Plot: What’s it about?
After a lot of years buried inside of a mental lock, a strange college pact is thrust to the surface when Lucy (Sarah Jessica Parker) realizes how dull her love life has become. This pact was made in a sort of comical fashion, but Lucy feels it could inspire her to find love and if not, then maybe that’s just fate in action. The pact was made between Lucy and her roommate Joe (Eric Schaeffer), who promised each other that if they didn’t find love before she turned thirty, they would dive off the Brooklyn Bridge. And with Lucy only a few short weeks from that birthday, she thinks this is just what they need to push ahead, or else they need to follow through and take the plunge. So Joe begins to build the courage to talk to a neighbor he has never met (Elle Macpherson), but has had a serious crush on for some time. At the same time, Lucy explores all sorts of dates, but is not having much luck. Can these two manage to form stable romances in such a short time, or are they doomed to leap into their certain doom?
I like a lot of romantic comedies and I saw If Lucy Fell back in the theaters, but I didn’t really care that much for it. But now some time has passed and the film was released on DVD, so I figured I’d give it another shot and see if my feelings had changed. I ended up liking the flick a little more, but I still think it lands in the middle of the romantic comedy scale. Some funny moments do surface and also some solid emotional points, but in this case, there are more misses than hits. The main change for me comes in the form of Ben Stiller’s role, as I used to hate it, but now I found it much more entertaining for some reason. Stiller’s humor has grown on me to be sure, as well as the work here of Elle Macpherson, who seems more effective than I remembered. But the rest of the cast seems a couple steps behind, which sort of slows the film down too much at times. I recommend this release as a rental to fans of romantic comedies, as this is a fickle genre and even the average ones are usually worth a quick look.
The stone around this film’s neck seems to be Eric Schaeffer (Wirey Spindell, Fall), who served as writer, director, and actor in this film. I wasn’t impressed in the least with his work in any of these fields, as his mediocre writing takes the notch as his best work here, which isn’t saying much. His screenplay has the usual romantic comedy cliches and when he sticks with them, the film is decent enough, but when Schaeffer tries to be unique, it blows up in his face. As a director, he uses no style or originality, opting to use basic visuals and no real flair in the least. But perhaps this was for the best, as he might have further sunk the film if he tried to be fancy, right? In the end, his acting is the worst offense of the three, with his pathetic scenes with Macpherson as the proof of his lack of skills. Let’s hope someone has the common sense to keep Schaeffer off the screen in the future, shall we? The rest of the cast is much better and includes Sarah Jessica Parker (Honeymoon In Vegas, The First Wives’ Club), Ben Stiller (Reality Bites, Meet The Parents), James Rebhorn (Carlito’s Way, The Game), and Elle Macpherson (The Edge, Sirens).
Video: How does it look?
If Lucy Fell is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer, with a full frame version included on the disc’s flip side. This is a solid transfer overall, but there is a lot of grain present at times, which lowers the image’s quality somewhat. But this is still a good presentation, complete with clean source print and minimal compression errors. The colors have a natural scope, but still look bright at times, while the flesh tones seem consistent also. I saw no flaws with the contrast either, as detail level is strong and the black levels are dead on. Some problems do surface here, but I think fans will be very pleased with this release.
Audio: How does it sound?
This disc includes a 2.0 surround track, which more than handles this dialogue driven material. I noted some nice use of the speakers, but on the whole, this is a very conservative mix, which is how it should be. The music and sound effects come off well here, but not in as active form as most films would have. But that doesn’t hinder the experience here, so no hard feelings in the end. The focus is on the dialogue here and it sounds good, very crisp and consistent at all times. This disc also houses 2.0 surround tracks in Spanish, French, and Portuguese, with subtitles in those languages and English as well.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes talent files and the film’s theatrical trailer.
