Plot: What’s it about?
Walter Davis (Bruce Willis) is one of the best workers you’d ever find, as he devotes a lot of time to his work, takes pride in his performance, and sacrifices all the time in order to improve the standards of his projects. But in his personal life, Walter is not so dedicated and as such, he has no real social life and is often alone in his free time. With an important client dinner coming up however, he needs a date to make a good impression and relies on his brother, who sets him on a blind date with a gorgeous woman. The woman is Nadia (Kim Basinger) and she is very beautiful, has a wonderful figure, and seems like a very nice person, so Walter has some faith about not only this date, but perhaps additional ones also. Walter is told that she gets wild when she drinks a little, but he figures a couple glasses of bubbly won’t hurt, which is of course, a crucial mistake. Just how bad can Nadia embarrass Walter at this vital dinner? No matter how bad Walter suffers here, it is nothing compared to the rest of this blind date…
This is the kind of movie that often divides an audience, as some find it to be hilarious and others claim it is dull, perhaps even terrible. This is because Blind Date is an outlandish picture that never takes much grasp of the real world, instead opting to show us just how bad a first date can go, from start to finish. Yes, it sometimes fall flat in terms of humor, but most of the material nails home some serious laughs, at least in my opinion. Bruce Willis is the central focus and while this was his big screen debut, he responds well and powers in a solid performance, often moving into comic greatness, if you’re into the material, that is. The film uses momentum to great extents, which means the situations seem to build and build, until the very last second, when everything that can go haywire does and then some. So the pace quickens at times and then slows back down, in order to work back toward another series of events, all of which seem to test just how bad one night can be, to be sure. This is a fun movie that is well worth a look, but this bare bones disc is not cool, so I think a rental should suffice.
Before he was an action superstar and in demand performer, Bruce Willis was in Blind Date and in my opinion, he is a lot of fun to watch here. Of course, this not the kind of work we expect from him these days, but Willis can do comedic work and he used to do so quite often, it’s a shame he doesn’t return there much. It is great to see Willis react to all the madness that surrounds him in Blind Date, especially when things start to bottom out, as he handles it all with ease. He needed a desperate type of turn in this movie and more than delivers, as his moments of weakness are hilarious and believable. Now this role isn’t the kind of gig you expect to win awards for and Willis seems to know that, as he never forces the character, he just allows things to unfold around him and react to near perfection. Other films with Willis include Die Hard, The Fifth Element, Twelve Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, and Armageddon. The cast also includes Kim Basinger (Bless the Child, Batman), John Larroquette (Summer Rental, Richie Rich), and Phil Hartman (Jingle All The Way, Stuart Saves His Family).
Video: How’s it look?
A relatively middle of the road release from the late 80’s, Blind Date does look the best I’ve ever seen it. Contrast is a bit off, but the image has been cleaned up since its DVD release over a decade ago. The 2.35:1 AVC HD transfer shows a bit of grain and has what I refer to as “80’s lighting” which somewhat dates the movie. Flesh tones look warm and natural and I’m reminded that, at one point in time, Bruce Willis did actually have a pretty full head of hair. Wow. This looks good and fans of the film will be impressed, but it’s nothing earth-shattering.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The movie has been given a new DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 surround mix that’s more than adequate for the film. Comedies, by and large, don’t really need to rely on heavy audio mixes and this surround mix checks off the boxes. Vocals are crisp and clear and I’m kind of in shock at how much higher Willis’ voice is. It’s a good octave or two whereas now he’s got a grizzled and much deeper voice. It’s of no consequence, but worth a mention. No real complaints here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Even the DVD from 2002 had a trailer. No suck luck here.
