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Strapless
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
I forget what it was I saw in the reviews of "Strapless" that made me want to pick it up. A love story definitely would not have been my first choice...unless, say, it takes place with a backdrop of a masked murderer picking off the lovers' friends one by one (and incidentally, I think this is the lowest body count of any Anchor Bay release to date). I suppose watching formulaic horror films has gotten me used to more linear plots, but "Strapless" doesn't follow the usual "introduce characters -> introduce conflict -> resolve conflict -> fade to black/roll credits" plot structure to which I'm accustomed.
Actually, I'm not sure how I'd describe the plot structure here. It's a bit random, introducing characters and subplots that are never really fully fleshed out, and when they're resolved, the result seems unsatisfying. The central character is Lillian, an American who has worked for quite some time as an underpaid nurse in a government-sponsored hospital. Lillian is strong and independent -- so much so that she vacations in Italy by herself. While there, she encounters Raymond, a helplessly romantic, European apparently possessing quite a bit of culture and wealth, trying as best he can to sweep her off her feet. He's so infatuated that he follows Lillian home to London, where we're introduced to subplot A, Lillian's sister Amy. Amy lives without any responsibility, partying constantly and sleeping around recklessly. She finds herself pregnant, but since Amy stays in the background so much of the time, it's hard to really care. The same goes for subplot B, a terminal cancer patient of Lillian's, and subplot C, the briefly-mentioned and quite-insignficant-overall workers trying to get the government's attention. Oh, yeah, back to the central focus of the film -- Raymond is, as I mentioned, quite romantic, and he strikes while the iron is hot. While Lillian is drunk with his culture and spending habits despite not really knowing anything about him, he asks her to be just as reckless and take his hand in marriage. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a drama if something didn't go as planned, so...enter the plot twist.
"Strapless" isn't bad, but it seems like a first draft. The subplots seem to be little more than filler, and other than Lillian and Raymond, none of the characters are really given much to do at all. The film doesn't really become at all interesting until an hour in. After that point, the importance of those earlier scenes becomes apparent, but I didn't find the pay-off worth the time it took to get there. I found "Strapless" to be mildly entertaining, but with so many better films out there, why bother?
Video: During one of the night scenes, I groaned at how dated the colors appeared, as if they were straight out of a late '80s film. I was under the impression that "Strapless" was a recent film, and after checking the IMDB, I learned that, in fact, it was produced in the late '80s. I guess I can't really consider that one scene to be a detriment, then. Hmmm. Despite some infrequent grain and a few bits of dust here and there (and these are minor quibbles), "Strapless" looks quite nice for a catalog title of its age. One of the reasons I assumed it was more recent was because of how sharp and colorful the image was. Even the set design and hair styles don't seem dated...impressive. Anyway, "Strapless" features a widescreen-enhanced 1.85:1 transfer.
Audio: A Dolby Digital mono track is the only available audio available on "Strapless". Dialogue is crisp and clear, as would be expected from a drama. Pretty run-of-the-mill for a mono track.
Supplements: The only extra is the theatrical trailer.
Conclusion: I found "Strapless" to be decent...not an entirely unpleasant way to spend 100 minutes, although those who enjoy these sorts of movies will likely appreciate it more than I did. But...at $29.99? No. It's worth a rental, but there's nothing about this disc that warrants a price like that when better films with loads of supplements and a higher replay value can be easily had for $10-15 less. Rent it if it sounds intriguing, but I wouldn't recommend it as a purchase at that price unless you're a completist.
Actually, I'm not sure how I'd describe the plot structure here. It's a bit random, introducing characters and subplots that are never really fully fleshed out, and when they're resolved, the result seems unsatisfying. The central character is Lillian, an American who has worked for quite some time as an underpaid nurse in a government-sponsored hospital. Lillian is strong and independent -- so much so that she vacations in Italy by herself. While there, she encounters Raymond, a helplessly romantic, European apparently possessing quite a bit of culture and wealth, trying as best he can to sweep her off her feet. He's so infatuated that he follows Lillian home to London, where we're introduced to subplot A, Lillian's sister Amy. Amy lives without any responsibility, partying constantly and sleeping around recklessly. She finds herself pregnant, but since Amy stays in the background so much of the time, it's hard to really care. The same goes for subplot B, a terminal cancer patient of Lillian's, and subplot C, the briefly-mentioned and quite-insignficant-overall workers trying to get the government's attention. Oh, yeah, back to the central focus of the film -- Raymond is, as I mentioned, quite romantic, and he strikes while the iron is hot. While Lillian is drunk with his culture and spending habits despite not really knowing anything about him, he asks her to be just as reckless and take his hand in marriage. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a drama if something didn't go as planned, so...enter the plot twist.
"Strapless" isn't bad, but it seems like a first draft. The subplots seem to be little more than filler, and other than Lillian and Raymond, none of the characters are really given much to do at all. The film doesn't really become at all interesting until an hour in. After that point, the importance of those earlier scenes becomes apparent, but I didn't find the pay-off worth the time it took to get there. I found "Strapless" to be mildly entertaining, but with so many better films out there, why bother?
Video: During one of the night scenes, I groaned at how dated the colors appeared, as if they were straight out of a late '80s film. I was under the impression that "Strapless" was a recent film, and after checking the IMDB, I learned that, in fact, it was produced in the late '80s. I guess I can't really consider that one scene to be a detriment, then. Hmmm. Despite some infrequent grain and a few bits of dust here and there (and these are minor quibbles), "Strapless" looks quite nice for a catalog title of its age. One of the reasons I assumed it was more recent was because of how sharp and colorful the image was. Even the set design and hair styles don't seem dated...impressive. Anyway, "Strapless" features a widescreen-enhanced 1.85:1 transfer.
Audio: A Dolby Digital mono track is the only available audio available on "Strapless". Dialogue is crisp and clear, as would be expected from a drama. Pretty run-of-the-mill for a mono track.
Supplements: The only extra is the theatrical trailer.
Conclusion: I found "Strapless" to be decent...not an entirely unpleasant way to spend 100 minutes, although those who enjoy these sorts of movies will likely appreciate it more than I did. But...at $29.99? No. It's worth a rental, but there's nothing about this disc that warrants a price like that when better films with loads of supplements and a higher replay value can be easily had for $10-15 less. Rent it if it sounds intriguing, but I wouldn't recommend it as a purchase at that price unless you're a completist.
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