man who dearly loves her, triggering all sorts of commitment-phobic behavior as the single woman is confronted with stability. The favor of “The Favor” is a bit of French farce, but screenwriters Sarah Parriott and Josann McGibbon don’t push the innate horror of the request far enough, keeping things light as Emily travels to Denver, has an experience with Tom, and returns to Kathy with a newfound yearning for the manly man. The movie commences a series of near-misses and misunderstandings, with Kathy’s patience thinned by her friend’s commitment to the mission they discussed, while back at home, Peter is egged on by a coworker, Joe (Larry Miller), who’s identified the situation with Kathy as possible infidelity, sending the paranoid man off on a mission to catch his wife in the act, believing she’s carrying on with Elliot. It’s a lot of zig-zagging for Petrie to manage, but he maintains a low profile with panicky revelations, keeping “The Favor” strangely mellow as it winds around heated situations of accusation and investigation, while Emily’s future gets considerably more complicated near the midway point of the tale.

The Favor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "The Favor" remains in line with other MGM catalog releases. There's no fresh scan to enjoy, with the viewing experience muted by age, weakening the color palette. There are lively hues helping to break through any fatigue, including a distinct use of red to indicate sinful desires and sexuality, and period hues from 1990 are in full effect. Art exhibits also provide needed variance, boosting primaries. Skintones are within the realm of natural, but push a bit reddish at times. Detail isn't strong, with softness apparent, limiting organic skin textures. Locations are acceptable, with some dimension during outdoor events. Interior visits capture decoration, but never sharply. Delineation is passable, seldom leading into solidification. Source is in good shape, without areas of damage.

The Favor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix presents a basic arrangement of elements, focusing most on dialogue exchanges, which sound clear. Performance choices remain intact, and emphasis during argumentative behavior stays measured, without distortive extremes. Scoring needs are met, but music in general doesn't take command of the listening event. Bluesy rock stays sharp, with the sounds of a harmonica deployed several times throughout the movie. Atmospherics are minor, but domestic bustle and celebratory gatherings are detailed. Sound effects are noted.

The Favor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Theatrical Trailer (1:55, SD) is included.

The Favor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Favor" is meant to snowball into complete chaos for the final act, and the ingredients are there, following Kathy as she gears up to finally reunite with Tom in the wilds of Colorado, while the hunky enigma isn't quite the dream she remembers him to be (Wahl seems to be having some fun here with shady character interests and an amazing mullet). Peter has whipped himself into a jealous frenzy, and Elliot's confusion and neediness exposes him to a whole new set of troubles. Perhaps in more experimental hands, character madness could flourish, leading to a rousing collisions of temperaments. Petrie just isn't the guy for this kind of storytelling, with his mainstream vision restraining the wilder aspects of the plot, giving the whole endeavor a sitcom style that doesn't inspire laughs or gasps as revelations are made and punches are thrown. Some things do work in "The Favor," and for movie archaeologists, it's amusing to see Pitt in unfinished form, tics and all. However, the effort's mediocrity tends to win out in the end, leaving the picture underwhelming when it clearly wants to be thrilling.