Plot: What’s it about?
This is the story of a man who loses his job after twenty years of service, but ends up better off than he ever expected. As he shopped for some late night booze, the man bickers with the counter worker, who gives him the last lottery ticket out of pity, which turns out to be more of a gift than he realized at the time. He passes out in his yard and the kids snatch up the ticket, after which the mother (Kim Whitley) holds onto for safe keeping. The ticket turns out to be worth three-hundred million dollars and while the man went to bed a broke peon, he woke up a rich man with the world at his beck and call. So with a fortune at his disposal, he loads up his wife, kids, and the rest of his family and heads out to California, to begin a new life of sorts. But it seems that tons of cash can’t buy everything, as the family members have all sorts of problems fitting in, from finding a beauty salon to joining a country club. Can these former rural folks manage to become a part of the glamorous lifestyle, or are there some things money simply can’t take care of?
I wasn’t too primed about watching this movie, as it looked pretty weak from the cover, which had poor graphics and looked very haphazard. But the premise seemed to have some potential, so with some reluctance, I slid Beverly Hood into my player and gave it a look. It starts off a little slow, but I was quite entertained by the movie, which features some great moments and not so great moments, but ends up more than decent. The writing is mediocre, but the cast seems to be quite animated and that enhances the material, to be sure. I didn’t recognize most of the performers here, but I did know Buddy Lewis (Thicker than Water), Jamal Mixon (The Nutty Professor), Jerod Mixon (Me, Myself & Irene), Kim Whitley (Next Friday), and of course, pop sensations, Destiny’s Child. The case boasts the presence of Destiny’s Child of course, but their screen time is pretty limited, though humorous. This is by no means a comedy classic, but it has some good sequences and is more than worth a rental. York has issued the disc at a very low price also, so fans of the movie shouldn’t hesitate to add this to their collection.
Video: How does it look?
Beverly Hood is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. This is a more than decent visual effort, but it suffers from some problems, to be sure. The image is clean and sharp, but I saw serious edge enhancement and other compression errors, which was a let down. Some scenes totally break down in jagged lines, which is unacceptable. These issues don’t ruin the experience, but I do wish more care was taken, as far as compression is concerned. The colors look bright and contrast is dead on however, so not all is lost with this presentation. I know this is a low budget project all around, but it still deserves to look better than this.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is quite good, especially when it comes to the bass heavy musical soundtrack. The music consists of various rap songs and in addition to the bass, they pack a mighty overall punch, which adds needed depth to this mix. The rest of the audio is your basic comedy mix, which means more than adequate presence, but not much in terms of surround use, though it simply isn’t needed. The dialogue is always crisp and while sometimes at a low volume, no real problems surface. This disc also includes Spanish subtitles, in case you decide to enable those at some point.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s trailer, as well as some bonus trailers.
