Extras: Animated Menus, scene selection. theatrical
trailer, 15 interstitials, commentary by Director Jake
Kasdan and Writer Mike White, 4 deleted scenes.
Director:
Jake Kasdan
Cast:
Shaun Brumder: Colin Hanks
Arlo: Kyle Howard
Chad: R.J. Knoll
Lonny: Bret Harrison
Ashley: Schuyler Fisk
Mr Burke: Mike White
Lance: Jack Black
Charlotte Cobb: Lily Tomlin
Bob Beugler: George Murdock
Cindy Beugler: Catherine O'Hara
Principal Harbert: Chevy Chase
Bud Beugler: John Lithgow
Don Durkett: Harold Ramis
Marcus Skinner: Kevin Kline
Firefighter: Ben Stiller
Orange County was the movie that suprised
everyone earlier this year when it became a hit at the box
office. Most critics hailed it as one of th best teen
movies in years. I'm not going to argue with them
because it is one of the better ones. But you have to
look at the genre and see that there is not much
there. The teen movie genre has become weaker over the
years with gross out comedy like Scary Movie and all
the worthless fodder out there. Whatever happened to
the stupidly funny movies like UHF, Airplane, or Naked
Gun? While not exactly teen movies they're still in
the same vein. Anyway, like I said, Orange County is
one of the better ones. It's smart and tries to get
you to really care for the characters instead of
wondering which kegger they're going to get ripped at
next.
The film tells the story of Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks)
as he tries to become a writer and get out
of Orange County to go to Stanford. Since this is a
comedy things don't work out that way. Shaun's
girlfriend (Schuyler Fisk) does not want him
to leave as does his mother (Catherine O'Hara).
So when the transcipts reject him because
they're not his, his stoner brother (Jack Black)
gets an idea. They decide to go the Stanford
and demand to be let in. Then, of course, more comic
mishap ensues.
The video on this disc is just okay. Paramount was
never that great when it came to transfers anyway so
this isn't much of a suprise. It's bright and colorful
but I noticed some scratches on the print here and
there and some grain. There was also some compression
artifacts in the darker scenes. But these complaints
are not very distracting unless you stand 5cm away from
the screen with a magnifying glass.
The sound, on the other hand, is pretty good. I've
always liked how Paramount includes regular surround
sound since not many people have a 5.1 or higher sound
system. You don't really need to expect much in terms
of sound in a comedy but everything is audible.
The extras are standard fare for Paramount. Why do
they list menus and scene selection on the back as
extra features. It is not just Paramount either. These
are expected on DVDs, they are requirements not
extras. Anyway, four deleted scenes are included with
15 interstitials and a trailer. Not much but you'll
only watch them once anyway.
Overall, Orange County IS one of the better teen
movies in years. Don't go in expecting a witty and
sharp comedy like
National Lampoon's Animal House
or similar.
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.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
