Plot: What’s it about?
“Regarding Henry” was made in that awkward time period when Harrison Ford wasn’t Indiana Jones anymore (though there’s supposed to be a new installment in a year or so) and he wasn’t yet Jack Ryan. The movie was an offbeat role for him as he does play the hero, but also a jerk as well. Director Mike Nichols, whose movies include “The Graduate” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” was at the helm for his turn at a movie that might make Ford a sentimental hero. Did it work? Well, not exactly. Released in the Summer of 1991, we had our eyes on “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”. And though somewhat of a financial success, this is typical of some of Ford’s early 90’s work (which started with his great turn in “Presumed Innocent”). Since then we’ve seen him play the bad guy in “What Lies Beneath”, but at the time, this might have been his most talked about role. However with “Awakenings” still in recent memory, could we handle/accept the movie as yet another “victim of circumstance”?
Ford plays the title role of Henry Turner, an attorney who is good at his job and is a jerk to boot. Early on, we see him defend a hospital who has just taken away all the money from a helpless old man in a wheelchair. This is to say that it quickly establishes him (Ford) as a jerk and someone that has a wife and kids if only because he thinks he has to; or someone else to yell at. However, things take a turn when he goes out for cigarettes and is shot while a robbery is in progress. Shot in the head and in the heart, he is reduced to a vegetative state. This is when things kick in and though a good turn by Ford, it’s just not too believable. His wife (Annette Bening) tries her best to play the role of the supportive wife. Her worries about the finances of the family seem to be present only to add a bit more tension to the story. Henry’s constantly upbeat physical therapist, Bradley (Bill Nunn), is not only comic relief but tends to get a bit old after a while too.
To say that this has been done before is to simply state the truth. We know that Henry won’t be a drooling vegetable forever and we know that (at that point in time) Harrison Ford won’t play a jerk and remain that way until the credits roll. Now don’t get me wrong, the story does have it’s good points as well. Director Mike Nichols has produced some of the great movies out there and even his “bad” efforts aren’t all that bad. The movie feels like it is a soap-opera, though, and for that we don’t really care what happens to the characters as they feel fake. Ford is better as his action characters, though he does tend to do well in dramas from time to time. Somewhat reeking of early 90’s cynicism (maybe getting back at the greed of the 80’s), perhaps this paints lawyers out to be who we think they are and not what they really are? In any case, “Regarding Henry” is not one of Harrison Ford’s or Mike Nichols better efforts, but your time won’t be completely wasted by watching it.
Video: How does it look?
“Regarding Henry” is presented in an anamorphic aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Nichols, who usually films his movies in a wider 2.35:1 aspect ratio, has gone for a less wide look here. As with a lot of Paramount catalog titles, this appears to be very grainy early on and then get progressively better as the film moves on. The palette used is very muted as evidenced by the opening scenes of a dingy courthouse. Flesh tones seem to be on par with what we would expect from a movie that’s 12 years old; however there is a bit of edge enhancement that left me a bit concerned. On the whole, it’s not a bad transfer, but it’s not the best either.
Audio: How does it sound?
The movie has a re-mastered Dolby Digital 5.1 track and it doesn’t really do that much for the film. Ford is what the folks on “Seinfeld” would call a “Low Talker”. The opening scene in which he’s in court is almost so jumbled that I had to crack up the volume just to hear the words. There really isn’t a whole lot of depth to the track that the soundtrack gets to show off (even when he gets shot, it sounds like mono). Aside from Ford’s dialogue, the rest of it is free of any distortion and I’d be lying if I said that this is something that shows off your system. On par with other catalog releases by Paramount, this serves its purpose.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Not a single supplement has been included.
