Subtitles:
English, French, Spanish, none
Extras
• Bloopers (6:48)
• Deleted Scenes (10:26)
• Get to Know Bugsy the Guinea Pig (3:42)
• Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Special Effects (4:00)
• To All the Little People (5:24)
• D-Box Motion Enabled
• Disc 2: Digital Copy
• Disc 3: DVD of the feature film
• BD-Live
The Movie : 6
Marty Bronson (Jonathan Pryce) has raised his young children
in his well-situated Beverly Hills motel to believe that
things will work out if only you believe in the bedtime
stories he would read to them every night. Well, intentions
aside, Marty turns out to be not much of a businessman and
eventually has to sell out to Barry Nottingham (Richard
Griffiths). Cut to 25 years later and Marty's son, Skeeter
(Adam Sandler) works as a gofer and handyman for
Nottingham's hotel, built on the same location as his
Bronson's motel. Oh, did I mention that past of the
original sale agreement was that Barry would make Skeeter
manager? Needless to say this doesn't happen and Skeeter
thinks too little of himself to insist.
By this time, Skeeter's sister Wendy (Courtney Cox) has two
young children of her own: Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit)
and Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling), but needs to have a few days
off for an out of town interview. She asks Skeeter to do
the babysitting chore, something that for all his experience
being read to by his dad, he feels surprisingly unqualified
for. Skeeter gets help from Wendy's friend Jill (Keri
Russell): she covers the nights and he takes days. Skeeter
and Jill do not meet cute.
The plot thickens when Nottingham decided to make his future
son-in-law Kendall (Guy Pearce) the manager of a new hotel
project. Meanwhile Skeeter discovers that his nephew and
niece appear to have unusual magical powers: As he invents
bedtime stories of his own for them – this is where the
special effects wizards get to spend their money – the kids
rewrite them on the spot, and somehow their versions have a
curious way of materializing in the real world. Skeeter
soon sees the potential for realizing his father's ambition
– if only he could get the hang of how it all works.
Comment
While not as inane as some of Adam Sandler's material of
late (Little Nicky, Deuce Bigalow), Bedtime
Stories, which has an imaginative premise, bogs down
with unnecessary and implausible plot turns, and by the end
I want to throw up my hands in astonishment that such an
asset has been so squandered. Anyhow, the point here
doesn't seem to be that we accept the reality created by the
movie so much as that we indulge the faith required to
accept it.
Image: 9/9
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the
Blu-ray disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale.
The second number places this image along the full range of
DVD and Blu-ray discs.
A word of caution about calibration: There are some movies,
Bedtime Stories is a prime example, where a little
too much saturation can wipe out an image. Not just detail,
but what chance the movie has to do its magic thing can be
subverted by an overzealous setting. So, be warned. Once
dialed in correctly, this Disney Blu-ray is quite the
engaging piece of imagework. Colors are natural and varied,
with an appropriate bump for the fantasy scenes. I observed
no worrisome artifacts, noise or enhancements.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music: 6/7
Movies that are not obviously designed to show off one's
home theatre might never get the chance to reveal
themselves, but Bedtime Stories let's us know the
score early on when Skeeter tests the P.A. system at the
hotel. It's a subtle but effective test for your surround
system. I couldn't help smiling. Elsewhere, especially in
the bedtime story sequences, the mix gets the better of
itself and tries to rip us out of our seats in
helter-skelter fashion. So sad.
Operations: 9
Disney has some of the best menu designs on high def, and
this one is no exception. Every click of the remote reveals
more information about where you are or where you're going.
Now they even added a temporary chapter and time line pop-up
when you change scenes. A point off for the flip-page
architecture.
Extras: 5
There's not a whole lot here, not that much is really called
for, but at least it's all in very good quality high
definition. "To All the Little People" is a
behind-the-scenes perspective by the young actors in the
movie. Even when the adults are speaking I couldn't help
feel they're scripted by the kids. Very sweet. The special
effects segment is given remarkable short shrift. This
Blu-ray edition offers both a digital copy disc and a DVD of
the feature film.
Recommendation: 5
A great looking image is not enough to salvage this stew of
clichés. Too bad, really. The movie has so much going for
it; a clever premise and an amusing character or two: not
least Russell Brand as best friend and Teresa Palmer as
Nottingham's princess daughter looking too good to wish her
harm. The kids are the usual precocious variety but somehow
win us over again and again. Sandler plays his usual
nebbish self who discovers himself through children. Somehow
I still can't see him and Keri Russell in the same frame –
at least not on intimate terms.
Leonard Norwitz
April 27th, 2009
