Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Tim (Paul Rudd) is a rising executive who can fast-track his career by participating in his boss's exclusive dinner party, at which the winning executive brings the biggest buffoon. Enter Barry (Steve Carell), an IRS agent with a unique hobby of creating dioramas with dead mice.

What passes for a successful comedy these days make me question my sense of humor, but I actually enjoyed this one. Rudd and Carell have great chemistry, and thankfully the elaborate dinner party is a very small part of the story with the screenplay concentrating on the budding relationship between the two leads.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Bold color palette
• Inky blacks
• Excellent resolution and fine detail

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Tepid dynamics
• Front-heavy track
• Occasional surround envelopment
• Intelligible dialog

The video quality is quite good with loads of detail in clothing and in facial textures, but the audio track is extremely laidback with its dialog-intensive soundtrack.

Bonus Materials

• The Biggest Schmucks in the World: Behind the scenes with the cast (HD)
• Deleted Scenes (HD)
• The man Behind the Mouseterpieces: Bringing Barry's Dioramas to life (HD)
• Outtakes (HD)
• Meet the Winners featurette
• Paul and Steve: The Decision featurette

At 114 minutes the screenplay has a tendency to drag at times, but the payoff is worth it in the end. The video presentation is very good although the audio rarely offers anything groundbreaking. I would definitely give this one a rent if you're looking for a good comedy.

Release Date: January 4, 2011
Studio: DreamWorks

Movie: 7/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics