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Boyfriend School, The
MGM // PG-13 // January 25, 2005
List Price: $14.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie
During the heyday of the drive-in circuit, slick film promoters would often recycle movies by re-releasing them with different titles every few years (or less). The thinking behind this was that the unsuspecting public would pay to see a movie that they'd already seen simply because it had a new name. (For example, Tobe Hooper's 1977 film Eaten Alive is known by at least 6 other titles!) This practice has practically disappeared, but still crops up from time-to-time, such as with the 1990 film Don't Tell Her It's Me. This romantic-comedy is making its DVD debut, courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment, under the moniker The Boyfriend School. I'm no big-time Hollywood marketer, but the change in name seems odd to me and won't help fans of this charming movie.
Steve Guttenberg stars in The Boyfriend School as cartoonist Gus Kubicek. Having just gone through a year of cancer treatment, Gus is balding and bloated, and despite the support from his romance novelist sister Lizzie (Shelley Long), Gus feels that he'll never find love. Meanwhile, reporter Emily (Jamie Gertz) is sent to a romance novel convention to cover the popular sub-genre. There, she meets Lizzie (who writes under the name Vivica Lamoraux), who invites Emily to dinner so that they can discuss her literary world. Lizzie actually wants to use the meeting as a chance to set up Gus and Emily. However, the evening is a disaster, leaving Gus even more depressed.
But, the ever-plucky Lizzie has an idea. Emily has stated that she can't believe that any woman would actually fall for the men portrayed in Lizzie's novels. So, Lizzie decides to use Gus in an experiment. She transforms the dumpy Gus into a buff and handsome motorcycle-riding loner and introduces this man to Lizzie, who had no idea that it's Gus. Will Lizzie's idea work? Will Emily fall for this mysterious stranger? And if so, will this mean true love for Gus?
This may be difficult for some of our younger readers to believe, but when The Boyfriend School was first released, once again, as Don't Tell Her It's Me, the principal cast involved were somewhat big names. Guttenberg had several hit films in the 80s; Long was still popular from "Cheers" (although leaving that show was the biggest mistake she ever made); and Gertz had gained notoriety in The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero. Also, the film featured Kyle MacLachlan and Madchen Amick, both of whom were making a splash on TV's "Twin Peaks" at the time. So, for me, The Boyfriend School was one of the first examples of a movie with recognizable stars going straight-to-video. (I was working in a video store at the time and clearly remember being perplexed when I saw it in the catalog.) (Writer's Note: An astute DVDTalk.com reader pointed out that Don't Tell Her It's Me did indeed have a limited theatrical run.)
So, does The Boyfriend School deserve its straight-to-video banishment? Yes and no. The material is very lightweight and at no time does it rise above made-for-TV fare. The story is quite predictable and, on the surface, the characters are very unoriginal. However, the film does have a certain undeniable charm. The cast of veteran actors certainly aid the weak script and if there's any sign that The Boyfriend School is an OK movie it's that Shelley Long isn't totally annoying. The typically bland Guttenberg shows a bit of range, as he essentially plays two characters, and Gertz is adequately cute and perky. If one digs beneath the surface of the cookie-cutter characters, you will see that they do have some interesting traits, especially Lizzie, with her constant re-decorating and the bizarre way in which she disciplines her child. Director Malcolm Mowbray doesn't go out his way to add any unique style to the film, but he wisely lets the beautiful locations of Charleston, South Carolina (one of my favorite places) speak for themselves. The Boyfriend School is not great art, nor does it aspire to be. In this age when many romantic-comedies are either too convoluted or try to work in too many gross-out jokes, this movie is a nice reminder of a simpler time and makes for a good rental.
Video
The Boyfriend School changes its name for DVD courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment. The DVD contains both the full-frame and widescreen versions of the film and is a "flipper". For the purposes of this review, only the widescreen version was viewed. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is somewhat sharp, but it does show a notable amount of grain and is blurry at times. Artifacting is noticeable throughout, and the image shimmers in some scenes. On the plus side, the colors look very good and the framing appears to be accurate.
Audio
The DVD carries a lackluster Dolby Stereo Surround audio track. This track provides clear dialogue, but does reveal a slight hiss. The stereo effects are actually pretty good (most notably when the motorcycle is on-screen), but there is little in the way of surround sound. For a dialogue-driven comedy, the audio is all right, but we've come to expect more from DVDs.
Extras
The only extra on The Boyfriend School DVD is a trailer for the film, which is letterboxed at 1.85:1 and is 16 x 9. In the trailer, the movie is referred to as Don't Tell Her It's Me. The trailer shows quite a bit of grain and defects from the source material.
The Boyfriend School...Don't Tell Her It's Me...whatever you want to call it...is the kind of film that one would begin watching on cable and find themselves finishing it for some reason. The movie won't change your life, but it certainly has its moments, and despite some overt defects, this DVD is the best way to see it.
During the heyday of the drive-in circuit, slick film promoters would often recycle movies by re-releasing them with different titles every few years (or less). The thinking behind this was that the unsuspecting public would pay to see a movie that they'd already seen simply because it had a new name. (For example, Tobe Hooper's 1977 film Eaten Alive is known by at least 6 other titles!) This practice has practically disappeared, but still crops up from time-to-time, such as with the 1990 film Don't Tell Her It's Me. This romantic-comedy is making its DVD debut, courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment, under the moniker The Boyfriend School. I'm no big-time Hollywood marketer, but the change in name seems odd to me and won't help fans of this charming movie.
Steve Guttenberg stars in The Boyfriend School as cartoonist Gus Kubicek. Having just gone through a year of cancer treatment, Gus is balding and bloated, and despite the support from his romance novelist sister Lizzie (Shelley Long), Gus feels that he'll never find love. Meanwhile, reporter Emily (Jamie Gertz) is sent to a romance novel convention to cover the popular sub-genre. There, she meets Lizzie (who writes under the name Vivica Lamoraux), who invites Emily to dinner so that they can discuss her literary world. Lizzie actually wants to use the meeting as a chance to set up Gus and Emily. However, the evening is a disaster, leaving Gus even more depressed.
But, the ever-plucky Lizzie has an idea. Emily has stated that she can't believe that any woman would actually fall for the men portrayed in Lizzie's novels. So, Lizzie decides to use Gus in an experiment. She transforms the dumpy Gus into a buff and handsome motorcycle-riding loner and introduces this man to Lizzie, who had no idea that it's Gus. Will Lizzie's idea work? Will Emily fall for this mysterious stranger? And if so, will this mean true love for Gus?
This may be difficult for some of our younger readers to believe, but when The Boyfriend School was first released, once again, as Don't Tell Her It's Me, the principal cast involved were somewhat big names. Guttenberg had several hit films in the 80s; Long was still popular from "Cheers" (although leaving that show was the biggest mistake she ever made); and Gertz had gained notoriety in The Lost Boys and Less Than Zero. Also, the film featured Kyle MacLachlan and Madchen Amick, both of whom were making a splash on TV's "Twin Peaks" at the time. So, for me, The Boyfriend School was one of the first examples of a movie with recognizable stars going straight-to-video. (I was working in a video store at the time and clearly remember being perplexed when I saw it in the catalog.) (Writer's Note: An astute DVDTalk.com reader pointed out that Don't Tell Her It's Me did indeed have a limited theatrical run.)
So, does The Boyfriend School deserve its straight-to-video banishment? Yes and no. The material is very lightweight and at no time does it rise above made-for-TV fare. The story is quite predictable and, on the surface, the characters are very unoriginal. However, the film does have a certain undeniable charm. The cast of veteran actors certainly aid the weak script and if there's any sign that The Boyfriend School is an OK movie it's that Shelley Long isn't totally annoying. The typically bland Guttenberg shows a bit of range, as he essentially plays two characters, and Gertz is adequately cute and perky. If one digs beneath the surface of the cookie-cutter characters, you will see that they do have some interesting traits, especially Lizzie, with her constant re-decorating and the bizarre way in which she disciplines her child. Director Malcolm Mowbray doesn't go out his way to add any unique style to the film, but he wisely lets the beautiful locations of Charleston, South Carolina (one of my favorite places) speak for themselves. The Boyfriend School is not great art, nor does it aspire to be. In this age when many romantic-comedies are either too convoluted or try to work in too many gross-out jokes, this movie is a nice reminder of a simpler time and makes for a good rental.
Video
The Boyfriend School changes its name for DVD courtesy of MGM Home Entertainment. The DVD contains both the full-frame and widescreen versions of the film and is a "flipper". For the purposes of this review, only the widescreen version was viewed. The film has been letterboxed at 1.85:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is somewhat sharp, but it does show a notable amount of grain and is blurry at times. Artifacting is noticeable throughout, and the image shimmers in some scenes. On the plus side, the colors look very good and the framing appears to be accurate.
Audio
The DVD carries a lackluster Dolby Stereo Surround audio track. This track provides clear dialogue, but does reveal a slight hiss. The stereo effects are actually pretty good (most notably when the motorcycle is on-screen), but there is little in the way of surround sound. For a dialogue-driven comedy, the audio is all right, but we've come to expect more from DVDs.
Extras
The only extra on The Boyfriend School DVD is a trailer for the film, which is letterboxed at 1.85:1 and is 16 x 9. In the trailer, the movie is referred to as Don't Tell Her It's Me. The trailer shows quite a bit of grain and defects from the source material.
The Boyfriend School...Don't Tell Her It's Me...whatever you want to call it...is the kind of film that one would begin watching on cable and find themselves finishing it for some reason. The movie won't change your life, but it certainly has its moments, and despite some overt defects, this DVD is the best way to see it.
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