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Martin Lawrence: Runteldat
Paramount // R // January 7, 2003
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Martin Lawrence left television comedy in 1993 to persue a film career and, right out of the gate, the comedian's career was remarkably promising. "Bad Boys" had him and Will Smith perfectly paired as a buddy cop team for the Michael Bay picture. While not a big hit, 1997's "Nothing To Lose" was a fine comedy with a lot of heart - Lawrence and Tim Robbins worked together wonderfully, as well. Lawrence's last few works (not counting "Blue Streak"), however, have been critically - and some commercially - dismissed, not to mention simply not being a fine showcase for the comedian's timing, either.
"Runteldat" is a return for Lawrence to the stage after several years (see also the 1994 doc, "You So Crazy") and mostly, it's a fine display of the comedian's delivery and timing, if the material isn't always that hilarious. Filmed at a performance in Washington, DC, Lawrence runs through about 100 minutes of some of the raunchiest material I've ever seen in a film that got released theatrically.
Before continuing, I'll stop for a moment to ask if the MPAA actually watches the films that they are rating. While I've got no problems with raw, raunchy language, the fact that this film, with hundreds of curse words packed into 100 minutes, got an R (and not an NC-17) is nothing short of amazing. The great majority of this concert documentary is focused on Lawrence offering sex jokes and other similarly foul-mouthed discussions of the ups and downs of marriage. Some of it's pretty funny, but quite a bit of it felt like it'd been done before by other people.
The most interesting segment of the concert film is in the last half, as Lawrence goes into the kind of health and criminal problems that he had a couple of years ago. To hear Lawrence talk about coming to the realization that he was throwing away the kind of success that he had and that many people would love to have is more compelling than most of the first hour. Directed by David Raynr, the film technically looks great, with strong photography. Maybe some trimming could have done in the editing room to get the picture down to a tighter 90 minutes.
Overall, this isn't entirely a return to form for Lawrence - it's too inconsistent - there are some very funny moments scattered throughout.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Runteldat" is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a very nice looking concert film and it's presented quite well here by the studio. Sharpness and detail are terrific, as the picture looks impressively crisp and well-defined throughout, with no instances of noticable softness.
The only issue that I noticed throughout this presentation was a few minor instances of grain and a little speck or two on the print used. No instances of pixelation or edge enhancement were noticed at all. Colors are crisp, bright and vivid throughout, with no smearing. A very nice effort from Paramount.
SOUND: "Runteldat" is presented by Paramount in Dolby Digital 5.1. The presentation is a very nice concert soundtrack, with crowd cheering/ambience in the surrounds and dialogue front and center. Those with EX capability will find that the rear surround produces some additional crowd noise. Audio quality is perfectly fine, as Lawrence's dialogue remained crisp and clear.
EXTRAS: The DVD includes audio commentary from director David Raynr, exec producer Robert Lawrence (Martin's brother) and producer Michael Hubbard, a deleted scene, the film's trailer and a 13-minute "behind-the-scenes" documentary. Before the menu, there's also a trailer (which viewers can click past) for the Tommy Lee Jones (Yes, another Tommy Lee Jones flick with him running after a fugitive) flick "The Hunted" (which, actually, doesn't look too bad for a picture in the "Tommy Lee Jones chasing someone" genre.
Final Thoughts: "Runteldat" gets ** 1/2. It's half an interesting, hilarious and raunchy exploration of Lawrence's problems and half a raunchy exploration of relationships that was occasionally funny, but mostly familiar. Paramount's DVD edition offers fine audio/video quality and a good set of supplements. Worth renting for casual fans of Lawrence and a purchase for those who enjoyed the picture in theaters.
Martin Lawrence left television comedy in 1993 to persue a film career and, right out of the gate, the comedian's career was remarkably promising. "Bad Boys" had him and Will Smith perfectly paired as a buddy cop team for the Michael Bay picture. While not a big hit, 1997's "Nothing To Lose" was a fine comedy with a lot of heart - Lawrence and Tim Robbins worked together wonderfully, as well. Lawrence's last few works (not counting "Blue Streak"), however, have been critically - and some commercially - dismissed, not to mention simply not being a fine showcase for the comedian's timing, either.
"Runteldat" is a return for Lawrence to the stage after several years (see also the 1994 doc, "You So Crazy") and mostly, it's a fine display of the comedian's delivery and timing, if the material isn't always that hilarious. Filmed at a performance in Washington, DC, Lawrence runs through about 100 minutes of some of the raunchiest material I've ever seen in a film that got released theatrically.
Before continuing, I'll stop for a moment to ask if the MPAA actually watches the films that they are rating. While I've got no problems with raw, raunchy language, the fact that this film, with hundreds of curse words packed into 100 minutes, got an R (and not an NC-17) is nothing short of amazing. The great majority of this concert documentary is focused on Lawrence offering sex jokes and other similarly foul-mouthed discussions of the ups and downs of marriage. Some of it's pretty funny, but quite a bit of it felt like it'd been done before by other people.
The most interesting segment of the concert film is in the last half, as Lawrence goes into the kind of health and criminal problems that he had a couple of years ago. To hear Lawrence talk about coming to the realization that he was throwing away the kind of success that he had and that many people would love to have is more compelling than most of the first hour. Directed by David Raynr, the film technically looks great, with strong photography. Maybe some trimming could have done in the editing room to get the picture down to a tighter 90 minutes.
Overall, this isn't entirely a return to form for Lawrence - it's too inconsistent - there are some very funny moments scattered throughout.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Runteldat" is presented by Paramount in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a very nice looking concert film and it's presented quite well here by the studio. Sharpness and detail are terrific, as the picture looks impressively crisp and well-defined throughout, with no instances of noticable softness.
The only issue that I noticed throughout this presentation was a few minor instances of grain and a little speck or two on the print used. No instances of pixelation or edge enhancement were noticed at all. Colors are crisp, bright and vivid throughout, with no smearing. A very nice effort from Paramount.
SOUND: "Runteldat" is presented by Paramount in Dolby Digital 5.1. The presentation is a very nice concert soundtrack, with crowd cheering/ambience in the surrounds and dialogue front and center. Those with EX capability will find that the rear surround produces some additional crowd noise. Audio quality is perfectly fine, as Lawrence's dialogue remained crisp and clear.
EXTRAS: The DVD includes audio commentary from director David Raynr, exec producer Robert Lawrence (Martin's brother) and producer Michael Hubbard, a deleted scene, the film's trailer and a 13-minute "behind-the-scenes" documentary. Before the menu, there's also a trailer (which viewers can click past) for the Tommy Lee Jones (Yes, another Tommy Lee Jones flick with him running after a fugitive) flick "The Hunted" (which, actually, doesn't look too bad for a picture in the "Tommy Lee Jones chasing someone" genre.
Final Thoughts: "Runteldat" gets ** 1/2. It's half an interesting, hilarious and raunchy exploration of Lawrence's problems and half a raunchy exploration of relationships that was occasionally funny, but mostly familiar. Paramount's DVD edition offers fine audio/video quality and a good set of supplements. Worth renting for casual fans of Lawrence and a purchase for those who enjoyed the picture in theaters.
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