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Troop Beverly Hills
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG // March 25, 2003
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
A so-so late 80's comedy that has managed to gain a cult following, "Troop Beverly Hills" offers a cute concept and a rare perfect role for Shelly Long, but doesn't really make too much out of it. The film stars Long as the den mother of a troop of girl scouts from the Beverly Hills area.
The plot is familiar to anyone who's familiar with movies. Long's character is a rich socialite who spends money like there's no tomorrow. She lives in a mansion, is surrounded by help, and...has a husband (Craig T. Nelson - whatever happened to him after "Coach"?) who thinks that she does nothing but spend money all day. To prove him wrong, she decides to be the den mother for the local girl scout (here called "Wilderness Girls") troop. Predictable fish-out-of-water comedy ensues; when attempts to go on a camping trip with the girls doesn't work terribly well, they head into a posh hotel room to cook marshmellows in front of a fire.
Of course, it's only a matter of time before Long's character has improved herself in the process of learning to teach these girls how to improve themselves (although, in this film's strange universe, "improving yourself" and "materialism" go hand-in-hand - the girls earn merit badges for jewelry appraisal). There's the usual villian, a district leader (Betty Thomas, who's gone on to direct several successful comedies of her own) who seeks to spoil all the fun the girls have planned.
The performances do liven the material up a bit, though. Long does play a one-note character, but she's always been perfect playing the chatty socialite (Bette Midler would have been a better choice here, though). Thomas tries to make a decent villian out of a series of put-downs. The girls, however, seem like they're having fun.
The picture has somehow gained a cult following. It's been ages since I've seen it, and although I've never had a particularly high opinion of it, it continues to not age particularly well. Portions drag - the 105-minute picture could have been cut down to around 90, or maybe a little less. The film really could have been far better had it tried to be something of a PG-13 satire than a toothless family comedy. There's certainly targets for sharp humor here, but they're mostly passed by without a second thought.
The DVD
VIDEO: While the opening credits are letterboxed, "Troop Beverly Hills" is another one of Columbia/Tristar's full-frame disapointments. Although the back of the box lists that the feature was "remastered in high definition", watching the presentation itself makes that claim rather doubtful. While it's doubtful that "Troop Beverly Hills" was ever a visual masterpiece, the transfer doesn't do it any favors. The picture lacks depth throughout, and detail is standard at best.
To make matters worse, the print is spotty, with dirt and some noticable instances of wear occasionally present. Of course, that's not all - mild amounts of edge enhancement and the occasional compression artifact also show up. Fair amounts of grain are also visible. Colors are halfway decent, with pretty good saturation. Other than that slight positive, this is a throwaway effort. I can understand studios trying to get their films in their vaults out quickly, but there's a disturbing trend from some studios on some of these catalog titles to really put little or no effort to make a presentation that looks more than a little bit better than the VHS.
SOUND: The 2.0 soundtrack isn't much better. A dialogue-driven comedy, the very dated soundtrack offers several 80's tunes that not only sound painfully 80's, but suffer from flat, bland sound quality. Dialogue emerges okay, sounding rather blah and unnatural, but still easily heard.
EXTRAS: A couple of trailers.
Final Thoughts: The film's fans should be displeased with this DVD release, which offers very mediocre audio/video quality, not to mention no supplements. Fans seeking a "Troop Beverly Hills" fix should only rent this one.
A so-so late 80's comedy that has managed to gain a cult following, "Troop Beverly Hills" offers a cute concept and a rare perfect role for Shelly Long, but doesn't really make too much out of it. The film stars Long as the den mother of a troop of girl scouts from the Beverly Hills area.
The plot is familiar to anyone who's familiar with movies. Long's character is a rich socialite who spends money like there's no tomorrow. She lives in a mansion, is surrounded by help, and...has a husband (Craig T. Nelson - whatever happened to him after "Coach"?) who thinks that she does nothing but spend money all day. To prove him wrong, she decides to be the den mother for the local girl scout (here called "Wilderness Girls") troop. Predictable fish-out-of-water comedy ensues; when attempts to go on a camping trip with the girls doesn't work terribly well, they head into a posh hotel room to cook marshmellows in front of a fire.
Of course, it's only a matter of time before Long's character has improved herself in the process of learning to teach these girls how to improve themselves (although, in this film's strange universe, "improving yourself" and "materialism" go hand-in-hand - the girls earn merit badges for jewelry appraisal). There's the usual villian, a district leader (Betty Thomas, who's gone on to direct several successful comedies of her own) who seeks to spoil all the fun the girls have planned.
The performances do liven the material up a bit, though. Long does play a one-note character, but she's always been perfect playing the chatty socialite (Bette Midler would have been a better choice here, though). Thomas tries to make a decent villian out of a series of put-downs. The girls, however, seem like they're having fun.
The picture has somehow gained a cult following. It's been ages since I've seen it, and although I've never had a particularly high opinion of it, it continues to not age particularly well. Portions drag - the 105-minute picture could have been cut down to around 90, or maybe a little less. The film really could have been far better had it tried to be something of a PG-13 satire than a toothless family comedy. There's certainly targets for sharp humor here, but they're mostly passed by without a second thought.
The DVD
VIDEO: While the opening credits are letterboxed, "Troop Beverly Hills" is another one of Columbia/Tristar's full-frame disapointments. Although the back of the box lists that the feature was "remastered in high definition", watching the presentation itself makes that claim rather doubtful. While it's doubtful that "Troop Beverly Hills" was ever a visual masterpiece, the transfer doesn't do it any favors. The picture lacks depth throughout, and detail is standard at best.
To make matters worse, the print is spotty, with dirt and some noticable instances of wear occasionally present. Of course, that's not all - mild amounts of edge enhancement and the occasional compression artifact also show up. Fair amounts of grain are also visible. Colors are halfway decent, with pretty good saturation. Other than that slight positive, this is a throwaway effort. I can understand studios trying to get their films in their vaults out quickly, but there's a disturbing trend from some studios on some of these catalog titles to really put little or no effort to make a presentation that looks more than a little bit better than the VHS.
SOUND: The 2.0 soundtrack isn't much better. A dialogue-driven comedy, the very dated soundtrack offers several 80's tunes that not only sound painfully 80's, but suffer from flat, bland sound quality. Dialogue emerges okay, sounding rather blah and unnatural, but still easily heard.
EXTRAS: A couple of trailers.
Final Thoughts: The film's fans should be displeased with this DVD release, which offers very mediocre audio/video quality, not to mention no supplements. Fans seeking a "Troop Beverly Hills" fix should only rent this one.
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