Plot: What’s it about?
Since the days of “The Godfather”, mob movies have become very mainstream. While all are not the cookie-cutter movies that we think them to be, few stand out as being very well made. So, when a movie is a comedy like “The Whole Nine Yards”, as opposed to a pure gangster flick like “Goodfellas”, then we get to see the best of both worlds…comedy, mixed with a little romance and some violence. Basically, something for everybody. It’s this latest installment in this film directed by Jonathan Lynn that raises the question “What to do when your next door neighbor is an ex-hit man for the mafia?”. In what was a suprising hit this last Spring, it’s also interesting to note that this movie made one of the fastest turnarounds to video (DVD) than any other movie in history, unless I’m mistaken that is.
We meet dentist, Nicholas “Oz” Oseransky (Matthew Perry) early on and learn that he is very unhappily married to his wife, Sophie (Rosanna Arquette). The two have been married for nearly ten years and have hated most every minute of it. Noticing that he has a new neighbor, he goes over and introduces himself, only to find that a distinguishing tatoo of a tulip marks him as none other than Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski. What’s odd is that Jimmy is now retired from his “job” and they both live in Montreal, having both been formerly of Chicago…small world. It’s not long that Oz realizes who Jimmy is, and not long after that that Jimmy knows that Oz knows who he is–confused yet? What is so good, and yet bad, about this movie is that hardly anyone is who they seem to be. Oz has an assistant by the name of Jill St. Claire (Amanda Peet) who we learn has “other” aspirations that to see her boss sleep with another woman. Upon a trip to Chicago, Oz is confronted by Frankie Figgs (Michael Clarke Duncan) asking to the whereabouts of the Tulip (the mob knows things). After a few punches, he confesses, but instantly falls in love when he meets the Tulip’s wife, Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge). It’s then that all the characters start to intereact and you have to pay close attention to who’s doing what to whom.
While The Whole Nine Yards is a very enjoyable movie to watch, I found it a little hard to concentrate on what was happening (as you could probably tell from the review). The commentary helped out, but not much. Still, it’s a light-hearted movie directly in the mold of the recently released “Mickey Blue Eyes”. The cast is great and the only person who I thought was miscast was Oz, that “Friends” schtick just doesn’t work in every single movie! Still, it’s a very enjoyable movie, and I might advise, one to watch at least once!
Video: How does it look?
As is Warner’s usual, they have presented “The Whole Nine Yards” in a great-looking 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer and also included a full frame version as well, most likely due to the film’s success and for commercial appeal. The colors are bright and fleshtones look very natural, nothing really to complain about. It lacks the vividness of a perfect transfer, as a few errors are evident. On the whole, another solid effort from Warner and they show no sign of changing from their ways…which is good.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, much like “Mickey Blue Eyes”, this movie has some gunshots mixed in what is basically a romantic comedy (plus the mafia). Surrounds are used a few times, but nothing to really activate the sub or show off your system with. The dialogue is very clear and well seperated as well. For the surround effects that are present, they do sound very good and the 5.1 soundtrack sounds great.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This is basically a standard Warner release, which includes cast and crew bios, production notes, a trailer and a feature length commentary with director Jonathan Lynn. The commentary is very informative and entertaining, and it’s nice to see that more and more releases by Warner (and by every studio) are containing commentary tracks. Also included are some outtakes which are interesting and on the whole, it’s a very good disc. Warner has made it worth the price of at least a rental, but if you’re a fan…then you have a great purchase waiting!
