Disc:
Region: ALL
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 2:10:41 / 1:59:40
Disc Size: 45,174,972,734 bytes
Feature Size: 30,535,759,872 bytes / 28,038,107,136 bytes
Average Bitrate: 31.15 Mbps
Chapters: 30
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date: May 12th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Bitrate:
Audio:
DTS-HD Master Audio English 4060 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 4060
kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS Audio French 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
DTS Audio Portuguese 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps /
24-bit
DTS Audio Spanish 768 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 224 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 224 kbps
Subtitles:
English (SDH), English, Chinese (simplified and
traditional), French, Indonesian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish,
Thai, none
Extras
• Theatrical & Extended Cuts (seamless branching)
• Directors' Commentary with Peter & Bobby Farrelly
• Directors' Scene-Specific Bonus Commentary with Peter &
Bobby Farrelly
• Writers' Commentary with Ed Decter & John J. Strauss
• Clay Animated Titles w/ Commentary
• AMC Bacsktory – in SD (20:50)
• Getting Behind Mary – in SD (43:44)
• Comedy Central: Reel Comedy – in SD (21:31)
• Up a Tree with Jonathan Richman & Tommy Larkins – in SD
(11:37)
• Franks & Beans with W. Earl Brown – in SD (5:32)
• Exposing Themselves: Cameron, Matt. Ben & Chris – in SD
(14:26)
• Touchdown with Brett Favre – in SD (5:37)
• Interview Roulette with Harland Williams – in SD (6:51)
• Puffy, Boobs & Balls – in SD (10:51)
• Behind the Zipper – in SD (4:36)
• Music Video: Every Day Should Be a Holiday with Dandy
Warhols – in SD (4:13)
• Music Video Karaoke: Build Me a Buttercup – in SD (3:03)
• Around the World with Mary
Comment:
The Farrelly Brothers have made a comfortable living for
themselves catering to the depraved imp in all of us. Call
it “edgy” or “sick” or simply “offensive” these boys have
found a way to make the unacceptable acceptable. For a time
they were the dukes of political incorrectness, if not the
rulers of the domain. The Farrellys broke into the big time
as writers/directors in 1994 with the totally inane Dumb
and Dumber with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels as the
legendary dimwits of the title, and followed their success
two years later (as co-directors) with the grossly impaired
Kingpin with Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid.
And then came There’s Something About Mary and the
discovery of a modicum of respect for their characters – and
with that discovery, creatively applied, came the
appreciation of critics (an RT score of 82 vs 62 for Dumb
and 54 for Kingpin). Box office also bore out critical
opinion: Mary made a reported $161 in 3 months over
an (IMDB) estimated budget of $23M. Dumb and Dumber,
by the way, scored similar numbers ($127m over $23M) while
Kingpin made back its investment.
We first meet the title character (Cameron Diaz) in a
flashback told by the man who has been pining for her since
the night of his high school prom when he got his testicles
caught in his zipper. It’s the sort of event that would
stick in anyone’s mind forever, but for Ted (Ben Stiller) it
was just one highlight in an otherwise pretty dim career –
in respect to women anyhow. It's now a dozen years later
and Ted is convinced by his best friend, Dom (Chris
Elliott), to hire a private detective, the deliciously slimy
Healy (Matt Dillon), to check out Mary's current status in
faraway Miami. We are not surprised when Healy decides to
set things up for himself as the suitor and try to put Ted
off the track.
And, for the one or two people out there who don’t get out
much, what, you may ask, is that “something” about Mary that
is so “something.” Well, besides her obvious charms and
positive and upbeat attitude, there is Warren, her retarded
adult brother (W. Earl Brown). Warren is a potential mine
field for the Farrellys, who proved what unflinchingly
unsympathetic writers they could be regards the merely
stupid. The catch is that Mary is not only protective of
her brother, she nurtures him and an entire community
of like-minded adults. If this weren't enough, Mary is now
an orthopedic surgeon, still single and maybe even lovelier
than when Ted last saw her.
You can imagine that a woman so dedicated would be a bit of
a challenge for a slime like Healy. But he works at it and
works at it. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, goaded on by
Dom, Ted steals himself down to Miami where he and Healy vie
for Mary's affections. But Healy's not the only snake in the
grass. There's Tucker (Lee Evans), an architect friend of
Mary's who indulges in some heavy slander of the innocent.
But most of all, there's "Puffy" the dog, a scene-stealer if
ever there was, and a character tailor made to get us off
the scent.
It's not so much the plot but the individual set pieces that
will either hook you or have you reaching for the eject
button on your remote. There is enough offensive highjinx
here to keep those of us who are in for the duration glued
to our sets.
The Movie:
7
Image: 7/8
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.
While punchier and sharper than the DVD, the Blu-ray image
looks flat, dull and fuzzy with pale, pinkish skin tones.
Perhaps it was never all that highly resolved to start with
– and many comedies of the period aren't, but don't get your
hopes up here. While free of blemishes, I found some minor
edge enhancement, but no digital artifacts.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music: 6/7
Mostly front-directed, but opens up dynamically and into the
surrounds somewhat when the music appears, usually at the
beginning of scene transitions. There is a nice sense of
ambiance in the large open space of the architecture
exhibit, and another indoor scene at a racetrack encourages
the surrounds to do as they're paid to. Dialogue in general
is oddly recorded, resulting in a sense of disconnect from
what we see on screen. The title song is ingratiating and
insipid as hell, and can really get under the skin, but
since that's the point, it's clever all the same. I have to
note that the lip sync is off, and I'm guessing that isn't
supposed to be part of the gag.
Operations: 6
As I mentioned elsewhere the repetition of the opening song
for every click of the extra features menu ruins a good
song.
Extras: 9
First, a travel advisory here: There are a boatload of extra
features, something I suspect the audio designers of the
menu neglected to factor in since every one of them is
heralded by the opening bars of the title song. And I gotta
tell you that one more repetition of "His friends will say
'Stop whinin'" and I am likely to scream. Now onto the rest
of the program:
There are two audio commentaries: one of them is by the
original writers, so it's of some interest to hear about
what's theirs and what's the Farrellys. The directors'
commentary does cover some new ground as versus the many
bonus features. Getting Behind Mary is another
behind-the-scenes segment with lots of interviews with cast
and crew that's a little too long for its own good. The
AMC Backstory devotes itself to the origins of the
movie, with footage from the finished film and interviews
with the filmmakers. Pretty good, this one.
In the Comedy Central bit, Harland Williams
interviews Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, and Chris Elliott in
advance of the film's release. Up a Tree with Jonathan
Richman and Tommy Larkin is a low-key, but droll take on
the songwriters. In Franks and Beans, W. Earl Brown
talks about his character, Warren, and how he portrays him.
In another segment, Matt Dillon, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz
and Chris Elliott Expose Themselves but not too much.
Around the World with Mary allows us to watch the
finale in your choice of eight languages.
Lin Shaye plays Mary's neighbor, Magda, who, if she were any
more tanned, could pass for a mummy. In Puffy, Boobs and
Balls Shaye and the chief make-up designer talk about
make-up and prosthetics. Magda and Puffy take us around to
the other side of the camera for another peek at the
bathroom scene in Behind the Zipper.
The two music videos are unusual in that they are of
excellent image quality. This, as we all know, violates the
tradition of reproducing such short films in the most
execrable light possible. Every Day Should Be a Holiday
is a Dandy Warhols production that could have benefited from
better audio. Build Me Up Buttercup Karaoke
is played to outtakes from the movie. Is that Puffy acting
as guide dog for the event?
Recommendation: 7
Despite its extensive extra features, the relatively weak
image transfer and so-so audio keep this popular movie from
an unqualified thumbs up.
Leonard Norwitz
May 24th, 2009
