White Chicks



Synopsis

Shawn and Marlon Wayans are two FBI agents. After screwing up royally (busting an ice-cream salesman instead of a drug dealer), they are anxious to redeem themselves. Charged withescorting the heiress Wilson sisters (read: Hilton) to the Hamptons where they will be bait fora socialite kidnapper, they mar the sisters’ faces, and so go themselves, made-up as the WhiteChicks of the title. Misunderstandings, racial and sexual, ensue.

I’ll grant the brothers this: there …s some potential in the concept, and the make-up effectsare amusingly elaborate. This might have worked as a five-minute sketch. Instead, one painfullypredictable set piece follows another in by-the-numbers fashion. The expected raunch is presentand accounted for, but is itself rather flat, being so tired. And this “uncut, unrated” edition stillonly racks up a PG from the Canadian Home Video Rating board.

Audio

The sound is lively, if not knock-your-socks-off spectacular. The music has a good bass andexpansive sound in the opening, but lacks oomph in, for instance, the scene where the ersatzsisters sing along with the hip-hop in their girlfriends’ convertible. The surround elements aren’tconstant, but the mix gets nice and loud when they kick in (the gun battle in the opening scenehas some very nice bullet placement).

Video

No complaints about the picture. The colours are as bright and vibrant as one could wish ina comedy, with flesh tones very nicely rendered (when called for, of course). There is no edgeenhancement or grain, and the contrasts are very strong. Great-looking film, for as long as youcan stand to watch.

Special Features

The Wayans do the commentary, and the result is largely an inane collection of silly voicesand jokes, leaving the viewer feeling like the sober guest at a big drunk party. Lots of sifting isnecessary to learn anything useful. The three featurettes are largely promotional (in the case ofthe ones on the make-up and the writing process) or completely so (in the case of the “On theSet” episode). Nothing very exciting there. There are filmographies for all three Wayans. Thereis, finally, quite the heap of trailers. The menu’s main screen is animated and scored, while thesecondary screens are scored.

Closing Thoughts

I have a very strong sense that this review is completely pointless. If you like the Wayans,you’ll go nuts. If you don’t care for them, you’ve already run a mile to avoid the movie. The dischas a fine transfer, but frankly, that’s about it.

Special Features List

• Audio Commentary
• “How’d They Do That?” Make-up Featurette
• “A Wayans Comedy” Featurette
• “On the Set” Making-of Featurette
• Filmographies
• Trailers