Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Unrated (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
August 13, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“Hilariously wild and bold! Jason Segel shows he has more to offer beyond television, as does Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis. But there is no doubt that Judd Apatow and Jason Segel work great with each other. ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Unrated’ is a jam-packed, gorgeous Blu-ray worth having in your collection.”
TITLE: Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Unrated
DURATION: 1 hr., 51 minutes for the theatrical version, 1 hr., 58 minutes for unrated version
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish and French DTS 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French
COMPANY: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: R (Sexual Content, Language and Some Graphic Nudity) / NOT RATED for unrated version
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
Written by Jason Segel
Executive Produced by Rodney Rothman, Richard Vane
Produced by Judd Apatow, Shauna Robertson
Music by Lyle Workman
Director of Photography: Russ T. Alsobrook
Edited by William Kerr
Casting by Jeanne McCarthy
Production Design Jackson De Govia
Art Direction by Scott Meehan, Alicia Maccarone
Set Decoration by K.C. Fox
Costume Design by Leesa Evans
Starring:
Jason Segel as Peter Bretter
Kristin Bell as Sarah Marshall
Mila Kunis as Rachel Jansen
Russell Brand as Aldous Snow
Bill Hader as Brian Bretter
Liz Cackowski as Liz Bretter
Maria Thayer as Wyoma
Jack McBrayer as Darald
Taylor Willy as Kemo
Jonah Hill as Matthew the Waiter
Paul Rudd as Chuck
Kalani Robb as Helpful Hawaiian Waiter
Billy Bush as himself
William Baldwin as Detective Hunter Rush
Jason Bateman as Animal Instincts Detective
Peter (Jason Segel) is a struggling musician who finds his world turned upside down when his TV celebrity girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristin Bell), dumps him for a tragically hip rock star. It’s the hysterically funny look at how far one man will go to forget a girl – and all the fun he finds along the way!
Hilariously wild and quite bold!
For fans of the television show “How I Met Your Mother”, actor Jason Segel (“Freaks and Geeks”, “Undeclared” and “Knocked Up”) shows us that he has a lot to offer beyond television. And what better than to team up with friend and producer Judd Apatow (“Freaks and Geeks”, “Undeclared”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin”, “Knocked Up”, “Superbad”, “Pineapple Express”, etc.) and director Nicholas Stoller (who worked on “Yes Man” and “Undeclared”). The film featured cinematography by Russ T. Alsobrook (“Superbad”, “Reign Over Me” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”) and music composed by Lyle Workman (“Superbad”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Yes Man”).
Joining Segel are fellow talents who also have extensive television experience such as Kristin Bell (“Veronica Mars”, “Gossip Girl” and “Heroes”), Mila Kunis (“That 70′s Show”, “Grounded for Life” and “Family Guy”), Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”, “Superbad” and “Knocked Up”), William Baldwin (“Dirty Sexy Money” and “Danny Phantom”), Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”, “The Jake Effect”, “Hancock” and “Juno”) and Jack McBrayer (“30 Rock” and “Arrested Development”). Also, starring in the film is popular British comedian Russell Brand (“Bedtime Stories”), Jonah Hill (“Strange Wilderness”, “Superbad”, “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up”) and Paul Rudd (“I Love You, Man”, “Knocked Up” and “Night at the Museum”).”
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is about television composer Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) who is dating TV starlet Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) who is on the TV crime drama series “Crime Scene”. Sarah comes home much earlier than expected and Peter who is expecting a surprise, ends up being dumped by Sarah.
Not taking it well, Peter tries to get over Sarah as best as he can to no avail. His brother Brian (Bill Hader) and his wife Liz (Liz Cackowski) try their best to help Peter by suggesting that he date other women. But no matter how many women he dates and sleeps with, Sarah stays in his mind. His home is a constant reminder of Sarah. Depressed and still taking the breakup very hard, he takes his brother’s advice and goes on vacation to Hawaii. A chance for him to get away.
In Hawaii, not sure what he’s going to do, he is helped by the hotel receptionist, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis) but as he prepares to get on with his vacation, he spots his ex-girlfriend Sarah at the same hotel. It appears that Sarah and her boyfriend, rock singer Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) also chose to go on vacation to Hawaii. The experience is humiliating for Peter, especially for the fact that she’s already found someone and to make things worse, she’s in the same area and the same hotel.
So, it seems his vacation in Hawaii is going to be be difficult as there is possibly no way for him to forget his ex-girlfriend. But fortunately, things may change when Rachel shows him a part of her world.
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” also features a crazy group of characters such as Darald (Jack McBrayer) and Wyoma (Maria Thayer) as the Mormon newlyweds who try to have awesome sex, Chuck (Paul Rudd) as the surfing instructor who acts as if drugs have cost him precious brain cells, the Aldous Snow fanboy and restaurant waiter Matthew (Jonah Hill) and many more.
The Blu-ray comes with both theatrical and unrated versions of the film. Also, a second disc with a digital copy of the film is included in the release.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is presented in 1080p High-Definition Widescreen (with an aspect ratio of 1:85:1) and in 2008, it was one of the first Blu-rays released that showed us how lush and beautiful Hawaii can look via High Definition. The film is absolutely vibrant, skies and oceans are blue, the green lush foliage and trees in the background and of course, the vibrant bikini’s come out in full force. There is no doubt that this film sports eye-popping colors and I found no digital artifacts and for the most part, the film does not have excessive DNR (digital noise reduction) or banding problems. Blacks are nice and deep and for the most part, this Blu-ray does feature awesome picture quality.
As for the audio, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Spanish and French via DTS 5.1) . The film for the most part is a dialogue driven film. There are scenes that utilize music but for the most part, this is a front and center channel driven film and the lossless audio track works well for this type of film. Dialogue is clear and understandable but there are times where I had to turn on the English subtitles to understand some dialogue.
As for subtitles, the film is presented with English SDH, Spanish and French subtitles.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Unrated” is one Blu-ray release that comes with hours of special features. Included are:
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- Sex-O-Rama – (2:42) Sex scenes that were cut out of the film.
- Drunk-O-Rama – (2:29) A scene with Peter and the bar drinking down many various types of alcohol and various cuts featuring him experimenting with the alcohol.
- Gag Reel – (5:44) A hilarious blooper featurette.
- The Making of “A Taste for Love” – (6:17) A featurette about how Peter’s dracula play which he created many years ago became part of the film. The crew were a bit iffy but in the end, everything worked out well. Also, working with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and training with puppets.
- Dracula’s Lament (Table Read 4/7/07) – (3:12) A hilarious table read featuring the segment in which Jason Segel had to showcase his Dracula song, definitely taking the other actors and crew by surprise.
- Russell Brand: Aldous Snow – (5:55) How the casting of Russell Brand changed the film’s screenplay from a British writer to a British rockstar and what he was able to bring to the film.
- The Letter “U” – (3:45) In Sesame Street-style of fashion, what if Aldous Snow had to appear on the show and present the letter “U” and be around kids.
- “We’ve Got to Do Something” Music Video – (3:47) Aldous Snow’s music video
- Crime Scene – (4:10) Footage from Sarah Marshall’s drama series “Crime Scene” with Billy Baldwin as Detective Hunter Rush. Also, includes Hunter Line-O-Rama (1:53) featuring Baldwin’s improvisational scenes.
- Sarah’s New Show “Alts” – (2:14) Footage from Sarah Marshall’s new animal psychic drama series.
- Raw Footage Video Chat – (7:12) Via splitscreen, we learn how the video chat between Jason Segel’s character and Bill Hader and Liz Cackowski’s characters were created.
- Video Diaries – (35:16) – A total of 21 videos with an option to watch all or watch each separately. The making of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” through 21 days of video diaries featuring behind-the-scenes making of the film.
I actually enjoyed “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” a lot. There are a lot of things going for this film, from it’s hilarious screenplay, the colorful characters in the film, witty dialogue and of course, it helps that the film was filmed in beautiful Hawaii.
I absolutely adore Kristin Bell and Mila Kunis from their own respective TV shows but of course, the big surprise of this film is Jason Segel. It’s one thing to write and star in our own film but the “How I Met Your Mother” star really surprised people by going full frontal and full rear in the film.. I suppose with so many of these wild and crazy films typically showing nude women, the film went the other direction by showing a nude guy and suffice to say, the film generated a lot of talk and hype because of it.
But like most Judd Apatow films which are wild and crazy, the film would also showcase British comedian Russell Brand and definitely introduce him to American viewers and again, many other talents who have been able to transcend from being a television star to appearing on major films.
As for the Blu-ray release, the unrated version features seven minutes of extra footage which showcase more about Peter’s character and his funk that he’s in due to Sarah being with Aldous. So, for those wondering if it’s more of Jason Segel full frontal scenes, fortunately it’s not the case.
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is definitely one of the most beautiful Blu-ray releases to come out in 2008. I had no doubt in my mind that capturing Hawaii on film and for High Definition is going to look beautiful. The Blu-ray definitely shows off eye-popping visuals and although the lossless soundtrack has no action sequences to show off an audiophile’s 7.2 or more home theater setup, the DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track gives us clarity with the dialogue and music also comes out alive as well via the front channels. And of course, fans of special features are just going to love this Blu-ray release for the sheer amount of content that is included.
Overall, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is a wild and crazy film that has a lot of positive things going for it. Sure, the comedy is similar to the crazy style of antics of “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up” and other Apatow-related films but overall, it was a hilarious film worth watching and also worth having in your Blu-ray collection.
Bedtime Stories – J!-ENT Special Feature: Director Adam Shankman, Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Lucy Lawless and Russell Brand
April 4, 2009 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
With the upcoming release of “BEDTIME STORIES” on Blu-ray (April 5th) and on DVD (April 7th), J!-ENT’s latest article features interviews with Director Adam Shankman, Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Lucy Lawless and Russell Brand. Article is by J!-ENT’s Dennis A. Amith.
BEDTIME STORIES (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)
April 3, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
“A child-friendly Adam Sandler film! ‘Bedtime Stories’ is an enjoyable, adorable and fun family film with a good dose of comedy, fantasy and action balancing both Walt Disney innocence and Happy Madison craziness. Overall, a fun film that the whole family can enjoy!”
Disney. All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Bedtime Stories
DURATION: 99 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition/2:35:1, English 5.1 DTS-HD (48kHz/24-Bit) French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English SDH, French, Spanish. Three Discs: Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy
RATED: PG
COMPANY: Walt Disney STudios Home Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: April 5, 2009
Directed by Adam Shankman
Screenplay by Matt Lopez and Tim Herlihy
Story by Matt Lopez
Produced by Andrew Gunn, Adam Sandler, Jack Giarraputo
Executive Producers: Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot, Ann Marie Sanderlin, Garrett Grant
Director of Photography: Michael Barrett
Production Designer: Linda DeScenna
Edited by Tom Costain, Michael Tronick, A.C.E.
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
Music Composed by: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Music Supervisors: Michael Dilbeck, Brooks Arthur
Cast:
Adam Sandler as Skeeter Bronson
Keri Russell as Jill
Guy Pearce as Kendall
Russell Brand as Mickey
Richard Griffiths as Barry Nottingham
Teresa Palmer as Violet Nottingham
Lucy Lawless as Aspen
Courteney Cox as Wendy
Jonathan Morgan Heit as Patrick
Laura Ann Kesling as Bobbi
Jonathan Pryce as Marty Bronson
Rob Schneider as Chief Running Mouth/Pickpocket
Funnyman Adam Sandler stars in Walt Disney Pictures’ Bedtime Stories, the magical family comedy that’s packed with adventure and lots of heart. When Skeeter Bronson (Sandler) babysits his sister’s (Courteney Cox) children, his imagination runs wild as he dreams up elaborate bedtime stories – always casting himself as the hero. Entranced, the children add their own ideas to thse once-upon-a-time tales of heroics and chivalry. Then…magic happens. These nighttime fantasies become Skeeter’s daytime realities, leading him on a real-life adventure in search of his own happy ending. Filled with colorful characters, humor and whimsy, this heartwarmingly comedy will enchant your entire family like never before in Blu-ray High Definition.
LAURA ANN KESLING, ADAM SANDLER, JONATHAN HEIT. BEDTIME STORIES is available on DVD April 7, 2009 and Blu-ray April 5, 2009. © Disney. All Rights Reserved.
A child-friendly Adam Sandler film! An enjoyable family film with a good dose of fantasy and action balancing both Walt Disney innocence and Happy Madison craziness.
The film is directed by Adam Shankman (“Hairspray”, “The Wedding Planner”, “Bringing Down the House” and a screenplay by Matt Lopez (“Race to Witch Mountain”) and Saturday Night Live writer Tim Herlihy (“The Wedding Singer”, “Happy Gilmore”, “Little Nicky” and “Big Daddy”)
“Bedtime Stories” is a film that kicks off a flashback from the past, taking place at a family run inn. Father Marty Bronson (Jonathan Pryce) raising his two children (also employees of the Inn) trying to keep his business and family afloat. Every night reading his children a bedtime story, Bronson tries to keep a happy face despite knowing his inn is not doing well financially. Businessman and hotel mogul Barry Nottingham offers Marty plenty of money if he signs away the rights to the inn and Marty agrees to the deal if only he makes a promise that when his son Skeeter becomes older, he would run the inn. The two make a deal.
Flash forward to the present, nearly twenty five years later and the inn has now become among one of Nottingham’s multi-million dollar hotel investments and is now a popular, classy and luxurious hotel in Southern California. Meanwhile, Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler), a middle-aged man handyman/custodian is not exactly running the business as his father has hoped.
When Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) makes an announcement of a new hotel to open up in Southern California, Skeeter feels that perhaps this is his time. Unfortunately, the job is given to the arrogant Kendall (Guy Pearce). A man who is dating Nottingham hotel heiress Violet Nottingham (Teresa Palmer), a party hopping, Paris Hilton-esque socialite and behind-the-scenes, Kendall is having fun with the hotel concierge Aspen (Lucy Lawless).
Feeling that he’s down on his luck, Skeeter goes to visit his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) and his niece Bobbi (Laura Ann Kesling) and nephew Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit) who is celebrating a birthday. But all is not good with the family. Wendy’s husband has left the family and she lost her job as a principal of her school due to the school closing. She has an interview for a job in another state but she needs someone to watch the kids for a few days. So, she asks if Skeeter can watch the kids at night, while during the day, her friend and a teacher at the school, Jill (Keri Russell), who has the children during the day. Unfortunately, Skeeter and Jill are at opposite ends of the spectrum and don’t get along.
But Skeeter, who is not really close to the kids (nor do they know each other very well) agrees to take care of them for a few days. Also, joining them is their guinea pig (with its big eyes) named Bubsy.
Both Bobbia and Patrick have been raised by their mother to eat healthy, no television but Skeeter feels they need to have some fun. So, he lets them watch television, eat burgers and reads them a bedtime story. But Skeeter is not exactly in the happiest moods due to his job situation, so each time he tells a story, he ends it with a bad ending. So, the first bedtime story features a peasant named Sir Fix-a-Lot (Sandler) who is a hardworking man who is bypassed from a job which goes to Sir Butkiss (Pearce), a story that mirrors Skeeter’s own life. But the children insist that a story must have a happy ending, so they start adding to the storyline of how things workout for Sir Fix-a-Lot such as his boss giving him a chance to prove that he’s worthy of taking over the business and gumballs start raining in on him. Then after the kids finish the story, a sound of chimes appear. When Skeeter asks what that sound was, the kids tell him that it’s their guinea pig ringing the chimes and wanting to go to sleep.
The day after, certain things that were told in the bedtime story comes true. After bad decision making by Kendall, Mr. Nottingham decides that he will give Skeeter a chance of taking over the new hotel. But it all comes down to who can come up with the best plan for the new hotel. Skeeter or Kendall. But for Skeeter, he feels something may be magical with the bedtime story when gumballs raining on top of him (actually a gumball truck was hit in an accident and thus the balls are falling off the interstate on to his car).
Feeling that the kids and even Bubsy may have something magical, he feels that perhaps he can help them come up with a great bedtime story that would benefit him in real life. So, with the last remaining three days with the children before he returns him to his mother, Skeeter comes up with ideas for him to get a Ferrari, a kiss from a damsel in distress and more! But of course, with the children’s imaginative minds, things don’t work out as smooth as Skeeter is hoping for things to be.
KERI RUSSELL, ADAM SANDLER. BEDTIME STORIES is available on DVD April 7, 2009 and Blu-ray April 5, 2009. © Disney. All Rights Reserved.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been on top of their Blu-ray game. Becoming one of the few companies to release their Blu-rays with a bonus DVD and digital copy all in one, the Blu-ray releases are also known for its magnificent picture and audio quality.
So, with the release of “BEDTIME STORIES”, the film is featured via 1080p High Definition with an aspect ratio of 2:30:1. Picture quality is vibrant and looks absolutely beautiful. One of the things that helps the film is much of it is filmed outdoors. With beautiful shots by DP Michael Barrett, the film really captures colors with the gumballs to the red Ferrari (horse and car). I didn’t see any artifacting during the dark scenes and picture quality is just magnificent via High Definition on Blu-ray. Also, another plus is that the film utilizes a good blend of real time shooting and CG (during the sci-fi action scenes).
Another positive for the Blu-ray release is that the special features are featured in 1080p.
As for audio, audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD (48kHZ, 24-Bit) and again, one of the positive things about this film is that the bedtime story sequences are action-based. And thus you get very good audio response from your front, center and rear channels. Scenes such as “Gravity Wars” from the audience to the weapon usage to Skeeter’s truck backfiring, really sounds good courtesy of the DTS-HD. I noticed certain scenes really come quite strong from the rear surround channels during the action sequences. Dialogue overall is heard quite clearly from your front and center channels.
Also, included is a French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital track as well.
Subtitles are provided in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Special features included on the “Bedtime Stories” Blu-ray are:
- Until Gravity Do Us Part – A four minute behind-the-scenes look at the film’s mindboggling special effects. Interviews with John Adrew Berton Jr. (Visual Effects Supervisor) and Garrett Warren (Fight Choreographer) on how the segment was filmed. Quite interesting how much was put into the making of this scene CG wise and also instead of green screen, using all blu-screen and how much went into the fight choreography and getting Sandler and Pearce ready for the role.
- It’s Bugsy – A near four minute featurette featuring a close up of Bugsy the big-eyed guinea pig. Behind-the-scenes of how many guinea pigs were used in the film and how they were utilized. Interviews with the cast of working with the guinea pig and more.
- To All The Little People - A near six minute featurette featuring interviews with Laura Ann Kesling (Bobbi) and Jonathan Morgan Heit (Patrick) and how they felt about working with Director Adam Shankman, Adam Sandler, Russell Brand, Keri Russell, Courteney Cox and others. Also, how the talent felt with working with the children.
- Laughter is Contagious Outtakes – A seven minute featurette featuring outtakes and interviews with the cast of working with each other. How Adam Sandler made everyone laugh and how he was good with the children. How Rob Schneider would make Adam Sandler laugh and much more.
- Cutting Room Flor: Deleted Scenes – Ten minutes worth of 12 deleted and extended scenes.
The Blu-ray is also BD-Live enabled with movie chat, movie mail and Disney Movie Rewards Live.
The included DVD features a special feature not included on the Blu-ray disc:
- Dylan & Cole Sprouse: Blu-ray is Suite – “The Suite Life of Zach & Cody” talents star in a six minute special feature promoting Blu-ray technology.
TERESA PALMER, ADAM SANDLER. BEDTIME STORIES is available on DVD April 7, 2009 and Blu-ray April 5, 2009. © Disney. All Rights Reserved.
I enjoyed “Bedtime Stories” for its combination of comedy, fantasy and adventure. If anything, it was a fun and enjoyable family film.
Sure, I know it is a Happy Madison film (in collaboration with Walt Disney) but parents do not have to worry because none of the adult humor that you would come to expect from a Happy Madison film is there. If anything, this film is a very fun and safe family film. And if there was anything that may be deemed as risky, it ended up on the cutting room floor (which scenes you can watch in the deleted scenes special feature).
If anything, I think fatherhood has brought out Adam Sandler’s gentler side and I think this film is probably one of the rare film to see the side of a lighthearted Adam Sandler with children (you’ll see it more evident on the special features as the children absolute adore him). And for the primary two children of the film, both Laura Ann Kesling (Bobbi) and Jonathan Morgan Heit (Patrick) were just adorable and did a great job for their role in the film.
But as much as I enjoyed the film, there were a few more things that were hits but yet a few that were misses. One of the hits is featuring British comic Russel Brand. His interaction with Sandler was fun as the sleep panicky, crazy friend. And of course, what would a Adam Sandler Happy Madison film be without Rob Schneider in some crazy role and in this case, as Chief Runningmouth and the pickpocket thief.
As for misses, it would have to be Lucy Lawless as Aspen. As much as I enjoy watching the “Xena”/”Battlestar Galactica” actress, in the beginning, you get a feeling of the conspiring duo of Aspen and Kendall trying to gain power to run a hotel. So, you kind of get a feeling of a juicy conspiring role with her character and the protagonist Kendall but all of a sudden, she’s lost in the second half of the film. If anything, what could have been a strong villain with the Aspen and Kendall duo in the film, suddenly gets degraded and the focus becomes more on family helping each other and the chemistry between Sandler’s Skeeter and Russel’s Jill.
So, it was unfortunate that Lawless’s character as Aspen didn’t live up to its potential but at least she had a good appearance in the first half of the film, unlike Carmen Elektra who has only a non-speaking cameo as the girlfriend of a guy showing off his vehicle.
Also, for some people who want an explanation of how these mysterious bedtime stories end up coming real for Skeeter, this is not the film to be logical (then again are many Happy Gilmore films logical?). If anything, “Bedtime Stories” is a straightforward family film that the children can watch and enjoy. I watched the film with my six-year-old son and he absolutely enjoyed it.
With the release of the film on Blu-ray, the fact that this film had so many outdoor shots and a good balance of action and sci-fi scenes, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been on the winning end in bringing films out to Blu-ray with great picture and audio quality and “Bedtime Stories” does not disappoint. And the fact that you get the DVD and a digital copy on disc, that’s another positive reason to own this film in my book.
Overall, what I really enjoyed is how the film incorporated so many elements from sci-fi films, action films of old, and balancing it with comedy. It was a fun film and definitely not a film to take seriously (and again, I feel like I repeat this each time with many Happy Gilmore related films that I review). So, if you are looking for a fun family film that the children will definitely enjoy, “Bedtime Stories” is definitely recommended!
