Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd), a successful Los Angeles real-estate agent, is engaged to the girl of his dreams (Rashida Jones). When he overhears her talking with some friends about his lack of any male friends to be his best man, Peter goes in search of a "bromance" in order to alleviate his fianc's concerns.

Some time in the past few years, I seem to have misplaced my sense of humor, because what passes for a "hit comedy" these days barely make me crack a smile. Sadly, I Love You, Man is another one of these films. It took me three sittings to get through the 104 minutes, the last of which without my wife who couldn't take any more of the supposed humor. Maybe I can't relate because I don't know anyone in my private or professional life that behaves or talks like these Hollywood characters. Do people really swear that much in real life?

The video encode is serviceable but nothing to write home about. Colors are richly saturated, blacks are deep and inky, and daylight scenes are sparkling clean—a little too clean. The image looks scrubbed down with a lack of fine detail in clothing and virtually no grain to speak of. Resolution on longer shots is a bit soft while close-ups are sharp, but the apparent DNR removes any "wow" factor.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is very front-loaded, as expected from a comedy. Dialog is clear and concise, and the stereo spread is decent, but the surround speakers are virtually silent other than some minor ambient noise and score bleed.

Supplements include deleted and extended scenes, a gag reel, and a making-of featurette—all in HD. Other goodies include a commentary from director Hohn Hamburg, Paul Rudd, and Jason Segal as well as a red-band trailer filled with profanities (also in HD).

If you're of the crowd who liked The 40 Year-Old Virgin and others cut from that cloth, you'll probably like this one, but it certainly isn't my cup of tea. I didn't find the sophomoric action funny, but as I said, I seem to have lost my sense of humor. What do I know?

Release Date: August 11, 2009
Studio: Dreamworks

Movie: 4/10
Picture: 7/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

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

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin 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