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New Best Friend
Columbia/Tri-Star // R // July 16, 2002
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
More and more teen films are finding it difficult to get footing in the marketplace - "R" rated pictures can't pull in the same audience as a "PG-13" audience, according to studios, while some films simply aren't particularly good. Sometimes, such as the case of "Happy Campers", the reason for the movie heading direct-to-video isn't even that clear. "New Best Friend" actually did get a limited theatrical release earlier this year, playing in a handful of theaters for about a week - but that's after the film sat on the shelf for 3 years, going through different titles like "Depraved Indifference" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance".
In the case of "New Best Friend", there are several reasons for the film's quick departure. One - there have been several films like it, including "Tart", "Gossip" and "The In Crowd" (the later of which worked unexpectedly well thanks to the fact it didn't take itself remotely seriously), neither of which were successful. This film's writing, story, performances and general appearance also aren't up to theatrical level.
The majority of the movie is one big flashback: Sheriff Artie Bonner (Taye Diggs) is investigating the drug overdose of Alicia Glazer (Mia Kirshner) at a large Southern university. Alicia is the stuff of teen movie cliche - a smart girl who's not part of the popular crowd because she focuses too much on studying and attempting to get financial aid for schooling that she can't afford. A sociology assignment for class pairs her with popular trio Hadley (Meredith Monroe), Sydney (Dominque Swain of both "Tart" and "Happy Campers") and Julianne (Rachel True). The three popular girls party, drink and do drugs - of course, it's only a matter of (short) time before Alicia joins them in a downward spiral, but, is she really who she appears to be? Or is her only crime being ambitious?
It's borderline difficult to care about any of the situations in the film thanks mainly to the acting, which is not very good. Kirshner has been marvelous in other films, such as Atom Egoyan's "Exotica". Swain, stuck in her third teen film that essentially went nowhere, has started to lose the promise her career once had - she and Kirshner have a random make-out scene that seems to just be to wake up the audience. True, Monroe and Diggs look as if they'd rather be anywhere else.
One of the film's biggest mistakes is that is that it takes itself too seriously. Rather than embrace its ridiculousness like "The In Crowd", "New Best Friend" often turns into a melodrama that it doesn't seem to be able to handle - a few emotional scenes almost seem laughably phony. The film's whodoneit mystery is not handled particularly well; the movie chases its tail for the majority of the running time when it should be moving the investigation of what happened forward. While the wrap-up is a decent conclusion, the movie's build-up could have been stronger.
If there's one positive thing about "New Best Friend", it's that it does show the devastating and tragic effects that drug and alcohol can have. Unfortunately, the film's story isn't very compelling and the characters remain one-dimensional. "New Best Friend" may only run 90-minutes, but it feels a lot longer.
The DVD
VIDEO: "New Best Friend" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame on a dual-layer disc. The anamorphic widescreen presentation offers decent image quality, but a few flaws with the image quality keep it from being great. Sharpness and detail are average; the picture seems crisp, but has a certain hint of softness and is slightly lacking in fine detail.
Other faults accompany those, but nothing major - there are some minor specks on the print used, as well as some light grain. Edge enhancement is apparent in a few scenes and did become a mild irritation, but nothing hugely distracting. A couple of hints of pixelation were also spotted, as well.
The film had a rather bland color palette; even brighter, more vibrant colors had a rather washed-out feel. This was possibly the intended appearance - I didn't see the film theatrically.
SOUND: "New Best Friend" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Aside from a few minor effects and some slight ambient sounds, the surrounds are not used. The front speakers don't provide a particularly remarkable audio environment, either; most of the film is completely dialogue-driven. To make matters worse, dialogue seemed rather low, requiring the volume to be turned up.
MENUS: Basic main and sub-menus; they're stylish, but aren't animated, nor do they include music in the background.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: The disc offers a commentary from director Zoe Clarke-Williams. The commentary throws out some decent information about casting and production as well as a behind-the-scenes story-or-two, but most of it's fairly subdued. The director occasionally starts to narrate what's going on in the film or point out the "meanings" behind certain aspects of scenes. Overall, an okay track that some may want to browse through.
Trailers: Trailers for "Cruel Intentions" (a better, similar picture), "Not Another Teen Movie", "New Best Friend", "The Sweetest Thing", "Enough" and "The New Guy".
Final Thoughts: "New Best Friend" could have been a considerably better picture - it has a capable cast, but they seem bored and the film lacks energy. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition provides decent audio/video quality and a few supplements. Fans of the actresses may want to rent, but others should skip it.
More and more teen films are finding it difficult to get footing in the marketplace - "R" rated pictures can't pull in the same audience as a "PG-13" audience, according to studios, while some films simply aren't particularly good. Sometimes, such as the case of "Happy Campers", the reason for the movie heading direct-to-video isn't even that clear. "New Best Friend" actually did get a limited theatrical release earlier this year, playing in a handful of theaters for about a week - but that's after the film sat on the shelf for 3 years, going through different titles like "Depraved Indifference" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance".
In the case of "New Best Friend", there are several reasons for the film's quick departure. One - there have been several films like it, including "Tart", "Gossip" and "The In Crowd" (the later of which worked unexpectedly well thanks to the fact it didn't take itself remotely seriously), neither of which were successful. This film's writing, story, performances and general appearance also aren't up to theatrical level.
The majority of the movie is one big flashback: Sheriff Artie Bonner (Taye Diggs) is investigating the drug overdose of Alicia Glazer (Mia Kirshner) at a large Southern university. Alicia is the stuff of teen movie cliche - a smart girl who's not part of the popular crowd because she focuses too much on studying and attempting to get financial aid for schooling that she can't afford. A sociology assignment for class pairs her with popular trio Hadley (Meredith Monroe), Sydney (Dominque Swain of both "Tart" and "Happy Campers") and Julianne (Rachel True). The three popular girls party, drink and do drugs - of course, it's only a matter of (short) time before Alicia joins them in a downward spiral, but, is she really who she appears to be? Or is her only crime being ambitious?
It's borderline difficult to care about any of the situations in the film thanks mainly to the acting, which is not very good. Kirshner has been marvelous in other films, such as Atom Egoyan's "Exotica". Swain, stuck in her third teen film that essentially went nowhere, has started to lose the promise her career once had - she and Kirshner have a random make-out scene that seems to just be to wake up the audience. True, Monroe and Diggs look as if they'd rather be anywhere else.
One of the film's biggest mistakes is that is that it takes itself too seriously. Rather than embrace its ridiculousness like "The In Crowd", "New Best Friend" often turns into a melodrama that it doesn't seem to be able to handle - a few emotional scenes almost seem laughably phony. The film's whodoneit mystery is not handled particularly well; the movie chases its tail for the majority of the running time when it should be moving the investigation of what happened forward. While the wrap-up is a decent conclusion, the movie's build-up could have been stronger.
If there's one positive thing about "New Best Friend", it's that it does show the devastating and tragic effects that drug and alcohol can have. Unfortunately, the film's story isn't very compelling and the characters remain one-dimensional. "New Best Friend" may only run 90-minutes, but it feels a lot longer.
The DVD
VIDEO: "New Best Friend" is presented by Columbia/Tristar in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 full-frame on a dual-layer disc. The anamorphic widescreen presentation offers decent image quality, but a few flaws with the image quality keep it from being great. Sharpness and detail are average; the picture seems crisp, but has a certain hint of softness and is slightly lacking in fine detail.
Other faults accompany those, but nothing major - there are some minor specks on the print used, as well as some light grain. Edge enhancement is apparent in a few scenes and did become a mild irritation, but nothing hugely distracting. A couple of hints of pixelation were also spotted, as well.
The film had a rather bland color palette; even brighter, more vibrant colors had a rather washed-out feel. This was possibly the intended appearance - I didn't see the film theatrically.
SOUND: "New Best Friend" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. Aside from a few minor effects and some slight ambient sounds, the surrounds are not used. The front speakers don't provide a particularly remarkable audio environment, either; most of the film is completely dialogue-driven. To make matters worse, dialogue seemed rather low, requiring the volume to be turned up.
MENUS: Basic main and sub-menus; they're stylish, but aren't animated, nor do they include music in the background.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: The disc offers a commentary from director Zoe Clarke-Williams. The commentary throws out some decent information about casting and production as well as a behind-the-scenes story-or-two, but most of it's fairly subdued. The director occasionally starts to narrate what's going on in the film or point out the "meanings" behind certain aspects of scenes. Overall, an okay track that some may want to browse through.
Trailers: Trailers for "Cruel Intentions" (a better, similar picture), "Not Another Teen Movie", "New Best Friend", "The Sweetest Thing", "Enough" and "The New Guy".
Final Thoughts: "New Best Friend" could have been a considerably better picture - it has a capable cast, but they seem bored and the film lacks energy. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition provides decent audio/video quality and a few supplements. Fans of the actresses may want to rent, but others should skip it.
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