“You Again” Blu-ray Review
Aside from perhaps the Oceans series, films filled with movie stars rarely deliver. Hell, even the Oceans series had its weak moments, but at least it attempted to reconcile it with the third film. But the main problem with films like The Expendables or You Again is they use up all their funds on the talent and advertising, leaving precious little left for script development. While this may not always be the case, it’s hard to imagine that someone, at some point, sat back and said “yes, this script to You Again is a real winner.” In the end it didn’t matter as Disney made the budget back and then another $10 million on top of it—proving that star power in spades is often too much for the movie going public to resist.
Synopsis
For Marnie (Kristen Bell), high school was a horror movie, and her brother’s wedding is the sequel when her archrival comes back to haunt her as his bride. Its nice girl versus mean girl in this hysterical reunion with the one person Marnie would really like to forget. And if that weren’t enough, Marnie’s mom (Jamie Lee Curtis) reunites with her own high school nemesis (Sigourney Weaver). Complete with hilarious, never before-seen bonus material, You Again is one crazy comedy that’ll keep you laughing again and again.
What happens when you get a near two hour long comedy that doesn’t make you laugh once? Well you end up with a film that makes you want to get up and walk away…it’s really as simple as that. You Again is one such movie as it spends so much time setting up our characters for an outcome we know that’s going to come just from looking at the cover of the Blu-ray. It’s like you’re waiting two hours just for the film to catch up to where you’re at as the viewer. Sure, it’s kind of like riding a roller coaster a second time—you know all the twists and turns but you are at least able to sit back and enjoy the ride anyway. When it comes to this movie though there’s just nothing fun about it. As much as I enjoy the actresses involved with the film they just don’t have any material to work with—it’s excruciating to watch and I just want to close my eyes and take a nap.
The film is really just a mess from start to finish. Any sense of originality is thrown out the window and the actresses involved don’t even seem to be having that much fun on the screen—they just float from scene to scene and the only ones who seem remotely interested in it are Curtis and Weaver, which may only be because they’re veterans and know how to grit their teeth and make the best of a bad movie. It’s a real shame that a film with so much talent is so haphazard and genuinely and wholeheartedly dull to watch. Even the films flash-back moments to Bell’s high school days (where, despite piling on acne and adding in some general “frumpiness” to her visage, looks really not a whole lot different from her usual attractive self) are a mundane affair. After the first half hour I really tried to stop expecting anything of value to come out of this movie. Truthfully speaking it was really only the Betty White moments I enjoyed, although her eventual resolution was worth rolling your eyes at, but then you remember the history between the two actresses and it almost made sticking with it to the end worth it (but not really).
You Again is a film I really must implore you to Avoid as it’s such a genuine waste of time and money. You’d be better off watching another film you’ve seen before a second or third time—you’re likely to get more out of your twenty-sixth viewing of Inception than you would get out of a single viewing of this one.
The Blu-ray
Disney releases You Again in dual disc Elite Blu-ray case without any fancy frills about it (well, I guess an embossed slipcover and bonus copy of the film on DVD is frilly). Menus are simple and easy to navigate and…well, that’s it. The AVC encoded presentation accurately portrays the films upbeat and frequently daytime visuals, which means that you get quite a bit of pretty and nicely lit sequences that accurately portray not only the films intention but also what the Blu-ray format was made for. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is pretty quiet in the surrounds, but delivers all of the dialogue out of the front channels with extreme clarity. The only time the LFE or surrounds kick in is for the films soundtrack, which is merely OK as far as these types of films go.
Extras include:
• FOLLOWING FICKMAN: ON SET WITH THE DIRECTOR: Peer into the madcap mind of Hollywood’s wackiest director, Andy Fickman, as he orchestrates the comedy of Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Betty White.
• ASK THE CAST: Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver and Kristen Bell answer questions from fans asking for advice. Betty’s advice might not be what you expect.
• FUNNY OR DIE: In this behind-the-scenes interview spoof, Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman and Kristen Bell discuss the movie when things get tense between the actresses eventually boiling over into a cast fight.
• DELETED SCENES: Director Andy Fickman provides intros to his deleted scenes “Sharing A Room,” “Photo Album Memories,” and “Riding The Silk.”
• BLOOPER DANCE PARTY: On-set antics abound as the cast dances to their own beat.
• ADDITIONAL DELETED SCENES: Director Andy Fickman provides intros to his deleted scenes. “Good Morning Sunshine,” “Grandma Bunny’s House (featuring Betty White),” “Meet Georgia King (with Betty White),” “Gail’s Shower/Ramona’s Dress,” “The Compost Heap (with Betty White),” “Covered In Lard (with Betty White),” “Bridal Shower (with Betty White),” “After The Fiasco,”
It’s nice they point out which deleted scenes have White in them, as they’re the only ones worth watching. The rest of the extras are forgettable and the “Following Fickman” piece shows off just how easily this film became the disappointing mess that it was.
Overall something to Avoid.
You Again is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.