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Say It Isn't So
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
The Farrelly Brothers have had some mixed success themselves - although "Something About Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" were hits, "Kingpin" and "Me, Myself and Irene" were considered misses. Yet, their "brand name" has brought them enough success that they could start producing movies and giving their co-workers some major work of their own. Farrelly first assistant director James B. Rodgers took over one of the screenplays that the brothers apparently didn't have time to direct themselves, "Say It Isn't So!". The only problem is that the film's marketing pushed the Farrelly name in every ad and poster (so much that many people who I talked to thought it was directed by the Farrellys), when the movie itself really wasn't in the Farrelly style.
There are a few gross-out jokes and gags, but the majority of the film felt like a simple romance. Chris Klein ("American Pie") plays Gilly Noble, an Indiana animal catcher who's still looking for the love of his life. When he takes one look at the town's new hairstylist, Jo Wingfield (Heather Graham), he falls hard (and loses quite a bit as he sits down for a haircut).
After Gilly gets out of the hospital, the two fall in love with each other and, for a little while, things look good. Then, the problems arise. Gilly has been looking for his parents and one night, he gets the call...and finds out that Jo is his sister. After the initial shock and horror, Jo runs off to Beaver, Oregon to marry a millionare. Meanwhile, Sally Field (who deserved a worse role after directing "Beautiful") plays trashy as Jo's mother, who wants to stop Gilly once he finds out that the whole thing about Jo being his sister is a mistake.
One of the few funny bits of the picture is a role for comedian Orlando Jones, who plays legless pilot Dig Mcaffrey, who helps out Gilly in his quest to get Jo back. Jones is one of the few actors in the picture who has genuine comedic timing and as a result, his scenes are definitely the funniest. Klein, on the other hand, is noticably mis-cast as Gilly. A generally bland actor, he's completely lost when it comes to comedy. Graham has previously exhibited fine comedic skills, but she's not asked to do much more than smile here. The romance really doesn't work that well because the two don't have good chemistry together.
Director Rodgers doesn't seem to know how to mine the gags as well as the Farrellys do, although to be fair, he's working with material that's less funny than any of the Farrelly Brothers movies. Although the brothers weren't able to bring in better material, they do at least loan some of their usual crew: Mark Irwin provides glossy cinematography, Larry Madaras handles the editing and Sydney J. Bartholomew Jr. again provides production design.
"Say It Isn't So" isn't the worst film that I've seen all year, but director Rodgers can't make much of an entertaining gross-out comedy or romance from the lackluster material. Rodgers next effort is directing "American Pie 2" while the Farrellys try a mix of live-action and animation in "Osmosis Jones". Still, it doesn't seem as if either will ever hit the high note that was the overlooked gem "Kingpin".
The DVD
VIDEO: "Say It Isn't So" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and it's another fine transfer from Fox. Although not the best presentation that Fox has offered, it's still very pleasing throughout. Sharpness and detail are quite good, and Mark Irwin (as he did in "Kingpin" and "Irene") captures the beautiful scenery behind the comedy quite well.
Print flaws are minimal - I only noticed a few minor speckles during the film, but no more than that. A couple of tiny instances of edge enhancement pop up, but aren't really that noticable, and I didn't see any pixelation, either. Colors appeared bright and natural, looking well-saturated and never smeared. Some of the outdoor scenes provided especially beautiful greens and the usual wildlife palette.
SOUND: "Say It Isn't So" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Rodgers seems to stick with the Farrelly mentality when it comes to using audio - meaning, next to no activity. As a comedy, this is generally already expected, though. Surround use is next to nothing - they're used for the music occasionally, but that's about it. Audio quality was very good - the music sounded clear and clean, as did dialogue. Not a very dynamic or agressive soundtrack at all, but generally works okay for the material.
MENUS:: Nicely animated main & sub menus with clips and audio from the movie.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary from director James B. Rodgers and actor Chris Klein. Rodgers is there to provide actual information and some stories from the production. Klein, on the other hand, seems to be there to simply say that everyone in the movie was great, every scene was great, every joke was great. The commentary may be worth sitting through because Rodgers provides some interesting tidbits, but (with only a couple exceptions) Klein simply heaps praise on every person involved and talks endlessly about how he loved all of the jokes.
Deleted Scenes: 6 deleted scenes are presented with optional commentary from Rodgers and occasionally Klein. These scenes are deleted seemingly because either they weren't funny or they were taken out due to time.
Featurette: This is a 4 minute "making of" that often seems like an extended trailer. Interviews with the cast and crew are provided as well as the usual clips and behind-the-scenes footage. Jones hosts.
Also: Theatrical trailer and 5 TV Spots. There was apparently going to be a Comedy Central show about the movie included on the disc, but it didn't end up on the final DVD.
Final Thoughts: I laughed once or twice throughout "Say It Isn't So", but ultimately it suffers from a lackluster screenplay that isn't brought to life on-screen by the cast or crew. Fox's DVD provides fine audio/video quality and some decent extras. A light rental recommendation.
The Farrelly Brothers have had some mixed success themselves - although "Something About Mary" and "Dumb and Dumber" were hits, "Kingpin" and "Me, Myself and Irene" were considered misses. Yet, their "brand name" has brought them enough success that they could start producing movies and giving their co-workers some major work of their own. Farrelly first assistant director James B. Rodgers took over one of the screenplays that the brothers apparently didn't have time to direct themselves, "Say It Isn't So!". The only problem is that the film's marketing pushed the Farrelly name in every ad and poster (so much that many people who I talked to thought it was directed by the Farrellys), when the movie itself really wasn't in the Farrelly style.
There are a few gross-out jokes and gags, but the majority of the film felt like a simple romance. Chris Klein ("American Pie") plays Gilly Noble, an Indiana animal catcher who's still looking for the love of his life. When he takes one look at the town's new hairstylist, Jo Wingfield (Heather Graham), he falls hard (and loses quite a bit as he sits down for a haircut).
After Gilly gets out of the hospital, the two fall in love with each other and, for a little while, things look good. Then, the problems arise. Gilly has been looking for his parents and one night, he gets the call...and finds out that Jo is his sister. After the initial shock and horror, Jo runs off to Beaver, Oregon to marry a millionare. Meanwhile, Sally Field (who deserved a worse role after directing "Beautiful") plays trashy as Jo's mother, who wants to stop Gilly once he finds out that the whole thing about Jo being his sister is a mistake.
One of the few funny bits of the picture is a role for comedian Orlando Jones, who plays legless pilot Dig Mcaffrey, who helps out Gilly in his quest to get Jo back. Jones is one of the few actors in the picture who has genuine comedic timing and as a result, his scenes are definitely the funniest. Klein, on the other hand, is noticably mis-cast as Gilly. A generally bland actor, he's completely lost when it comes to comedy. Graham has previously exhibited fine comedic skills, but she's not asked to do much more than smile here. The romance really doesn't work that well because the two don't have good chemistry together.
Director Rodgers doesn't seem to know how to mine the gags as well as the Farrellys do, although to be fair, he's working with material that's less funny than any of the Farrelly Brothers movies. Although the brothers weren't able to bring in better material, they do at least loan some of their usual crew: Mark Irwin provides glossy cinematography, Larry Madaras handles the editing and Sydney J. Bartholomew Jr. again provides production design.
"Say It Isn't So" isn't the worst film that I've seen all year, but director Rodgers can't make much of an entertaining gross-out comedy or romance from the lackluster material. Rodgers next effort is directing "American Pie 2" while the Farrellys try a mix of live-action and animation in "Osmosis Jones". Still, it doesn't seem as if either will ever hit the high note that was the overlooked gem "Kingpin".
The DVD
VIDEO: "Say It Isn't So" is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and it's another fine transfer from Fox. Although not the best presentation that Fox has offered, it's still very pleasing throughout. Sharpness and detail are quite good, and Mark Irwin (as he did in "Kingpin" and "Irene") captures the beautiful scenery behind the comedy quite well.
Print flaws are minimal - I only noticed a few minor speckles during the film, but no more than that. A couple of tiny instances of edge enhancement pop up, but aren't really that noticable, and I didn't see any pixelation, either. Colors appeared bright and natural, looking well-saturated and never smeared. Some of the outdoor scenes provided especially beautiful greens and the usual wildlife palette.
SOUND: "Say It Isn't So" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Rodgers seems to stick with the Farrelly mentality when it comes to using audio - meaning, next to no activity. As a comedy, this is generally already expected, though. Surround use is next to nothing - they're used for the music occasionally, but that's about it. Audio quality was very good - the music sounded clear and clean, as did dialogue. Not a very dynamic or agressive soundtrack at all, but generally works okay for the material.
MENUS:: Nicely animated main & sub menus with clips and audio from the movie.
EXTRAS::
Commentary: This is a commentary from director James B. Rodgers and actor Chris Klein. Rodgers is there to provide actual information and some stories from the production. Klein, on the other hand, seems to be there to simply say that everyone in the movie was great, every scene was great, every joke was great. The commentary may be worth sitting through because Rodgers provides some interesting tidbits, but (with only a couple exceptions) Klein simply heaps praise on every person involved and talks endlessly about how he loved all of the jokes.
Deleted Scenes: 6 deleted scenes are presented with optional commentary from Rodgers and occasionally Klein. These scenes are deleted seemingly because either they weren't funny or they were taken out due to time.
Featurette: This is a 4 minute "making of" that often seems like an extended trailer. Interviews with the cast and crew are provided as well as the usual clips and behind-the-scenes footage. Jones hosts.
Also: Theatrical trailer and 5 TV Spots. There was apparently going to be a Comedy Central show about the movie included on the disc, but it didn't end up on the final DVD.
Final Thoughts: I laughed once or twice throughout "Say It Isn't So", but ultimately it suffers from a lackluster screenplay that isn't brought to life on-screen by the cast or crew. Fox's DVD provides fine audio/video quality and some decent extras. A light rental recommendation.
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