Plot: What’s it about?
Andy Fiddler (Eugene Levy) is a dentist who lives a somewhat sheltered life, so he is looking forward to his trip to the big city for an important convention. After all, he is a keynote speaker and he plans to dazzle the crowd with his wit and humor. Agent Vann (Samuel L. Jackson) is also in the big city, but this bitter federal agent is not as optmistic as the dentist. His partner was a dirty agent and now, Vann wants to track down those involved, as his partner was murdered. Vann makes contact and sets up a meeting, but a strange twist fate lands Fiddler right in the middle. Now if Vann wants to uncover the truth, he will have to enlist Fiddler and drag him along every step of the way. The two have constant personality clashes, but if either is going to accomplish their goals, they’ll have to work together…
Ah yes, another buddy movie and of course, we have two very stereotypical characters in the roles, a Jewish nerd and an angry black dude. I did not have high hopes for The Man, but I usually like Eugene Levy, so I gave this flick a spin. In the end, while the movie is not innovative or memorable, it is a decent way to pass the time and provides some good laughs. Of course, Levy is hilarious and he plays off Samuel L. Jackson quite well, much better than I expected. The two have solid chemistry and their verbal battles are fun, thanks to a great sense of timing between the two. The movie plays on the usual cliches for this type of material, but never seems tedious or stale. I don’t remember any huge moments of laughter, but The Man has some good humor and for a weekend rental, makes a good choice.
Video: How does it look?
The Man is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. This is a good visual presentation and try as I might, I could find very little wrong with it. The black levels look sharp and well balanced, blacks are deep & rich, while white seem bright & bold. This ensures a nice balance of contrast for the colors, which emerge here in vibrant form and free from all smears & bleeds. This is also a very smooth overall transfer, with minimal print debris and no signs of compression problems I could detect. Another impressive treatment from New Line.
Audio: How does it sound?
New Line has included both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 options here, although the range of this material is very limited. Even if you go with the DTS track, you won’t be swept into the action, as the surrounds are not put to the best use. This is because the material is dialogue driven most of the time, so surround presence isn’t needed as much. A few scenes do allow the surrounds to open up a little however and in those instances, both soundtracks come across well. I could find very little different between the two soundtracks, so each delivers and either would be a good choice. This disc also includes a 2.0 surround option, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish, should you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some humorous outtakes, a selection of deleted scenes, and a quarter of brief, but still worth a look featurettes.
