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Senseless
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // R // December 9, 1999
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
This 1998 picture, directed by Penelope Spheeris ("Wayne's World") takes a couple of very talented comedians and pairs them with a less-than-entertaining screenplay. Not that the idea behind it all isn't slightly entertaining. Marlon Wayans plays Darryl Witherspoon, a college senior who is desperately seeking a job at a major brokerage firm. He has four jobs to make ends meet and his competition is the mousey Scott (David Spade, walking through the picture).
One day, after attempting just about every which way to make money, he finds himself signing up for an experimental procedure, the result of which leaves Darryl with super-heightened senses, which he can't take, at first. The comedy generates a few good laughs as Darryl can't stand even the slightest sound, which is amplified hundreds of times over. Then, he finds that, with a little work and a little control, he can focus these senses and use them to his advantage.
Yet, instead of the clever gags that the comedy could have constructed out of this plot, "Senseless" instead chooses to go the toilet-humor route. Wayans is a gifted physical comedian - that's for sure, but it seems like only a few rare moments during the movie are improved. Other than that, the film sticks to the screenplay, which is lacking in inspired moments.
The performances are generally very good. Wayans has talent beyond what many of the comedies that he's in have him perform, which is especially evident in his terrific performance in "Requiem For a Dream". Spade is fine here, but he's simply doing an average version of the kind of sarcastic comedy that only he does best. Also good in supporting roles are Rip Torn as the head of the company that Darryl aspires to join and Tamara Taylor, who has fine chemistry with Wayans, playing the classmate who he falls for.
"Senseless" certainly isn't too bad. It's good for a few minor laughs here and there, and it's good nature carries it farther than it probably should have gone. Yet, although it does have a somewhat original idea, it doesn't do a great deal with it, nor does it really provide talented performers with great dialogue.
Note: Check out a pager that provides stock readouts during one scene in the movie. If you look closely, one of the companies is "Spheeris, Inc."
The DVD
VIDEO: "Senseless" is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen, back when Buena Vista was in their senseless "non-anamorphic" period (I'm too funny.). Anyways, for a non-anamorphic presentation, this DVD presents enjoyable image quality. Sharpness and detail are quite good, there's even a nice amount of depth to the image at times. Some dimly lit interior scenes appeared flat and slightly murky, but these were small complaints.
There's some other complaints that I had throughout the presentation, but they were minor. A few traces of pixelation were visible, as well as a couple of tiny bits of edge enhancement. Print flaws were almost completely absent, with the exception of a few speckles here and there. Overall, there wasn't a great deal to be concerned about.
Colors looked fine, appearing bright and natural throughout the movie, with no instances of smearing or other problems. Flesh tones also looked largely accurate. Not without some small concerns, but overall, this is a decent early effort from the studio.
SOUND: "Senseless" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. For a comedy, this is actually a fairly entertaining soundtrack. The music has terrific presence, offered by the surrounds as well as posessing a decent amount of bass. Surrounds are also used nicely for ambient sounds and the occasional jokey sound, such as when Darryl steps onto the ice to play hockey - the pucks flying at him shoot from the surrounds. When Darryl's super-senses kick-in, so do the surrounds, with some agressive use of sound effects.
Audio quality was fine, as the music delivered fine power, ambient sounds and effects sounded crisp and dialogue sounded natural. Certainly not demo material, but much better than I would have expected.
MENUS:: Very basic non-animated main menu with film-themed images as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: "Senseless" has a few moments of hilarity, but most of it is rather lacking and low-key. Disney's DVD provides fine audio/video quality, but nothing in the way of supplemental features. Might be worth a rental.
This 1998 picture, directed by Penelope Spheeris ("Wayne's World") takes a couple of very talented comedians and pairs them with a less-than-entertaining screenplay. Not that the idea behind it all isn't slightly entertaining. Marlon Wayans plays Darryl Witherspoon, a college senior who is desperately seeking a job at a major brokerage firm. He has four jobs to make ends meet and his competition is the mousey Scott (David Spade, walking through the picture).
One day, after attempting just about every which way to make money, he finds himself signing up for an experimental procedure, the result of which leaves Darryl with super-heightened senses, which he can't take, at first. The comedy generates a few good laughs as Darryl can't stand even the slightest sound, which is amplified hundreds of times over. Then, he finds that, with a little work and a little control, he can focus these senses and use them to his advantage.
Yet, instead of the clever gags that the comedy could have constructed out of this plot, "Senseless" instead chooses to go the toilet-humor route. Wayans is a gifted physical comedian - that's for sure, but it seems like only a few rare moments during the movie are improved. Other than that, the film sticks to the screenplay, which is lacking in inspired moments.
The performances are generally very good. Wayans has talent beyond what many of the comedies that he's in have him perform, which is especially evident in his terrific performance in "Requiem For a Dream". Spade is fine here, but he's simply doing an average version of the kind of sarcastic comedy that only he does best. Also good in supporting roles are Rip Torn as the head of the company that Darryl aspires to join and Tamara Taylor, who has fine chemistry with Wayans, playing the classmate who he falls for.
"Senseless" certainly isn't too bad. It's good for a few minor laughs here and there, and it's good nature carries it farther than it probably should have gone. Yet, although it does have a somewhat original idea, it doesn't do a great deal with it, nor does it really provide talented performers with great dialogue.
Note: Check out a pager that provides stock readouts during one scene in the movie. If you look closely, one of the companies is "Spheeris, Inc."
The DVD
VIDEO: "Senseless" is presented in 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen, back when Buena Vista was in their senseless "non-anamorphic" period (I'm too funny.). Anyways, for a non-anamorphic presentation, this DVD presents enjoyable image quality. Sharpness and detail are quite good, there's even a nice amount of depth to the image at times. Some dimly lit interior scenes appeared flat and slightly murky, but these were small complaints.
There's some other complaints that I had throughout the presentation, but they were minor. A few traces of pixelation were visible, as well as a couple of tiny bits of edge enhancement. Print flaws were almost completely absent, with the exception of a few speckles here and there. Overall, there wasn't a great deal to be concerned about.
Colors looked fine, appearing bright and natural throughout the movie, with no instances of smearing or other problems. Flesh tones also looked largely accurate. Not without some small concerns, but overall, this is a decent early effort from the studio.
SOUND: "Senseless" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. For a comedy, this is actually a fairly entertaining soundtrack. The music has terrific presence, offered by the surrounds as well as posessing a decent amount of bass. Surrounds are also used nicely for ambient sounds and the occasional jokey sound, such as when Darryl steps onto the ice to play hockey - the pucks flying at him shoot from the surrounds. When Darryl's super-senses kick-in, so do the surrounds, with some agressive use of sound effects.
Audio quality was fine, as the music delivered fine power, ambient sounds and effects sounded crisp and dialogue sounded natural. Certainly not demo material, but much better than I would have expected.
MENUS:: Very basic non-animated main menu with film-themed images as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:: Nothing.
Final Thoughts: "Senseless" has a few moments of hilarity, but most of it is rather lacking and low-key. Disney's DVD provides fine audio/video quality, but nothing in the way of supplemental features. Might be worth a rental.
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