Plot: What’s it about?
While some people say high school was the best years of their lives, just as many seem to think it was the worst four years they could imagine. With the pressure to get into a good school or perhaps find a job after graduation, all the peer pressure and what not, and those hormones of course, high school can be quite demanding. Such is the case with Steven Carter (Ben Silverstone) who is trying to balance his school studies with his search for true love, which includes random shags with people outside of public bathrooms. Romance is trickier for Steven than it is for most people, since he is homosexual and not eager to let the world in on his secret. As he progresses through his days here, he slowly discovers that he needs to come to grip with who he really is, if he ever wants others to as well. And with a potential love connection on the horizon, he needs to get his butt in gear right away. Will this guy be the one for him, or will he be turned away once again?
When comes to teen comedies, I must admit, I am somewhat of a completist, I love the genre. So when I learned of the British import teen comedy Get Real, I jumped on the chance to check it out and fire off a review. This movie has all the elements a teen comedy needs to succeed, although the romance angle is played a little differently, since the lead character is homosexual. This didn’t bother me, but I know some readers might avoid a film with a same sex romance. In any case, this movie seems to have all the ducks in a row, but somewhere between the credit sequences, it just never takes off. In a teen comedy, you have to have a strong lead, or the whole thing comes down like a house of cards. Get Real lacks the strong lead role it needs, and often relies on the supporting cast for all the humor, which is not a good thing. I never once found myself caring whether or not this guy would find love, since I found him boring and often times just plain stupid. If you’re a teen comedy fanatic like me, give this a rental, perhaps there’s something for you that missed me. But be happy with a rental, because Paramount has issued a very poor disc here.
This film was directed by Simon Shore, who makes his feature film debut with this movie. While his inexperience is obvious at times, for the most part the movie flows well and the camera movements are quite good. For a low budget movie with a mostly unknown cast, Shore’s first film manages to be fairly technically sound. The lead role in this film is played by Ben Silverstone, who has decent skills, but he needs more experience before trying to carry a movie again. He is often overshadowed by the supporting players, and overall his performance leaves much to be desired. But the potential is there, so maybe Silverstone (Lolita, The Browning Version) will find his niche before too much longer. Strong supporting performances come from Charlotte Brittain (Secret Society), Kate McEnery (Bellman and True), Stacy Hart (The Beach, Elephant Juice), and Brad Gorton (Tv’s London’s Burning). These actors help shore up some the slack Silverstone leaves behind, and they do a fine job of it. The supporting cast also includes Jacquetta May (The Naked Cell), David Lumsden (A Prayer For The Dying), and Patrick Neilson.
Video: How does it look?
Get Real is presented in a 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. While this was a low budget endeavor, the image doesn’t show any signs of it, with a very sharp and clear visual presentation, free from all but minor nicks and other damage points. The colors appear bright and bold, and flesh tones seem natural as well, with no signs of distortion. Contrast is also up to code, with deep shadows and very high visible detail level. Where this transfer falls short is when you talk about compression errors, which this transfer is riddled with. From start to finish, you’ll see all manner of moire patterns, edge enhancement, and shimmering, which is very distracting at times.
Audio: How does it sound?
As with most teen comedies, this film uses dialogue as the audio focus, but there’s also a peppy soundtrack to back things up. But this mix doesn’t seem to be able to balance the two, so while the dialogue is soft, the soundtrack is overly loud, which means a happy medium is almost impossible to find. While the dialogue is crisp, the volume inconsistency is too much for me to give this audio a high rating.
Supplements: What are the extras?
No bonus materials are included with this release…at all.
