Plot: What’s it about?
Don Roritor (Mark McKinney) may look and sound like Dr. Evil, but he is most assuredly not! Roritor is the CEO of Roritor drugs that has coasted off the success of its one big "hit" drug, Stummies. Unfortunately for us, they never tell us what the drug actually does, only that it has caused a few cases of "Flipper Babies". We don’t know and don’t want to know! However, the company has been advised by the board of directors that the company is, in fact, losing money. A proposed 60% of the research department (composed solely of nerdy scientists running around in pastel-colored lab coats) has to be cut and Roritor needs a new drug…quick! Along comes Gleemonex, a drug created by one Dr. Chris Cooper (Kevin McDonald) that when taken, takes a person’s happiest memory and preserves them in that state forever. It sounds too good to be true, right? It is. The drug is still in it’s testing phases, but rather than lose his job Cooper tells Don that it’s ready to go.
The response to the new drug is unprecidented, it even outsells Penicillin! On top of the world, Cooper is sick with greed and abandons his former lab mates (played by three other members of the "Kids") and sets out to have many one night stands with supermodels. All is well until some of the patients start going into comas, and with there no cure in sight, whatever will Cooper and Roritor do to save themselves? As you might of guessed, this isn’t the deepest of plots. In fact, it relies heavily on the fact that the viewer has not only seen, but is a fan of the self-titled TV show "The Kids in the Hall". As a fan of the show myself, I know the humor (Canadian as it may be) and knew what to expect with the guys in drag and Scott Thompson’s only joke "I’m gay…". Yes Scott, we know.
Though David Foley (who, along with the other members of the cast, plays several different parts) was the breakout star; landing a part in "News Radio", his roots are anchored here. The rest of the cast does what they can, but it’s hard to save a movie that is really this bad. Yes, I found myself laughing out loud a couple of times, though sadly it was at Bruce McCulloch’s "Cancer Boy", but for the most part it should have been a TV special. It’s evident that a bigger budget was used, their "female" makeup looks a lot better than it did on the television skit show and there are several collages of scenes that really couldn’t be done on the small screen. Essentially the point is that while the guys (gals?) are talented, their talents really belong on the small screen, as "The Kids in the Hall" that is. Falling under the Lorne Michaels umbrella, though, as with SNL, they got their shot and it wasn’t much to write home about. Hard core fans might want to pick the disc up, but Paramount has offered up another featureless disc, so there’s nothing in terms of extras.
Video: How does it look?
My a change from the small screen to the big one is a really big deal. Just a few minutes after I had watched an episode of "The Kids in the Hall" on Comedy Central, I put the disc in to watch their movie. Anamorphically enhanced at 1.85:1, the image is fairly solid and consistent throughout. As is typical with a lot of catalog Paramount releases, there is some grain in the beginning and in several spots through the movie. Surprisingly, the images in the movie are very colorful, ranging from the color of the orange Gleemonex pill to the green in Scott Thompson’s sailor suit (you’ll have to see the film to know in exactly what context I’m referring). A bit of edge enhancement is the only other "defect" that I noticed. The film isn’t that old, circa 1996, so it does have the benefit of technology. All in all, it’s not a pristine example of what DVD should be, but it’s not the worst looking thing I’ve ever seen either.
Audio: How does it sound?
The film does get a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, but it’s kind of wasted here (and maybe the movie would be a bit funnier if you were too). From what I could tell, if you didn’t know it was a 5.1 track, you’d think it was a Dolby Surround mix. A majority, if not all, of the sound is located in the front three channels, and while clear they just don’t seem to deliver the "punch" that we’ve become accustomed to. The dialogue and effects are very clear, it just lacks the extra "oomph" that I think a 5.1 track should have.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Another featureless Paramount disc. How funny would a commentary by the Kids be? I suppose we’ll never know…
