Plot: What’s it about?
Has it really been fifteen years since “So I Married an Axe Murderer” came out in theaters? My how time flies. The summer of 1993 was mainly remembered for one movie and one movie only “Jurassic Park” and all others pretty much fell by the wayside. At the time, Myers had had success with cohort Dana Carvey in the previous years “Wayne’s World”. It was only natural that Myers would see if he could branch out and become a true talent on his own. As the box office for “So I Married an Axe Murderer” proved, it didn’t really work out. Time has told us that Myers has become one of the most successful movie stars namely due to his work with the “Austin Powers” movies and the “Shrek” franchise as well. Admittedly it’s been about ten years since I’ve seen this movie and saw it sitting there so I figured I’d give it another try.
The setting is San Francisco, one of my personal favorite cities, and I was immediately reminded of the “grunge” phase that grasped our nation some fifteen years ago. Myers actually plays two roles (something he’d expand upon in the “Austin Powers” films), but namely he’s Charlie a poet of sorts which evidently seems to pay the bills. Charlie’s afraid of commitment and breaks up with his girlfriends when he feels they’re getting too close. He meets Harriet (Nancy Travis) at a local butcher shop and the two hit if off instantly. While conversing with this mother (Brenda Fricker), he notices that a string of mysterious murders is happening across the country. Charlie starts to notice certain things and before long, feels that he’s in love with a wanted murderer. Together with friend and policeman Tony (Anthony LaPaglia), the two try to convince themselves that it’s just not true; but the facts speak for themselves. Could it be that Harriet will make Charlie her latest victim or is his insecurity getting the best of him?
Admittedly I found “So I Married an Axe Murderer” a lot more charming this time around. I don’t know if it just reminded me of a simpler time in my life or that I went into it not expecting a whole lot but it did seem to work for me. Myers never really established himself as a “romantic lead” as that’s what I’m sure the filmmakers had in mind, but it did give him a good launching pad. The movie is a bit dated, however, with some cameos by Michael Richards (doing his “Kramer” routine), Steven Wright (doing his comic routine) and Charles Grodin (doing whatever it is that made him famous). More importantly Myers also plays his character’s own father, Stuart, which is an eerie predecessor to the “Fat Bastard” character he’d play in the “Austin Powers” sequel. “So I Married an Axe Murderer” is a fairly underrated romantic comedy and if not taken too seriously, is a lot of fun.
Video: How does it look?
I was expecting the worst from this movie and I don’t really know why. The movie is fifteen years old and some of the catalog Blu-ray titles I’ve seen lately leave a bit to be desired. However I have to say that the 1.85:1 AVC HD transfer for this film wasn’t actually half bad. There are some scenes that look clear as day without any artifacting or errors to be seen. Then there are some of he stock footage scenes of San Francisco that are plagued with grain and dirt. By and large, it’s above average picture that only looks better in high definition.
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby TrueHD soundtrack is a veritable “who’s who” of the grunge rock scene from the early to mid 90’s with songs by the “Spin Doctors” and “Ned’s Atomic Dustbin” to name a few. These are played intermittently throughout the film and do give it a bit of a dated feel to it, but if you’re like me you like the songs. Dialogue is the main focus here, be it Myers’ character’s voice or the stressed Scottish of his character’s parents. There are a few scenes that make use of the surrounds but so much of the sound is in the front three speakers, I’d have trouble calling this an uncompressed mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The box of this Blu-ray touts this filmas a “Special Edition” but unfortunately the only supplement for this disc is a link to Sony’s BD Live and a traler for the “Men In Black Blu-ray disc.
