7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The story of Ryan, a depressed man who believes he is getting nowhere in his life and plans to kill himself. In the middle of his attempted suicide, he is asked to watch his neighbor's dog, Wilfred, but Ryan can only see Wilfred as a real person instead of an animal that everyone else sees. As they begin to bond more and become friends, Wilfred teaches Ryan a life lesson about people, love, and living.
Starring: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann, Fiona Gubelmann, Dorian Brown Pham, Chris KleinDark humor | 100% |
Comedy | 76% |
Imaginary | 30% |
Surreal | 22% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Series co-creator and co-star Jason Gann describes Wilfred as “Donnie Darko meets Russell Crowe on a bender.” That gets you at least halfway there. The show, which is based on Gann’s Australian TV comedy of the same name, revolves around the old imaginary friend/talking animal conceit of Mr. Ed and the Jimmy Stewart classic Harvey—about the chatty six-foot-tall white rabbit—with some Drop Dead Fred and Family Guy thrown in for good measure. That last references makes sense because Wilfred has been adapted for U.S. television by longtime Family Guy showrunner David Zuckerman, who finally gets to bring his former cartoon project’s sense of absurdity into the live-action realm. And oh the absurdity. Wilfred is one of the more ridiculous shows on TV, and I say that in a mostly good way. This is a fully-baked stoner comedy that fits well in the FX channel’s sitcom lineup—It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, and Archer—and while mind-altering pharmaceutical assistance isn’t required to suspend your disbelief over the show’s premise, Wilfred certainly encourages it.
Wilfred and "Bear."
Further proof of the continuing democratization of media: Wilfred is shot entirely with the Canon 7D, a prosumer-grade DSLR that you can buy off the shelf for about 1,500 bucks. Does the footage look as great as shows filmed with more expensive digital rigs, like the Red One? Not quite, but close. The 1080p/AVC-encoded episodes all have that distinctive DSLR-cinema look characterized by extremely shallow depth of field, but the quality of the image is generally excellent. Of course, there are the occasional quirks that you get with lots of low-cost digital cinematography—overblown highlights, aliasing on fine parallel lines, sometimes chunky source noise—but the issues are so infrequent and fleeting that you barely notice them. What you do notice is the all-around strong clarity and color reproduction, especially in light of the fact that the show is filmed with such inexpensive equipment. Ten years ago, amateur filmmakers on a budget couldn't even dream of shooting in high definition. Now, with a knowledgable DP, decent lighting, and some sharp lenses, anyone can produce a professional-looking picture. That's progress. Suffice it to say, Wilfred looks wonderful on Blu-ray.
Each episode of Wilfred features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and as you'd expect from a low-budget dialogue-driven comedy, these are rather spartan, uninvolving mixes that do what they need to do and not much more. Don't get me wrong; there's nothing bad about these tracks. The dialogue is always easily understood, what little music there is in the show sounds fine, and there are no obvious audio-related flubs—no hissing, pops, crackles, or drop-outs. But that's about all there is to say. The rear channels barely get any action beyond extremely quiet ambience, and you can easily imagine the show's audio having a slightly more beefy presence. The discs include optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles.
Wilfred has its predecessors—Mr. Ed and Harvey and Drop Dead Fred—but there's nothing quite like it on television right now. The show's crass black humor won't appeal to everyone, but if you're into absurdly over-the-top comedies like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Wilfred is definitely worth checking out. Although Fox's Blu-ray release of season one is light on special features—some commentary tracks would've been appreciated—the 2-disc set packs a lot of comedy bang for your buck. Recommended.
2013
2005-2012
2011
40th Anniversary Edition
1975
Unrated Special Edition
2009
1983
2011
2011
2012
2006
The Immaculate Edition
1979
2016-2019
1995
2007
2011
2013
2012
1996
2013