Can't
Hardly Wait 4K
(1998/Columbia/Sony 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Fabulous
Four (2024/Decal
Blu-ray)/Liza The Fox
Fairy (2015/Cauldron*)/My
Love Affair With Marriage
(2023/*both MVD Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: X/B-/B/B Sound: B Extras:
B/D/C+/C+ Films: C+/C+/C+/B-
Next
up are comedies that get personal with their characters...
Deborah
Kaplan & Harry Elfont's Can't
Hardly Wait 4K
(1998) is
a film I never loved, but understood why it was a hit and also am not
surprised it still has a loyal following. Part of a little-discussed
cycle of 1990s teen comedies loosely based on classic novels in
literature, which Robin Wood got into in the expanded version of his
classic film book Hollywood
From Vietnam To Reagan ...And Beyond
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) with all kinds of detail.
Needless
to say he points out that Porky's,
Fast
Times At Ridgemont High
and Heathers,
but not Real
Genius,
brought this cycle on, unintentionally but inevitably. The education
system is failing and crumbling (which deserves a huge separate essay
we have zero room here for) and all sexual connections (hardly any of
which ever really happen in this particular film) are goofy and nto
to be taken seriously, but the single heterosexual union in the film
is the main one the film has any serious respect for.
In
between, the film thrives on endless moments where pretty much
everything all the characters try to do or get done, any 'hook ups'
or other connections or achievements they try, are doomed to failure.
In many cases, that makes these films one-joke pictures and this one
is not totally immune to that, yet there are a few twists and turns
that separate it and helped it stand above the crowded cycle.
Of
course, you can have a film with plenty of incomplete
transactions and it can be funny, with the 1974 James Bond film The
Man With The Golden Gun
coming to mind as a film that is miles away from teen comedy (though
two teens 'save' Bond from a deadly marital arts school, for at least
a moment, in a film that might have more to do with Vietnam syndrome
than first considered) and has its own cult following now. It bombed
when first released, yet became the highest rated Bond film in TV
history. The teen films that did not do well in the cycle fared
better on home video and the hits, added to their take at that point.
Are
the teens here victims of Vietnam Syndrome or at least Reaganism? To
some extent, sadly yes, but these are comedies that do not
acknowledge or even consider any of that, making them greater victims
(and maybe the audience by association) with ignorance being bliss
leading to what little joy they have or get. Jennifer Love Hewitt
becomes the object of an invisible-to-her Ethan Embry, trying to
Cyrano De Bergerac himself into her life with the ultimate love
letter (though Pygmalion/My Fair Lady also figures in
the narrative as well,) while the studs continue to think they rule
the school, only partly acknowledging their reign (or terror?) is
going to end at graduation.
Thus,
the nerds and the Beastie Boys-wanna bees also show up, so you know
chaos will ensue and in the style of the time, all the way down the
the smart choice of contemporary hit music of the time. Peter
Facinelli, Charlie Korsmo, Donald Faison, Erik Palladino, Seth Green,
Joel Michaely, a then-unknown Selma Blair and uncredited turns by
Brecklin Meyer, Jenna Elfman and Jerry O'Connell. That puts in in
the 'American Graffiti
School of Teen Films' with talent in their early years before they
became big and many of these actors should have had bigger careers,
though many have had very consistent ones.
Some
moments are funny, some are stupid-funny and some just do not work,
but fans would think more of the former than the latter. It is
almost as good as Dazed
and Confused and more
than the equal of American
Pie, Clueless,
Ten Things I Hate About
You and the overrated
She's All That.
The Matt Dillon cycle and school of thought of more realistic teen
films are gone here.
Despite
its many flaws and issues, the film has aged well enough and is a sad
time capsule of better days, if not great ones and that is why it
deserved this 4K upgrade as much as it did. Especially as those
older versions, no matter the extras, were so back in playback
quality.
Extras
includes Digital Movie, then the disc repeats the many extras made
for the film on various home video formats and releases in the past
including:
A
feature length audio commentary from the early releases with
co-writers/directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont as well as
actor Seth Green.
A
second feature length audio commentary has the filmmakers and cast a
decade later with Elfont and Kaplan coming back and joining Peter
Facinelli, Donald Faison, Seth Green and Joel Michaely.
Huntington
Hills Class of '98 Reunion is an on-camera interview featurette
and runs 25 minutes long
Featurettes:
Can't Hardly Wait: The Making Of A Teen Classic and Life
Of The Party
Ten
Alternative and Deleted Scenes, plus six more archival Deleted
Scenes
An
Original Theatrical Trailer
and
a Music Video for the hit ''I Can't Get Enough of You, Baby''
by Smash Mouth.
Jocelyn
Moorhouse's The
Fabulous Four
(2024) is a comedy with star power that has surprisingly not been
heard about much yet, but a film with Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler,
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Megan Mullally should have received all kinds of
press, but it was issued by a smaller but smart company (Bleecker
Street) and the majors have been odd lately with female leads and
predominantly female lead casts. They play old friends suddenly
reuniting because one of them (Midler) is getting married, but it
will also bring back memories and the return of the repressed.
You
can believe that they have known each other this long and is likely
so in real life for the most part, but what starts out with some
energy and promise starts to loose steam to formula and
predictability until the laughs dry up before the script does, plus
Mullally and Ralph are a bit underused and a little underdeveloped.
No doubt the four are appealing, but this needed another rewrite or
two to make sure the missed opportunities we land up with were no so.
Bruce Greenwood leads the supporting cast and we get a cheesy
appearance by Michael Bolton that just seems lame when it could have
had more impact for what his appearance was intended to deliver. It
will be a curio and fans of the actors might still want to give it a
look. Others will be more disappointed like I was.
There
are strangely no extras.
Karoly
Ujj Meszaros' Liza
The Fox Fairy
(2015) is an amusing, bizarre dark comedy about the title nurse
(Monika Balsai) not happy no man is attracted to her, until a
Japanese spirit in the Elvis Presley mode (David Sakurai) uses a
supernatural trick to reverse that but with a twist: every guy who
falls for her gets killed!
This
is an amusing concept and the visuals are a plus, but it is still a
one-joke dark comedy (with the twist that this Japanese Elvis guy
might be jealous of other men and likes her!) that starts to wear a
bit thin at 98 minutes despite its ambitions and is not as
'Elvised-out' as many of us are. The style has been imitated by so
many and he could almost look like he is doing Chris Isaak, the great
singer/songwriter who has done his share of comedy and even dark
comedy.
Of
course, if you like Elvis or think any of this concept works, you
will be moire likely to enjoy this film than I or many might, but it
is nice to have a different film, getting made that does hold
together, is consistent and is not made for everyone to the point of
being dull. Thus, this 'Fox' is not for everyone, but those who are
interested will want to give it a look.
Extras
include a Music Video, Audio Essay by Kat Ellinger, Storyboards,
Behind The Scenes featurette, Original Theatrical Trailer and
featurette Fox Fairy Legend and Fairy Tales.
Singe
Baumane's My
Love Affair With Marriage
(2023) has young Zelma (Dagmara Dominiczyk) having anxiety about
loneliness and love, believing if she acts 'like a lady' and conforms
to antiquated, even anti-female standards, she'll find love. When
she gets older and still does not, her body and soul start to battle
with each other, sending her into uncharted territory that makes her
not feel well or herself. Its not merely depression (or a manic
variant) but just off and out of her element. Can she recover? Will
she still find love?
If
this were merely a live action film, it could have worked, but the
animation, its style and the way it is done is so smart and even
expressionistic, that this becomes more engaging and the comedy had
new levels and dimensions. Though I felt I had still seen some of
this before, it is true to its subject matter and has a much larger
audience out there for what it has, offers and achieves. Matthew
Modine and Stephen Lang are among the name actors who offer voice
work here and if you are interested, you'll want to see this one.
Extras
include an Original Theatrical Trailer and featurette Penny Stamps
Distinguished Speaker Series Presents 'My Love Affair With
Marriage' with Singe Baumane.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image on Can't
Hardly Wait 4K
is a huge improvement over the many lame, weak Blu-rays and weaker
DVD releases of the film over the years, offering solid colors, nice
detail and depth for the way the film was shot. The lossless Dolby
Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) is as good as the
film will ever sound and is not bad, but Sony did the same thing with
the older Real
Genius 4K
disc (not yet reviewed, but HIGHLY recommended) and it turned out a
bit better. The resulting combination is the best the film ever had
outside of a pristine film print.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on Fabulous
Four has some good color,
but is slightly softer than it ought to be and is the least of the
visual performers here, even with some good location shooting. Its a
bit off, but the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix fares
better with a consistent soundfield with dialouge and jokes well
recorded throughout.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Liza
The Fox Fairy looks
better with nice color and a solid, consistent look and keeps its
interesting style going throughout. The Hungarian/Japanese DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes also sound good,
though I lean towards the 5.1 a bit for working a little more, but
the combination is as professional as it is competent and gives
everyone watching it a fair chance to see if they'd like it. Wonder
if this will ever come out in 4K? Could that make a difference for
some viewers despite how good this is in playback?
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Marriage
does justice to the animation mix of hand drawn work on live-action
pieces and backgrounds, a real pleasure to see in action in an
all-too-rare these days work, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and PCM 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes are
also good and well recorded. I preferred the DTS, but the PCM might
appeal to some.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
