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Skipped Parts
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Although this 2000 film from director Tamra Davis (the upcoming Britney Spears movie "What Are Friends For?", "Half Baked") never managed to get distribution, it's one of the better straight-to-video releases that I've come across in the past few months. The film opens with Caspar Callahan (Ermey) running for office in 1963, then deciding to send off her daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and son Sam Callahan (Bug Hall) to Wyoming to keep them out of the way during his campaign.
Once he gets there, Sam sets out to learn more about sex, and meets the perfect girl Maurey Pierce (Mischa Barton), who originally can't seem to stand him, but the two eventually find that they're attracted to one another. The film may meet with some opposition in the subject matter (young teens talking about sex), but it handles the situation with respect and certainly isn't nearly as raunchy as, say, "American Pie". It's similar to the also little-seen directorial effort "Just Looking" from "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander, which pretty much covered the same ground. Although "Skipped Parts" was marketed as a comedy, things do get more dramatic as the movie goes along as not only the kids, but the adults learn things about life and mature.
The film at least boasts some good performances from the two leads; Hall and Barton capture the emotions and drama nicely. Jennifer Jason Leigh, as usual, attempts to create too much of a character, overdoing it at times and not entirely believable. Yet, she still remains watchable even when she's over the top. Last, but not least, Drew Barrymore makes occasional apperances as Sam's fantasy girl.
The film is cute and well-acted and it does have a very nice sense of period. Yet, it does go a little slowly and there are points where it seems rather aimless. "Skipped Parts" is a decent attempt, but it often just takes too long to get anywhere.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Skipped Parts" is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Unfortunately, Trimark's releases still seem to be not presented in anamorphic widescreen, but the quality of their non-anamorphic releases seems to be somewhat improving. Sharpness and detail are good throughout the movie; a couple of night sequences looked a little murky and lacking detail, but this was a minor complaint.
Problems appeared throughout the picture, although to a very minor degree. A couple of minor hints of edge enhancement and a trace or two of pixelation were visible, as well as a couple of scenes that appeared grainy. Print flaws appeared now and then, but the picture usually seemed respectably clean and clear. Colors looked lovely throughout the movie; the scenery often boasted some rich, natural colors that came through very well. Flesh tones also looked natural and accurate, as well. A nice, although not terrific transfer.
SOUND: "Skipped Parts" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, but it's one of those movies that really didn't need to be. The main focus of the audio is from the front speakers and it's only when the music enters that the sound goes beyond mono. Audio quality seemed fine; dialogue sounded natural and clean and the few instances of music also came through crisply.
MENUS:: Plain, blue main menus with pictures from the movie as backgrounds.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Tamra Davis, who also talks rather like a teenager herself, providing some insight and information about the making of the movie, but in-between a lot of "like, you knows" and "whatevers". But, she does provide some interesting tidbits, such as a discussion of working with the writer of the novel to translate the novel to the filmed version. She also chats about what it was like to work with the young actors and discusses the locations. A decent track.
Also: Trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Skipped Parts" is well-acted and, for the most part, entertaining. Still, it does have some moments of slow going. Trimark's DVD provides decent non-anamorphic video quality and unremarkable sound, with a couple of okay supplements.
Although this 2000 film from director Tamra Davis (the upcoming Britney Spears movie "What Are Friends For?", "Half Baked") never managed to get distribution, it's one of the better straight-to-video releases that I've come across in the past few months. The film opens with Caspar Callahan (Ermey) running for office in 1963, then deciding to send off her daughter (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and son Sam Callahan (Bug Hall) to Wyoming to keep them out of the way during his campaign.
Once he gets there, Sam sets out to learn more about sex, and meets the perfect girl Maurey Pierce (Mischa Barton), who originally can't seem to stand him, but the two eventually find that they're attracted to one another. The film may meet with some opposition in the subject matter (young teens talking about sex), but it handles the situation with respect and certainly isn't nearly as raunchy as, say, "American Pie". It's similar to the also little-seen directorial effort "Just Looking" from "Seinfeld" actor Jason Alexander, which pretty much covered the same ground. Although "Skipped Parts" was marketed as a comedy, things do get more dramatic as the movie goes along as not only the kids, but the adults learn things about life and mature.
The film at least boasts some good performances from the two leads; Hall and Barton capture the emotions and drama nicely. Jennifer Jason Leigh, as usual, attempts to create too much of a character, overdoing it at times and not entirely believable. Yet, she still remains watchable even when she's over the top. Last, but not least, Drew Barrymore makes occasional apperances as Sam's fantasy girl.
The film is cute and well-acted and it does have a very nice sense of period. Yet, it does go a little slowly and there are points where it seems rather aimless. "Skipped Parts" is a decent attempt, but it often just takes too long to get anywhere.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Skipped Parts" is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Unfortunately, Trimark's releases still seem to be not presented in anamorphic widescreen, but the quality of their non-anamorphic releases seems to be somewhat improving. Sharpness and detail are good throughout the movie; a couple of night sequences looked a little murky and lacking detail, but this was a minor complaint.
Problems appeared throughout the picture, although to a very minor degree. A couple of minor hints of edge enhancement and a trace or two of pixelation were visible, as well as a couple of scenes that appeared grainy. Print flaws appeared now and then, but the picture usually seemed respectably clean and clear. Colors looked lovely throughout the movie; the scenery often boasted some rich, natural colors that came through very well. Flesh tones also looked natural and accurate, as well. A nice, although not terrific transfer.
SOUND: "Skipped Parts" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 audio, but it's one of those movies that really didn't need to be. The main focus of the audio is from the front speakers and it's only when the music enters that the sound goes beyond mono. Audio quality seemed fine; dialogue sounded natural and clean and the few instances of music also came through crisply.
MENUS:: Plain, blue main menus with pictures from the movie as backgrounds.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Tamra Davis, who also talks rather like a teenager herself, providing some insight and information about the making of the movie, but in-between a lot of "like, you knows" and "whatevers". But, she does provide some interesting tidbits, such as a discussion of working with the writer of the novel to translate the novel to the filmed version. She also chats about what it was like to work with the young actors and discusses the locations. A decent track.
Also: Trailer.
Final Thoughts: "Skipped Parts" is well-acted and, for the most part, entertaining. Still, it does have some moments of slow going. Trimark's DVD provides decent non-anamorphic video quality and unremarkable sound, with a couple of okay supplements.
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