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Head Over Heels
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
One of the world's great mysteries is why Freddie Prinze, Jr. continues to have a career. Obviously an actor without much range or emotion, he simply is called to stand there, smile and act dopey. This is especially evident throughout the "Three Worded Title" trilogy of teen films he's stared in (She's All That, Down To You and Boys and Girls). Prinze jumps into another three-word title for "Head Over Heels", but thankfully, he shares the screen with a charming, warmer, talented actress.
Unfortunately, Julia Roberts-lookalike Monica Potter doesn't get much beyond a thinly written character. Potter plays Amanda, an art restorer who has a record of falling for the worst guys in New York City. She's ready to move out of her place and ends up with four supermodels (Shalom Harlow, Ivana Milicevic, Sarah O'Hare and Tomiko Fraser) that are all types. She also bumps into the "guy next door", Jim (Prinze), an exec who, at first glance, seems like just the guy she's been looking for (well, except for his dog, which constantly attacks her).
One night, she spies what she thinks is Jim comitting a murder in his apartment. The rest of the film involves mistaken identies, the mafia, models in a scene where a toilet goes on reverse and the oldest of all living gags, people falling. The oddest thing is that, every so often the film comes up with a halfway decent joke, mainly at the expense of the models (or, from the greek chorus of old women who the Potter character works with). Although I never hated the act of sitting through this movie, certainly, the film never takes off.
It's not because of Potter. The actress, who has always been a lovely, warm and natural performer, actually gives the material her best. The less said about Prinze, the better. The models are sort of all over the place. Some overplay, some get the comedic timing right and sometimes their jokes fall flat. The picture takes a very odd turn about halfway through from a romantic comedy into a chase picture - it's that point where something that's been light, harmless entertainment turns messy. It all doesn't last long though, as the movie wraps itself up in a quick 87 minutes.
It's rather amazing that this screenplay comes from Ed Decter and John Strauss, who also wrote that little feature from a couple of years ago called "There's Something About Mary". "Head Over Heels" could have been better, but aside from a few decent jokes about modeling, the film finds itself sinking fast. Hopefully, Prinze's 15 minutes of fame are up.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Head Over Heels" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and it's one of Universal's better presentations in recent months. With attractive cinematography and beautiful scenery, the picture at least provides some interesting visuals when the story isn't going anywher in particular. Some of the darker scenes looked a little bit murky, but otherwise sharpness and detail was very good.
Flaws were visible, but minimal and not to the level of distraction. A couple of scenes presented a hint of edge enhancement and a print flaw or two popped up during the running time. No pixelation or other flaws were spotted. Colors appeared bright, rich and well-saturated. Black level was also strong and flesh tones looked natural and accurate. Overall, a very strong presentation.
SOUND: "Head Over Heels" is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Although one wouldn't expect much from the audio on a film like this one, there is actually one element of the sound that keeps this from being a dialogue-driven comedy. The thumping techno-ish score actually has quite a nice amount of bass throughout and also is offered by the surrounds, filling the room with solid beats. Suprisingly, the DTS version provided noticably tigher, richer, stronger bass and slightly improved clarity and detail. Surround use for anything besides the music is limited to just some slight ambient sounds. Dialogue sounded clear and crisp, not "thin" or "edgy". Overall, what I would expect from a comedy, but I was suprised by how strong a presence the music was allowed.
MENUS:: Menus are done quite well, with light animation and the score in the background.
EXTRAS: A fluffy 11 minute featurette where the director and producer discuss how wonderful everyone was to work with; trailer (2.0 audio), production notes, cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts: "Head Over Heels" has a couple of bright moments, but the rest of it goes downhill. Prinze does his usual least, but Potter is an actress to watch if she can get better parts. Universal presents a pleasant DVD, with good audio/video and a couple of extras. If you saw the movie in the theater and liked it, you'll enjoy the DVD. Otherwise, you might want to pass this one.
One of the world's great mysteries is why Freddie Prinze, Jr. continues to have a career. Obviously an actor without much range or emotion, he simply is called to stand there, smile and act dopey. This is especially evident throughout the "Three Worded Title" trilogy of teen films he's stared in (She's All That, Down To You and Boys and Girls). Prinze jumps into another three-word title for "Head Over Heels", but thankfully, he shares the screen with a charming, warmer, talented actress.
Unfortunately, Julia Roberts-lookalike Monica Potter doesn't get much beyond a thinly written character. Potter plays Amanda, an art restorer who has a record of falling for the worst guys in New York City. She's ready to move out of her place and ends up with four supermodels (Shalom Harlow, Ivana Milicevic, Sarah O'Hare and Tomiko Fraser) that are all types. She also bumps into the "guy next door", Jim (Prinze), an exec who, at first glance, seems like just the guy she's been looking for (well, except for his dog, which constantly attacks her).
One night, she spies what she thinks is Jim comitting a murder in his apartment. The rest of the film involves mistaken identies, the mafia, models in a scene where a toilet goes on reverse and the oldest of all living gags, people falling. The oddest thing is that, every so often the film comes up with a halfway decent joke, mainly at the expense of the models (or, from the greek chorus of old women who the Potter character works with). Although I never hated the act of sitting through this movie, certainly, the film never takes off.
It's not because of Potter. The actress, who has always been a lovely, warm and natural performer, actually gives the material her best. The less said about Prinze, the better. The models are sort of all over the place. Some overplay, some get the comedic timing right and sometimes their jokes fall flat. The picture takes a very odd turn about halfway through from a romantic comedy into a chase picture - it's that point where something that's been light, harmless entertainment turns messy. It all doesn't last long though, as the movie wraps itself up in a quick 87 minutes.
It's rather amazing that this screenplay comes from Ed Decter and John Strauss, who also wrote that little feature from a couple of years ago called "There's Something About Mary". "Head Over Heels" could have been better, but aside from a few decent jokes about modeling, the film finds itself sinking fast. Hopefully, Prinze's 15 minutes of fame are up.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Head Over Heels" is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and it's one of Universal's better presentations in recent months. With attractive cinematography and beautiful scenery, the picture at least provides some interesting visuals when the story isn't going anywher in particular. Some of the darker scenes looked a little bit murky, but otherwise sharpness and detail was very good.
Flaws were visible, but minimal and not to the level of distraction. A couple of scenes presented a hint of edge enhancement and a print flaw or two popped up during the running time. No pixelation or other flaws were spotted. Colors appeared bright, rich and well-saturated. Black level was also strong and flesh tones looked natural and accurate. Overall, a very strong presentation.
SOUND: "Head Over Heels" is presented in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 audio. Although one wouldn't expect much from the audio on a film like this one, there is actually one element of the sound that keeps this from being a dialogue-driven comedy. The thumping techno-ish score actually has quite a nice amount of bass throughout and also is offered by the surrounds, filling the room with solid beats. Suprisingly, the DTS version provided noticably tigher, richer, stronger bass and slightly improved clarity and detail. Surround use for anything besides the music is limited to just some slight ambient sounds. Dialogue sounded clear and crisp, not "thin" or "edgy". Overall, what I would expect from a comedy, but I was suprised by how strong a presence the music was allowed.
MENUS:: Menus are done quite well, with light animation and the score in the background.
EXTRAS: A fluffy 11 minute featurette where the director and producer discuss how wonderful everyone was to work with; trailer (2.0 audio), production notes, cast/crew bios.
Final Thoughts: "Head Over Heels" has a couple of bright moments, but the rest of it goes downhill. Prinze does his usual least, but Potter is an actress to watch if she can get better parts. Universal presents a pleasant DVD, with good audio/video and a couple of extras. If you saw the movie in the theater and liked it, you'll enjoy the DVD. Otherwise, you might want to pass this one.
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