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Reckless + Wild
Fox // R // May 22, 2002
List Price: $14.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Originally called "Desperate, But Not Serious", a more suitable title to this would be "Boring + Not Funny". The film waists a promising plot: essentially, the film is a female version of Doug Liman's "Swingers", as a couple of twenty-something girls hit the party scene and go from place to place. While "Swingers" had its characters trying to realize their place in life, "Reckless + Wild" offers two loud, shallow and obnoxious women who don't seem to have anything better to do.
The film revolves around party girls Francis (Paget Brewster, who is like Parker Posey without the skilled comedic timing) and Lily (the usually likable Christine Taylor). The entire film focuses on Lily's search for her boyfriend (John Corbett), requiring them to run into a lot of boring, unfunny people, including a wannabe rock star named Gigi (a bored-looking Claudia Schiffer).
The performances add nothing to the movie. Brewster is shrill and unlikable. I've enjoyed Taylor's performances in the past and she fares slightly better, if she's still stuck in a weak role. There's really little to this film and even less to discuss; there's nothing particularly fun or entertaining about watching two shallow people get into arguements with people who are surprisingly, even more shallow and unlikable than they are. I'm not surprised this film has been sitting on the shelf for three years.
The DVD
VIDEO: While Fox has created some of the most stunning presentations of the past few years with some remarkable anamorphic widescreen presentations, their recent attempt to release some pan & scan titles is really disapointing. "Reckless+Wild" is another of the latter, only offered in a bland 1.33:1 pan & scan edition. Sharpness and detail are varied throughout the entire picture, as some of the darker scenes appear murky and slightly undefined, while outdoor scenes appear crisp, bright and somewhat more defined overall.
Flaws both large and small were apparent on a fairly regular basis. While some stretches were crisp and clean, mild edge enhancement was occasionally visible, as were a couple of traces of pixelation. The print used is similarly inconsistent, with scenes that appear problem-free and others that show specks, marks and slight grain.
The film's bright color palette was usually well presented here, appearing well-saturated and vivid, with only a couple of instances of smearing. Overall, it's dissapointing that Fox didn't offer an anamorphic widescreen presentation of this title.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack fares better than the image quality. While certainly not a very active soundtrack, the music has decent presence (see the opening concert scene or, better yet, don't) and there are a fair amount of ambient sounds. Dialogue remained clear and crisp throughout.
MENUS: Static menus with no animation.
EXTRAS: Trailer and bios.
Final Thoughts: An unfunny, dull and unpleasant comedy, "Reckless and Wild" is a consistent bore. Fox's DVD offers a pan & scan presentation, decent audio and thankfully, little in the way of supplements. Skip it.
Originally called "Desperate, But Not Serious", a more suitable title to this would be "Boring + Not Funny". The film waists a promising plot: essentially, the film is a female version of Doug Liman's "Swingers", as a couple of twenty-something girls hit the party scene and go from place to place. While "Swingers" had its characters trying to realize their place in life, "Reckless + Wild" offers two loud, shallow and obnoxious women who don't seem to have anything better to do.
The film revolves around party girls Francis (Paget Brewster, who is like Parker Posey without the skilled comedic timing) and Lily (the usually likable Christine Taylor). The entire film focuses on Lily's search for her boyfriend (John Corbett), requiring them to run into a lot of boring, unfunny people, including a wannabe rock star named Gigi (a bored-looking Claudia Schiffer).
The performances add nothing to the movie. Brewster is shrill and unlikable. I've enjoyed Taylor's performances in the past and she fares slightly better, if she's still stuck in a weak role. There's really little to this film and even less to discuss; there's nothing particularly fun or entertaining about watching two shallow people get into arguements with people who are surprisingly, even more shallow and unlikable than they are. I'm not surprised this film has been sitting on the shelf for three years.
The DVD
VIDEO: While Fox has created some of the most stunning presentations of the past few years with some remarkable anamorphic widescreen presentations, their recent attempt to release some pan & scan titles is really disapointing. "Reckless+Wild" is another of the latter, only offered in a bland 1.33:1 pan & scan edition. Sharpness and detail are varied throughout the entire picture, as some of the darker scenes appear murky and slightly undefined, while outdoor scenes appear crisp, bright and somewhat more defined overall.
Flaws both large and small were apparent on a fairly regular basis. While some stretches were crisp and clean, mild edge enhancement was occasionally visible, as were a couple of traces of pixelation. The print used is similarly inconsistent, with scenes that appear problem-free and others that show specks, marks and slight grain.
The film's bright color palette was usually well presented here, appearing well-saturated and vivid, with only a couple of instances of smearing. Overall, it's dissapointing that Fox didn't offer an anamorphic widescreen presentation of this title.
SOUND: The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack fares better than the image quality. While certainly not a very active soundtrack, the music has decent presence (see the opening concert scene or, better yet, don't) and there are a fair amount of ambient sounds. Dialogue remained clear and crisp throughout.
MENUS: Static menus with no animation.
EXTRAS: Trailer and bios.
Final Thoughts: An unfunny, dull and unpleasant comedy, "Reckless and Wild" is a consistent bore. Fox's DVD offers a pan & scan presentation, decent audio and thankfully, little in the way of supplements. Skip it.
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