Material Girls (2006)
Picture: C+ Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: C-
Madonna
once said that the song she might have skipped recording was her 1985 hit Material Girl, but here she is over two
decades later backing a film with the tired Hilary Duff and her sister (she has
one?) called Material Girls. Trying to replace the Olsen Twins (???) with
this package deal, no less than Anjelica Huston, Brent Spiner and Lucas Haas
are included in the cast, all directed by the capable Martha Coolidge.
However,
it is a mess from the beginning to the end, with its multi-colored plastic look
and all taking place in the fashion world.
Well, The Devil Wears Prada
has nothing to worry about, though Fox might have wanted this on hand as they
rightly expected Prada to be a hit
and it has. However, you are better
having your child skip this and watch Anne Hathaway instead. At least she can act.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is on the soft side, with pasty color
and an artificial look that matches the ads the Duff’s appear in. The whole world is phony, even more than
anyone could accuse the live-action Josie
& The Pussycats, a superior film.
The 1.33 x 1 full frame edition looks worse. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix always has
something going on in the surrounds. The
combination in any case is not that good.
Extras include two featurettes, a bad Hilary Duff Music Video and
commentary track by Coolidge. Why she
did one for this film and not Real
Genius is perplexing, but she still has a chance with the Blu-ray version.
- Nicholas Sheffo
