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Dom Robinson reviews

American Perfekt

Distributed by
Planet Distribution

    Cover
  • Cert:
  • Cat.no: PDVD 1528
  • Running time: 96 minutes
  • Year: 1999
  • Pressing: 2000
  • Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
  • Chapters: 20
  • Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)
  • Languages: English
  • Subtitles: None
  • Fullscreen: 4:3
  • 16:9-enhanced: No
  • Macrovision: No
  • Disc Format: DVD 5
  • Price: £19.99
  • Extras : Scene index

  • Director :

      Paul Chart (American Perfekt)

    Producers :

      Irvin Kershner, Andrew Schuth, Dawn Handler and John Thompson

    Screenplay :

      Paul Chart

    Music :

      Simon Boswell

    Cast:

      Sandra: Amanda Plummer
      Jake: Robert Forster
      Santini: David Thewlis
      Alice: Fairuza Balk
      Frank: Paul Sorvino
      Shirley: Joanna Gleason


American Perfekt is a road movie that delivers more than the initial promise and is a film I don't want to say to much about plot-wise so as not to spoil the surprises and twists.

The film begins with Sandra (Amanda Plummer, in her usual kooky role) driving through the desert to get to Pear Blossom to meet up with her sister Alice (Fairuza Balk) and then they'll drive together up to Utah. However, her car is hit by another which runs her off the road and bursts her tyre. She's helped out by the next passer-by, Jake (Robert Forster), a doctor who takes chances depending on the result of a coin toss - almost to the point of being 'Two-Face' obsessive - and a man to whom there's much more than meets the eye and certainly not one you should ride in a car with.

When they run out of petrol in his car they have to flag another one down - it's the car driven by Santini (David Thewlis), a con-artist and the man who wrecked Sandra's car in the first place. Reluctantly they accept a lift to the nearest motel with him.

Alice doesn't really appear until over halfway through the film, despite having top-billing on the box and American Perfekt reunites her with her The Island of Dr Moreau co-star Thewlis. Paul Sorvino shows up as the local sheriff and Joanna Gleason plays a drunk barfly named Shirley.


film pic

"I think I lost my watch down there".


Despite being framed for cinema presentation originally, here we have an open-matte fullscreen version, which is a shame but doesn't look bad at all. The average bitrate is a steady 5.53Mb/s.

The sound is fine most of the time, with a few dialogue pieces sounding a bit muffled, but a few nice surround moments balance that out.


Extras :

Chapters :

There's a good number of chapters - 20 over 96 minutes.

Languages & Subtitles :

English language, but no subtitles.

Menu :

The menu is static and silent, with the basic options to start the film or select a scene.


film pic

"I didn't get it at Tescos, okay?"


To go into more depth would stop you finding out for yourself what happens, but it's certainly a road trip worth taking with competent direction, even if the ending is lacking. However, given the price and lack of extras, it's one to make a very good rental, rather than a substandard purchase.

Given the 15-certificate, it's certainly not for anyone under that age as there's some choice language and one or two gory 18-cert-type moments.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS



0
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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DVDfever.co.uk - Est. February 25th 2000

As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.

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