Remember The Daze (aka The Beautiful Ordinary/2007/First
Look Studios DVD)
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: C- Film: C-
Writer/Director
Jess Manafort attempts to do another honest, raw look at growing up as a
teenager when so many versions of coming of age are sugar coated or look like a
TV ad for going to malls. The new DVD title,
Remember The Daze, instantly
suggests Richard Linklater’s Dazed &
Confused (reviewed elsewhere on this site) but also crosses into Superbad (also reviewed elsewhere on
this site) territory, but its originals title is The Beautiful Ordinary. It
is not as good as either, but shows a filmmaker that can do a serious film
without clichéd conventions and trying to be funny with no point in the
phoniest ways.
The cast
of unknowns are even good, all with limited acting experience that works to the
advantage of the film, but there is just not enough story here to either make
this work or separate it from other films like it, such as American Graffiti and Fast
Times At Ridgemont High. It is a
personal work and often has an authentic feel, but sheer inexperience gets in
the way to many times, leaving a film that is more like a rough cut than a
final product. Yet, Manafort has some
talent and we’ll definitely want to see her next film.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in J-D-C Scope by Director of
Photography Steve Gainer, A.S.C., but you would not know it from this muddy
transfer. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
has no surrounds despite being a Dolby SR (Spectral Recording) release. There are no extras except previews for other
First look releases, but a behind the scenes look would have been nice.
- Nicholas Sheffo
