I can sum up this entire film in a single word; lame. There is nothing sadder than a comedy that is not funny, and this is certainly that. Bad acting, bad jokes and the feel of an 80’s comedy makes this film the very definition of lame. Imagine Blind Date without the humor. Now add blatant rip-offs from Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction. Throw in some bad jokes and you’re ready to go.
The plot has something to do with a hotel bellhop who impersonates people for entertainment, and tells …is coworkers that he knows famous people. He poses as a man who has a date with a famous model, and then once he is on a date with her, she turns crazy and starts murdering people. Sound absurd? It is, and this is only the beginning. I can sum up my feelings on this film in four words; don’t waste your time.
Audio
Audio quality is a kind of mixed bag with this disc. For the most part, the sound quality is on the poor side. There are no surrounds, and there is very little dynamic range on the track. There are also many moments that are poorly dubbed, which really wears on me. However, there are some nice moments of low end, such as the sound of gunfire, that occasionally punctuates the bland audio landscape.
Video
I’ll be honest, I have never seen this film before, so I can’t sincerely comment on any improvements that might have been made from the previous releases. I can make comments based on other films from the early 90’s, however. The picture is clear, with minimal grain. No major blemishes showed up on the screen as I made my way through the film. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the image as a whole. It’s not a great transfer, but considering the small number of units that this title is going to sell, I am surprised that so much time was put into the quality of the picture.
Special Features
What goes into making a bad film? Find out for yourself, by watching this film with the director’s commentary turned on. If there is one thing I can say about this commentary track, the director certainly is chatty. This is a very informative track by the creator of TV’s Sledge Hammer that talks like he has ADD. Other extras include a surprising number of trailers (which are listed below) and three deleted scenes with optional commentary. As is usually the case, these scenes were cut out for a good reason. As bad as this film is, the outtakes are worse. They are also, incidentally, unfinished, as they are presented in full screen, and some of the shots aren’t even in color. Finally, the disc includes a theatrical promotional featurette, which is a different way of saying “electronic press kit”, which is another way of saying “filler material”.
Conclusion
This is a bad film, with more extras than it deserves. I can honestly find no reason why anyone would actually want to watch this film if they had the choice. With so many great comedies out there from the 80’s and early 90’s, why would you want to waste your time with something as bad as this? If you want to see a quality film in this style that is actually entertaining, check out Martin Scorsese’s After Hours.
Special Features List
- Trailers for Hexed, Little Black Book, 50 First Dates, The Sweetest Thing, D.E.B.S., Stripes and a collection of Columbia Picture’s 80’s Hits
- Three deleted scenes with optional directors commentary
- Theatrical Promotional Featurette
- Director’s Commentary
