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Lost and Found
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
There still hasn't been a film that presents David Spade's talents in the best way possible. "Tommy Boy" is still probably the best Spade film out there, and certain episodes of "Just Shoot Me" have been hilarious. Being a fan of Spade, I was looking forward to "Lost and Found", only to see it leave theaters in a few weeks.
Sitting down and watching it at home, I can see why this film left theaters quickly. It's not that this film is awful, really- it's certainly not as awful as Spade's "Black Sheep". It's just that the filmmakers are content to go with what has made Spade successful in the past, and when they do lean back on those old habits, the film really falls flat.
Here, Spade plays restauraunt owner Dylan Ramsey, who falls in love with his neighbor Lila(Sophie Marceau). When Dylan can't seem to find a way into the heart of Lila, he figures that he can kidnap the girl's dog and when he finds the dog- he'll be the hero. Of course, the screenplay keeps the dog from getting back to the girl, with it eating the diamond ring of Dylan's friend. When the movie can't think of anything else, it throws in some bathroom humor, including a nauseating scene with Dylan and co-worker Wally looking for the ring among...well, it's too gross to describe. Other obstacles for Dylan include Lila's ex-boyfriend. It's all sitcom stuff, for sure. When the film starts and Spade is on-screen, some of it actually works and gets a solid laugh or two. Pairing him with Wally(played by Artie Lang, who was also with Norm MacDonald in "Dirty Work"), sinks the film. Spade may have worked well with Chris Farley, but otherwise, he works better on his own. He also writes his own lines far better than anyone else- it's obvious which lines in "Lost and Found" that Spade was responsible for.
Most of the dog jokes are, of course, straight out of "There's Something About Mary". Still, there are a few funny moments here, but that certainly doesn't redeem a lot of time between jokes that work. The jokes here simply aren't fresh. When Spade finally finds a vehicle right for his brand of humor, the results are going to be hilarious. Until then, I hope he waits for that movie instead of starring in these extremely minor comedies.
The DVD VIDEO: This is a pleasant but not terribly impressive anamorphic transfer. Images are generally clear, but not terribly sharp- everything seems to be in slightly soft focus. Images occasionally don't seem quite clean, with a little bit of noise. Colors are fairly respectable, but not terribly vivid and sometimes looking a little bit pale. Flesh tones, such as Spade's paleness, are presented accurately. Detail is simply fair throughout.
There are some slight problems: a stray bit of shimmering here, a tiny trace of pixelization there. Nothing that I found too terribly distracting. Not really a great looking movie, and only a fairly pleasant looking DVD.
SOUND: As a comedy(and a very minor one at that), there really isn't much to this sound mix- it's just mainly dialogue. There's occasionally an event presented with some enjoyable presence, such as when Lila plays her violin on occasion, but they're few and far between. The musical score sounds fine, but not terribly full, clear or dynamic. It's all about the dialogue, which sounds fine- not terribly full, but certainly clean and easily heard. .
MENUS: Very basic main menus based around the cover art.
EXTRAS: The trailer. A Spade commentary would have been hilarious, but unfortunately, the trailer is all we get.
Final Thoughts: Recommended for Spade fans only and not too bad for $19.95.
Sitting down and watching it at home, I can see why this film left theaters quickly. It's not that this film is awful, really- it's certainly not as awful as Spade's "Black Sheep". It's just that the filmmakers are content to go with what has made Spade successful in the past, and when they do lean back on those old habits, the film really falls flat.
Here, Spade plays restauraunt owner Dylan Ramsey, who falls in love with his neighbor Lila(Sophie Marceau). When Dylan can't seem to find a way into the heart of Lila, he figures that he can kidnap the girl's dog and when he finds the dog- he'll be the hero. Of course, the screenplay keeps the dog from getting back to the girl, with it eating the diamond ring of Dylan's friend. When the movie can't think of anything else, it throws in some bathroom humor, including a nauseating scene with Dylan and co-worker Wally looking for the ring among...well, it's too gross to describe. Other obstacles for Dylan include Lila's ex-boyfriend. It's all sitcom stuff, for sure. When the film starts and Spade is on-screen, some of it actually works and gets a solid laugh or two. Pairing him with Wally(played by Artie Lang, who was also with Norm MacDonald in "Dirty Work"), sinks the film. Spade may have worked well with Chris Farley, but otherwise, he works better on his own. He also writes his own lines far better than anyone else- it's obvious which lines in "Lost and Found" that Spade was responsible for.
Most of the dog jokes are, of course, straight out of "There's Something About Mary". Still, there are a few funny moments here, but that certainly doesn't redeem a lot of time between jokes that work. The jokes here simply aren't fresh. When Spade finally finds a vehicle right for his brand of humor, the results are going to be hilarious. Until then, I hope he waits for that movie instead of starring in these extremely minor comedies.
The DVD VIDEO: This is a pleasant but not terribly impressive anamorphic transfer. Images are generally clear, but not terribly sharp- everything seems to be in slightly soft focus. Images occasionally don't seem quite clean, with a little bit of noise. Colors are fairly respectable, but not terribly vivid and sometimes looking a little bit pale. Flesh tones, such as Spade's paleness, are presented accurately. Detail is simply fair throughout.
There are some slight problems: a stray bit of shimmering here, a tiny trace of pixelization there. Nothing that I found too terribly distracting. Not really a great looking movie, and only a fairly pleasant looking DVD.
SOUND: As a comedy(and a very minor one at that), there really isn't much to this sound mix- it's just mainly dialogue. There's occasionally an event presented with some enjoyable presence, such as when Lila plays her violin on occasion, but they're few and far between. The musical score sounds fine, but not terribly full, clear or dynamic. It's all about the dialogue, which sounds fine- not terribly full, but certainly clean and easily heard. .
MENUS: Very basic main menus based around the cover art.
EXTRAS: The trailer. A Spade commentary would have been hilarious, but unfortunately, the trailer is all we get.
Final Thoughts: Recommended for Spade fans only and not too bad for $19.95.
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