Plot: What’s it about?
With reality programming on the “small screen”, it was inevidable that the leap to the big screen would be imminent. The Real Cancun is just that. I must admit that I’m getting old or a lot has changed in the ten years since I was going on college Spring Breaks. Or maybe not. The movie tries to be a cross between “The Real World” and “Paradise Island” (or whatever it’s called). The group of kids stay in the same “pad” (I’ll try and sound hip here) and tend to only hang out with themselves; though, trust me, they do get around to others as well. Where the movie falls short, though, is that “The Real World” is a season-long show and we actually get to know the people (not characters) a bit more, whereas here all we get is 97 minutes to try and get to know these fine leaders of tomorrow. Some of the characters do, admittedly, stand out. The black girl, Sky, has some good scenes and the up and coming model is portrayed as sort of an Owen Wilson clone; then again that might be the look he’s going for. But, when you put a group of strangers into a house for 10 days, something interesting will happen and this is the story…
I once heard a friend of mine describe Oliver Stone’s The Doors to me and it was something like this “…he gets drunk, he gets high, he writes a song…”. That description might be applicable to The Real Cancun as well. Though there’s a lot of getting drunk, dancing, hooking up, sex and then the morning after (to which the entire process repeats itself). One thing I found interesting is the fact that it plays itself off as a Spring Break movie, but a few of the members that are in Cancun aren’t even students in school. Odd, I thought, but maybe they gave a little more life to the film than the “real” students would have. And if you’ve read this far looking for a plot, well, there really isn’t one. It’s just an edited (for time) version of what happens on a Spring Break of a group of college kids (from different colleges). Though the group isn’t that diverse, two of the guys are best friends and two who are friends and want to be something more…you get the idea. Still, though, the tagline does get to the point “…all the fun of Spring Break with none of the hangovers!” Though I might add “…and no fear of getting a STD, too!” Will there be another movie like this? Count on it.
Video: How does it look?
The movie took place during Spring Break of this year (2003), and I originally thought that we’d see a more “documentary” look to the feature, but alas, this is much better. The film has a very stylized look and feel to it, glossy as some of the women’s bodies and with a very sleek feel to it. There are slow-motion parts that are stragetically-placed and some of the scenes are purposely tinted to reflect the mood in that scene. This definitely looks like a “real” movie to me, as I was expecting something of far lesser quality. What I can say, though, is that this is about as good as a DVD presentation gets. The colors are bright and vivid, just take a look at the place they stay at, for example; the colors literally jump off the wall! There is no edge enhancement to speak of and I’m happy to say that every bikini you’ll gander at will leave almost nothing to the imagination. Yes, it looks that good.
Audio: How does it sound?
Equally as good as the picture is the sound. This might sound like it’s been “manufactured” to sound great, but I haven’t heard the surrounds in my system blare like that for a long time. There’s a particular scene in which a concert is going on and the rear speakers are actually ringing out more than the front ones. It’s rare that I have to turn the volume down while reviewing a disc, but this is one of the most active Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks that I’ve heard in a long time. Dialogue is perfect as well, we get to hear every profane word, and there are lots, uttered both under the breath and shouted at the top of the lungs. Even the sub woofer kicks in from time to time to add a bit more depth to the soundtrack. Though a different kind of soundtrack, this is one that you’ll want to crank up and enjoy the ride.
Supplements: What are the extras?
New Line’s titles are usually packed with some goodies and this one is no exception. But, it’s not a disc that will take you 12 hours to get through as well. The most robust of the supplements are the cast insights. Taken near the end of the trip, but still in Cancun, we can select individual (dual) interviews or play them all at the same time. It was clear that most of the people there formed cliques and the titles are labeled accordingly. Next up are 6 deleted scenes, the highlight of which is the wet T-Shirt contest that was omitted from the final cut. These are shown in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. I would have liked to hear exactly why these were cut, as some did tend to slow down the action a bit; but I suppose the Director had his reasons. A short featurette is shown in that we get to see some highlights from the theatrical premiere of the show. The cast is back and most had not seen the final cut of the film, so it was kind of funny to see what they would and wouldn’t comment on before they had seen it. The original theatrical trailer and TV Spot is included as well and some DVD-ROM content is included as well. Odds are we’ll see many more movies like this, but this might get labeled as “the one that started it all”. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing…
