Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Once the high school cheerleading captain who dated the quarterback, Rose Lorkowski now finds herself a thirty-something single mother working as a maid. Her sister Norah is still living at home with her dad Joe, a salesman with a lifelong history of ill-fated get rich quick schemes. Desperate to get her son into a better school, Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene clean-up business with her to make some quick cash. In no time, the girls are up to their elbows in murders, suicides and other...specialized situations. As they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, the sisters find new respect for one another and the closeness they have always craved finally blossoms. By building their own improbably business, Rose and Norah open the door to the joys and challenges of being there for one another - no matter what - while discovering personal healing in the most unexpected way.

This is a charming drama that doesn’t bring anything really new to the genre but manages to wring out some great performances by the cast. The film definitely tugs at the heart strings as two sisters do their best to make the most out of their misguided lives.

Anchor Bay has been delivering some great presentations from their smaller catalog of Blu-ray titles and this is no exception. The image has a very clean and detailed look with great dimension. Fine detail is preserved beautifully and the image retains a very crisp look throughout. Colors have a natural tone and balance and fine film grain is obvious throughout. Contrast levels are slightly awash, which at times can flatten the image, but this is keeping with the theatrical presentation I saw as well. Overall a very fine effort from Anchor Bay.

The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack makes the most of the material with a very natural soundstage. Surround cues do their best at opening up the mix and the film’s soundtrack selections keep you engaged. Dialogue sounds natural throughout with no signs of strain and imaging across the main soundstage is solid.

Extras include a feature commentary with the writer and producer along with a short production feature.

This is a solid character piece with great performances from all. The A/V presentation is outstanding but replay value for this type of film may be a bit low. Fans should definitely add it to the collection while first time viewers may want to give it a rent first.