A Night At the Roxbury (Special Collector’s Edition)

I don’t care what anyone thinks, A Night at the Roxbury is awesome. Back when Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan would do the skits on Saturday Night Live I loved it, and when the movie came out I pumped. This was back when I was barley a teenager and for me, this one has still got it. The hard part is explaining why this movie is so funny to me and its cult following. It has no real story, character development, etc. But still it manages to keep me laughing, time and time again. I’ll get more into that later, for those of you who haven’t seen A Night at the Roxbury I’ll play it out for you.

It doesn’t really get much simpler than this; Doug (Chris Kattan, Corky Romano) and Steve (Will Ferrell, Blades of Glory) Butabi (Are they brothers? No…. Yes!) love the nightlife, and aspire to be club owners. The only thing is they can’t ever get into any clubs despite there flashy threads and their dad’s BMW. Until one night a chance accident with Richard Grieco (21 Jump Street) leads them into the doors of the infamous Roxbury. Here they meet the clubs owner Benny Zadir (Chazz Palminteri, Running Scared) and hit it off with him and some club girls. The girls of course think they have money, and spend the night with them at Zadir’s house party. The Butabi’s pitch an idea for a club to Mr.Zadir that he loves, but apparently the next morning his assistant Dooey (Colin Quinn, Saturday Night Live) says that wasn’t the first time he picked up some losers and dumped them the next day. Everything seems to be falling apart for the Butabi brothers, can they get it together? Wow that makes this movie sound a whole lot more dramatic than it is.

Well A Night at the Roxbury could hardly be referred to as comic genius, the onslaught of constant slapstick humor really works in its favor. It’s the many little quips along with the physical humor that makes this movie so enjoyable to me. This is classic Will Ferrell material, and really could be considered his launch into what has since become a remarkable comedic career. But aside from all of that, if you haven’t seen this one and either enjoyed the skits on SNL or love Will Ferrell’s new stuff you have got to check this one out. If you aren’t into the slapstick humor this one might not be for you. But I know for my generation this one will go down with classic status along with its memorable lines.

Video

Presented in 1.85:1 Widescreen Roxbury’s return to DVD is sparkling. I must say right from the start, that compared to the original DVD release there is quite a noticeable difference. If you are looking for double dip this may be reason enough. I was blown away on how clear this transfer was, softness simply wasn’t in sight. Detail that was completely missing from the prior release is now shown clearly. Colors themselves also looked brighter and richer. The print itself was also cleaned up as both grain and artifacts were almost non existent.

As I said earlier, I was not expecting a great transfer for this movie prior to watching it. After seeing it I can truly say that it looks great and should no be missed by fans.

Audio

Paramount has included a 5.1 Dolby Digital track for this re release, and although it doesn’t provide a big upgrade like the video, it still sounds great. There are quite a few night club scenes, these of course sound great, producing great atmosphere. Sub and rear channel support for these scenes boom, almost replicating the sound found in a club. There were some minor balancing issues between the dialogue and the music, but this was a rarity. As for dialogue, it sounded clear with no severe problems with it. Overall we are given a very good track for this comedy, crank it up and listen to “What is Love?”

Special Features

The new Special Collector’s Edition provides a handful of interesting features worth checking out. The features provide a lot of information on the film including the origins of the Butabi brothers.

• Score! Reliving A Night At The Roxbury – (24:15) A discussion on the origins of Night At The Roxbury. Prior to this feature I was unaware that Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell created these characters before they were SNL. Once on SNL the skit proved to be a hit and a movie was created shortly after. A later part of the feature interviews actors like Colin Quinn and Chazz Palminteri as they discuss the characters they play.
• Roxbury Rags: Costume and Fashion Guide – (9:07)This feature focuses on the costumes in the movie. Costume designer Mona May discusses the 80’s look she wanted the Butabi brothers to have.
• Do That Dance! – (5:16) A look at the dance sequence mid way through the film. This is the most boring of the features as it doesn’t offer anything interesting.
• Making The List – (8:53) A discussion with real life club owners on what makes a good club. The common consensus seems to be that music is the most important aspect of the club. Overall this feature provides an interesting look at night clubs.

Final Thoughts

I know amongst a lot of people I’ll get some flak for enjoying this one so much, but how could you not love Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell as the Butabi brothers? Really, this one always gets me laughing, and now with its newly released DVD, I’m really pleased. The audio and video presentations have improved since the release of the past DVD, plus the inclusion of a few more features. If you like the movie then go ahead and pick yourself up a copy of the newly released DVD, otherwise go give it a rent its worth it.