Synopsis:

When last we saw Sherman Klump (Murphy), he had effectively banished his chemically created alter ego "Buddy Love". In the Klumps, it appears that Buddy is still on the scene and more err…"dogmatic" than ever. Sherman, ever the genius has discovered the fountain of youth however, it has a few kinks that need to be worked out yet. Denise Gaines (Janet Jackson) is a DNA Specialist on staff at Sherman's school and is assisting him in cracking the genetic code. Quite naturally, these two are greatly enamored one with the other and on one particular evening, Sherman tells her just how much he loves her with a little help from a Mariachi band and some definitely unwanted help from Buddy Love. Outraged at the way Buddy botched his proposal to Denise, Sherman, attempts to extract Buddy from his own DNA. This has unexpected results/side effects and it's imperative that Buddy and Sherman reunite before all is lost. In some ways it's much funnier than the first but on the whole, it's an equal to the first film. This is the uncensored version of the disc, which caused much clamor as it was presented in a press release not long after the release of the Collector's Edition of the Klumps. I for one abhor the later releases of subsequent editions of films. It's nothing but greed on the part of the Motion Picture Industry in releasing such editions. The Ultimate Mummy and the Klumps Uncensored are two titles that come to mind. Both earlier editions were loaded and contained excellent visual and aural segments. The later editions included DTS tracks and a handful of additional extras that could have been included with the initial release. On behalf of the Ultimate Mummy, it's plausible that the supplemental material regarding the Mummy Returns was not even available at the time of the first discs' pressing. However, the inclusion of a DTS track that could have been on the first release as well as paltry extras is, bad sport indeed. I'm not complaining about the inclusion of extras, I am however complaining about the issuance of additional materials for the sake of raking collectors like myself over the coals. I know that we don't have to buy everything that hits the shelves but, it makes it hard not too when that carrot's being dangled in your face! OK, enough of my soapbox!

Audio/Video:

The audio for the Klumps Uncensored is presented in both DD5.1 and DTS. The DD5.1 is a great presentation with impressive surround usage and really great LFE. The dialogue is clean and easily understood. On the whole, a very good presentation. The DTS as usual, takes the audio presentation to a whole nother level! The listening stage is expanded in such a way that you are really within the action. The directional effect in the DTS is pretty happenin' and the LFE is really deep and rich. The most notable difference between the two systems is the volume level of the DTS vs. the DD 5.1. The DTS is far louder than the DD5.1 and it really is the more intense of the two. If you have the DD5.1 version of the disc, you don't need to get this solely for the DTS. On the whole, I think that you'll be satisfied with either presentation. The Director's Commentary featuring Peter Segal is the same commentary as the one found on the Previous collector's edition of this film. Segal is like a kid in a candy factory. His insights on the movie and his workings with Eddie are hilarious. Listening to him was as much fun as watching the movie with the dialogue track up! The only problem I noticed was one regarding the volume level of the film's dialogue track during the commentary. Usually the track is up enough to hear the film. On this track it's like watching a silent movie. Universal still hasn't gotten the swing of making the audio tracks available on the fly. In order to select a different audio platform, you have to go to the language menu and select your platform. Lame, but at least we have the option.

The video is the same print as used in the previous edition and is similarly free from transfer errors and is a beautiful widescreen presentation. The colors are rich and warm, the fleshtones are natural and the images are stark and very clean in their presentation.

The Extras: What's the same and what's different!

The list of extras on the uncensored edition boasts added features not previously available on the Collector's Edition. They are:

Music Videos: On the original disc, The only video available was Janet (yum) Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter" video. The audio for the video was presented in a pretty lackluster DD2.0 platform. The new disc has a pumped up audio version for the same video which makes it like watching a whole new video. The audio is pretty engaging and the final presentation is quite nice. In addition to the aurally enhanced Janet, three other videos are included. Jay-Z's "HayPapi", Sisqo's "Thong Song Remix" and Musiq's "Just Friends" round out the videos presented on the USE. For an uncensored version of the film, there was not one thong seen in the whole of Sisqo's remix and I for one was EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!!!! Janet's video is on both discs however, the balance of the videos are only on the Uncensored disc.

The Original Sherman Klump make-up test from The Nutty Professor

If you didn't think that Eddie Murphy was a comic genius, just watch this segment and his position will be confirmed! In just a few minutes, Eddie had me on the floor screaming! He's incredibly funny and it's a sin that he hasn't gotten an Oscar for either one of these performances! Not available in the original issue of the film.

Conversation with Peter Segal and Brian Grazer, Director and Producer, respectively.

This plays like a commentary track for the first 30-minutes of the film. It covers the intricacies involved in creating some of the effects shots and the levels to which Eddie went to make each character their own individual person. Very interesting piece that could have been a good deal longer. The 30-minutes is more of a teaser than anything else but it's another great chapter in an already great disc! Available on both discs.

Janet Jackson Wardrobe Test:

This plays out more like a split screen presentation with Janet walking out testing the wedding dress with the actual footage contained as a PIP. Only available on the Uncensored version.

Storyboards:

Very self-explanatory, the storyboards are just that. I'm not a real fan of storyboarding as an extra so this did very little for me. However, if you are an aspiring filmmaker, then this one's for you hoo hoo! Available in both editions.

Theatrical Trailer

It's the same trailer on both discs and is absolutely hilarious. It's presented in DD5.1 and really whets the appetite for "Klumps, Party of six, and we're hungry!"

Additional Scenes-2-minutes worth

for the life of me I couldn't tell you where these extra two minutes popped up in the film. For the record, the extra time is supposed to appear in the Mariachi scene, and the Hot Tub Scene. They all looked like the same information previously released. However, there could have been a difference or two in dialogue to support the two minutes of previously censored material. The commentary tracks are of no help on the subject. Only available on the Uncensored edition

DTS track Definitely only found on the reissue. Not available on the previous release. Outtakes: available on the Collector's Edition only, not on the Uncensored disc. Spotlight on Location Roughly a -minute presentation on the making of the Klumps. Only available on the previous edition. Deleted Scene-House Fantasy While alluded to in the commentary on both discs, it's only available on the Collector's Edition of the film, not the Uncensored disc. Extended Scene-The Restaurant Again, alluded to in the commentary on both discs but only found on the Collector's Edition. Time-lapse Makeup Only on the Collector's edition. featurette on the making of the feature Found only on the Uncensored disc, it includes interviews with Eddie, the Director and Rick Baker on how the Klumps actually came into being. Very good segment but only 5-10 minutes in length. Should have been much longer. And that concludes the extras breakdown for both discs.

Overall:

The Klumps are hilarious! Eddie Murphy is sheer brilliance when it comes to this kind of comedy and this film is his shining star! There are a few things that bother me about this reissue and they go to several points. Firstly, It would have been nice to have Murphy on the commentary track somewhere, as opposed to hearing only from the director. Secondly, this is an edition of the film that didn't have to exist independent of the film's previous five-star release. All of the additions could have been included in the original release however, they (Universal) knew we'd be suckers and go and re-buy the disc in the hopes of catching Eddie in an even "bluer" mood. This kind of baiting is wholly unacceptable and not at all appreciated. If you have the previous release and are happy with it as it is, then don't even worry about it. If you don't, I'd suggest you rent them both and make the decision from there. The DTS track is amazing and some would say it's worth it if only for that. While I did DTS and have seen the "light" in regards to it's aural brilliance, I couldn't support it's re-purchase solely on that reason alone. It's a great movie and it's a packed disc. If you are the kind of person who has to have the definitive version of this film (Or any film for that matter) like I am, you'll end up getting the second disc as well. In any event, it's a cheap shot by Universal in releasing this Uncensored disc right on the heels of the Collector's Edition. Given all of the extras and the inclusion of a DTS track I can easily classify this with its chock-filled predecessor as a Collector's Edition. I'm just not happy with Universal's open greed is all. Collector's Edition