The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie Review

Should fans wed this disc to their Blu-ray collections?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 3, 2011

They were the unhappiest couple I ever knew. And the happiest.

In The Marrying Man, a man and woman embark on a roller-coaster ride of emotional and physical ups and downs where there's more bliss, drama, and anger in each moment than most will experience in a lifetime. It's a Comedy about fate, both fighting it and accepting it, not to mention the way fate sometimes barges in and turns everything on its head. For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, 'till everything but death do them part, The Marrying Man is a movie about two metaphorical magnets that are brought together by some greater power -- sexual allure, maybe, or perhaps something with a bit more muscle to it, something a little bit bigger, even, than man can comprehend -- that try their hardest to force themselves apart, only to be thrust back together by the laws of nature that their minds and bodies might try to break but that their souls cannot and the universe will not allow. No matter time nor distance, that greater power, whatever it may be, shoves them back together. The only question that remains is whether the happy-not-so-happy-somewhere-in-the-middle-better-or-worse-just-go-with-it couple will finally decide to let fate keep them together or remain two struggling souls that cannot accept that there's only one solution to their on-and-off-and-on-and-off-and-so-on relationship for the ages?

Busted.

Charley Pearl (Alec Baldwin, The Hunt For Red October) is a millionaire playboy living a free and easy life on his father's -- a toothpaste magnate -- wealth. He doesn't have much ambition, preferring to fill his stomach with drink, spend his time with his buddies, and kick back to a good ball game. His lifestyle doesn't impress Hollywood bigwig Lew Horner (Robert Loggia, Big), who is not only an influential and respected man, but protector of his daughter Adele's (Elisabeth Shue, The Karate Kid) well-being. Adele is head over heels in love with Charley, and Charley's madly in love with Adele. Lew isn't happy with the prospect of the them getting married, but despite Charley's aimlessness in life, he sees the commitment in his eyes and allows the marriage to proceed, but on condition that Charley do nothing -- nothing -- to hurt his baby girl. Fast forward to six days before the marriage. Charley and pals are headed to a dusty strip known as Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Charley can't stop talking about how much in love he is with Adele, until a sultry lounge singer named Vicki Anderson (Kim Basinger, Batman) steals his breath away. Charley works his way into her home, but Vicky's convinced he's come to help her advance her business career. They do get down to business -- the business of love -- and the two happen into a steamy one-night stand. Unfortunately, Vicki's boyfriend Bugsy (Armand Assante) -- a local criminal hotshot -- catches them in the act and punishes them with an unusual form of retribution that will forever define their collective fates.

The Marrying Man is a stylish throwback piece that's often every bit as funny as its material allows. It rarely misses a chance to charm and never lets a good joke escape a moment. The script is incredibly breezy and fun, hitting the ball out of the park time and again until...until...it just runs out of steam and the sheer repetitiveness absolutely kills the final act. That's a shame, because The Marrying Man is a whole lot of fun and works magic with its premise up to a point. The movie simply runs on too long, goes over the same business one too many times, and it's clear that even the cast is becoming tired with the same-old, same-old of the thing in the last twenty or so minutes. Still, The Marrying Man is worth the effort; though it might disintegrate by the end, viewers will be rewarded with two excellent acts that move along with the speed and grace of a cheetah. Sure it crashes into a wall and slogs its way to the finish line, but it's something to see before it slows down.

This wonderful little misadventure of a Romantic Comedy is solidified by a strong cast. Alec Baldwin smooth operates his way through the movie, delivering a playful little performance that's sincere and funny, capturing the beats of a wealthy playboy who can't make up his mind -- even when it comes to love -- with a charming grace that really helps to sell the picture's story. He so convinces the audience -- and himself -- of his true feelings for Adele but turns the character on his head when he throws caution -- and his heart -- to the wind for a whirlwind fling. Baldwin's character is both lovable and despicable, turning away true love for a chance at a one-last-time affair, but he's so convincing in his love for both Adele and Vicki that one can't help but to admire his resolve, even if it is broken time and again throughout the movie. Elisabeth Shue's character is grossly underutilized, which is a shame because she's so good at playing the girl who's so hurt but so happy to have a man in her life that she can forgive the ultimate marital sin. Robert Loggia is excellent as always as the fire-breathing would-be father-in-law, and Kim Basinger is, well, mostly curvy eye candy in a dress. Director Jerry Rees has created a fairly convincing period piece with this one. The story seems not at all dependent on the time and place, but the 1950s-era setting sure is nice to look at and adds a bit of mystique to the ebb-and-flow of the ups-and-downs of marriage.

The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Marrying Man arrives on Blu-ray with a decent 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Colors aren't exactly vibrant, but the film only seems slightly dulled in places. Lower-light scenes, usually inside clubs, reveal decent black levels that never wash out but do exhibit signs of crush. Fine detail is solid but far from exceptional; faces can look a little pasty, but clothing textures are generally quite good. The image retains a bit of grain in places, but in others appears somewhat smoothed over. Additionally, a few minor bouts of softness eliminate some of the finer visible details. A moderate amount of background banding is visible, as is occasional blocking and a few stray pops and scratches. Generally, this is a healthy but sometimes inconsistent transfer. It's certainly not egregiously bad, but it's not eye-popping good, either. For $10, a middle ground isn't a bad compromise.

The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Marrying Man makes its high definition debut with a surprisingly energetic DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless soundtrack. The true highlight here is the music; various night club sequences, particularly during any of Vicky's steamy songs, feature exceptional strength, energy to spare, and excellent spacing. Indeed, the track makes good use of its limited resources, pushing the front channels hard and delivering a satisfying, full, and oftentimes loud presentation, the latter most welcome and fortunately not coming at the expense of clarity. The track isn't much for ambience or sound effects, though; a ringing old-fashioned telephone in one scene plays with an obvious crunchiness at the top end, but a boom of thunder in chapter nine does feature a pronounced and fairly strong low end. Dialogue is well-balanced and center-focused. Aside from the music, there's not much to this track; fortunately it and dialogue are both handled with sonic ease.

The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements are wed to The Marrying Man. Please note that the film runs 116 minutes, not 90 minutes as written on the back of the box.

The Marrying Man Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Marrying Man is a fun little Comedy of on-again, off-again romance. The idea is a good one, and the execution is fine; the only problem, really, is that the movie wears out its welcome by the third act, and the sheer repetitiveness of the thing gets really old by the last twenty or thirty minutes. Still, the movie features a few good performances, and despite its final-act shortcomings, it's a charmer for sure and far more watchable than many other Romantic Comedies out there. Mill Creeks' Blu-ray release of The Marrying Man features decent video and audio presentations, but no extras. Still, fans might want to pick this one up considering the bargain pricing. Recommended.