Plot: What’s it about?
Michael Delaney (Jerry O’Connell) and Kyle Brenner (Jake Busey) are best friends & leaders of the Tomcats, a band of single guys who love to live the wild life. That means lots of booze, parties, and of course, sex with as many women as possible. But when one of their own takes the plunge and gets married, the last six Tomcats make a bet, with the last single man deemed the winner. Each puts a thousand bucks into a mutual fund and as times passes, that sum will grow and grow, perhaps to massive proportions. As the years roll by, the Tomcats get married one by one, until Michael and Kyle are the final bachelors of the bunch. In Las Vegas for one of the weddings, Michael tries to impress a woman by rolling the dice, but instead ends up deep in debt, to a real legbreaker of a casino boss (Bill Maher). If Michael wants to keep his life, he needs to cook up a plan to win the bachelor’s bet, which means he has to make sure Kyle gets hitched. But can he come up with a feasible plan in just a single month and if so, will it go just as he hopes?
This movie seems to be another in the line of crude comedic films we’ve been swamped with of late and of course, that’s exactly what it turns out to be. But that isn’t a bad thing per se, as these movies can be worthwhile and although Tomcats isn’t great, it isn’t bad either. I was very let down by the trailers for this movie, but I like Shannon Elizabeth and crude humor, so I took a chance and saw Tomcats at the theater. I expected tons of breasts, tons of sick humor, and little else, but I was only half right in that assumption. You see, Tomcats has minimal female flesh, aside from some bikini girls and a few close calls, which surprised me. However, it does have a lot of male ass shots, which seems to go against the target demographic’s wishes, but the scenes do work in terms of humor, which is what counts. Elizabeth is her usual self, which means she looks great, but does little in terms of performance. But she and the rest of the cast are funny and in Tomcats, that’s what you want to happen. If you’re a fan of these kind of comedies, then I recommend Tomcats as a rental, as Columbia hasn’t done much with this release.
She might not be the world’s best actress, but I never mind seeing Shannon Elizabeth in movies, for obvious reasons. Of course, she looks fantastic and she is often seen sans clothes, but in Tomcats, she keeps it all on. This was a slight let down, but she’s dropped linen in other films, so I won’t complain too much about it here. Elizabeth turns in her usual performance, which means she struggles with even simple dialogue at times, but still, she is fun to watch. I am glad she was given the role of a police officer, as it adds humor to her character and her scenes with her partner are hilarious, at least I think so. You can also see Elizabeth in such films as American Pie, Dish Dogs, Jack Frost, Seamless, and Scary Movie. The cast also includes Jerry O’Connell (Mission to Mars, Joe’s Apartment), Jaime Pressley (Ringmaster, Poor White Trash), Horatio Sanz (Road Trip), and Jake Busey (Starship Troopers, The Frighteners).
Video: How does it look?
Tomcats is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition also included on the disc’s flip side. This is a strong image to be sure, but some small errors do emerge, though nothing serious. I saw some grain in a few scenes, but it was minor in scope, so no need to be worried there. The print used also shows a little more debris than expected, but again, nothing to be overly concerned about. Aside from those flaws, this is a terrific visual effort, with bold color hues, accurate flesh tones, and well balanced contrast. This might be a perfect transfer, but it is very good and I doubt anyone will be displeased.
Audio: How does it sound?
This movie also packs some audio power, thanks to a rock soundtrack and some rather active scenes. The music is presented in rich form here, as it takes over the surrounds and immerses the viewer, very cool stuff. The surrounds aren’t used all that often in other regards however, aside from a few scenes that spark the speakers. But this is a dialogue & visuals driven comedic film, so you simply don’t need expansive surround presence. The vocals are clean, crisp, and never out of balance, with no problems in the least to report. This disc also includes 2.0 surround options & subtitles in English and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some talent files, as well as the film’s theatrical trailer.
