The Oranges Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Oranges Blu-ray Movie Review

Difficult to peel.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf July 1, 2013

It’s a tremendous challenge to make a movie about an unlikable character, especially one who commits to unsavory business despite enjoying all the opportunity in the world to avoid trouble. It takes a special directorial touch to pull off such a juggling act, making sure the viewer doesn’t completely turn on the person intended to act as the emotional through line for the entire picture. “The Oranges” almost achieves a surprising stability when it comes to the dirty business of its lead character, displaying refreshing comfort with repugnant behavior that openly trashes numerous lives. That “The Oranges” hopes to tickle a few funny bones along the way is a bit of a stretch, yet helmer Julian Farino manages to corral a decent comedy about domestic disorder, working through clichéd bits of toxic suburban unrest with a modicum of dignity, keeping the effort light and approachable despite subplots that would register as chilling in real life.

In South Orange, New Jersey, The Wallings live a contented existence. David (Hugh Laurie) and his wife Paige (Catherine Keener) are balancing a practical marriage, watching son Toby (Adam Brody) make his presence felt in the working world, while post-grad daughter Vanessa (Alia Shawkat) flounders at home, unable to screw up the courage and move out. Their neighbors, The Ostroffs, with Terry (Oliver Platt), wife Cathy (Allison Janney), and their daughter Nina (Leighton Meester), also make a peaceful home, skillfully containing their dysfunction. As the fathers bond and the mothers play nice, Vanessa is particularly distrustful of Nina, horrified to see her rival move back home after a bitter breakup with her loser boyfriend, Ethan (Sam Rosen). With both houses in disorder and Cathy eager to push Toby on her newly single daughter, Nina decides to follow her heart and make a pass at David, who’s willing to drop everything to be with her, torching his marriage and longstanding friendships to pursue forbidden love. As both families crumble in response to the unlikely pairing, Nina and David try to stay the course, making a go of their relationship, which comes to liberate them from their suburban slumber, eventually snapping everyone out of their daze.

The most liberating element contained within the screenplay by Ian Helfer and Jay Reiss is a commitment to discomfort. David isn’t just flirting with Nina, he embarks on a full-fledged relationship with the girl, the daughter of his best friend and neighbor. Normally, this type of dramatic behavior is cause for contempt, keeping David an icky, self-involved homewrecker begging to be hanged for his crimes. However, “The Oranges” maintains composure when it comes to the May-December romance, using the outrage as a way to expose every character’s inflexibility after decades of dormancy. Nina and David seem to genuinely like each other, keeping the spirit of their pairing within the realm of possibility, despite its considerable collateral damage. There’s an effort here to divert from easy condemnation, to try and understand the desires in play instead of going full cartoon with revenge scenarios.

While “The Oranges” works unexpectedly well as drama, it’s rarely funny. The setting of suburban complacency is hackneyed, though Farino doesn’t push the picture into “American Beauty” rigidity, keeping satire to a dull roar as the dads bond over grilling season and the moms carry on sexlessly. The cast remains animated and engaged as the plot expands to track the fallout from David and Nina’s coupling, taking a few minutes to comprehend how everyone is coping, with Vanessa our guide into this mess, narrating the proceedings while wiggling through a delayed maturation period. Laughs are rare in “The Oranges,” which doesn’t possess a sharp enough wit to make an impression. It’s more interesting wallowing in discomfort than horsing around with familiar visions of homestead meltdowns.

Pieces are missing from “The Oranges,” especially when the story finds its way to the third act, with sudden gaps in characterization and confession revealing themselves through awkward transitions. It feels like the picture was severely edited to keep palatability a possibility, watering down the offenses to a quick 85 minutes, which also makes room for the saga of Ethan, who returns to claim Nina after realizing his mistake. It’s a shame Farino couldn’t make time to delete this aggravating character as well. “The Oranges” rushes to an end, which makes an impossible quest to carefully land the plot without sacrificing viewer sympathy all the more impossible. Farino greases squeaky wheels with an appealing Christmastime setting and a dedication to keeping David and Nina honest about their feelings, but the material takes one too many abrupt turns for comfort, creating a shallow sense of closure.

The Oranges Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation shows some difficulty with crush issues, finding deep blacks on outfits and evening encounters solidified, lacking intended textures. Colors are perhaps the most laudable element of the viewing experience, delivering a nice pop of primaries that communicate the setting superbly, while eye colors and varied interiors also show distinct life onscreen. Christmas lighting is also a standout, with glowing red and green hues that sell the season vividly. Skintones are pinkish and human. Fine detail is open for inspection, with a fine array of textured faces to study, and interior decoration is equally expressive, adding to characterizations.

The Oranges Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix is more of a rudimentary effort for the relatively subdued picture, rarely stepping beyond a simple sonic hold. Surrounds are engaged for scoring needs, pushed out to envelop the listener in the musical moods of the film, while soundtrack selections are also circular, with a satisfactory low-end presence. Dialogue exchanges retain their intended emotional beats and group encounters are separated with clarity, though conversations register somewhat dull, missing a little urgency in the front stage. Holiday celebratory scenes are successfully articulated and deployed. Suburban atmospherics are handled with care, setting the idyllic mood.

The Oranges Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• "Opening Doors: Inside 'The Oranges'" (6:32, HD) is a traditional EPK featurette, using its relatively short run time to sell the picture in the best possible light. Director Farino is present, along with most of the cast (Keener shows up to the interview in sunglasses with a hat pulled down tight over her face), and they share the experience of working on "The Oranges," describing how they approached the tone of the material and shaped difficult characterizations. Laurie manages to land some jokes along the way. It has a used car salesmanship feel, but it's palatable.

• "Juicy Secrets: Behind the Scenes of 'The Oranges'" (3:22, HD) returns to Farino and the cast, though this time interviews are conducted in a junket setting. The mood is conversational, with the participants articulating the emotional bullet points of the picture and sharing their favorite scenes.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

The Oranges Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's tricky to suggest a movie about a philandering man and his taboo lover could be approachable, but "The Oranges" manages to survive some problematical interactions, committing to the heart of the characters instead of hurriedly condemning them. It's far from a perfect picture, perhaps a little too rough around the edges for comfort, but there's a vague sense of tonal adventure here that's compelling, articulated by an able cast who imbue the potential chaos with humanity, making desires and personal transformations palatable despite a premise that requires a few squirts of Purell to embrace in full.