Easy Money / Men at Work Blu Ray Review

Like shooting fish in a barrel Coin/Men At Work (Double Feature)

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THE FILMS:

Easy Money (1983 - directed by James Signorelli):

Click an epitome to view Blu-ray screenshot with 1080p resolution.

Rodney Dangerfield is never not funny, no matter the pic. Easy Money is not among his best works, which include Caddyshack and Back to Schoolhouse, merely provides a comically exasperated Dangerfield, who this fourth dimension plays a hard-living father - Monty Capuletti - forced to give upwardly his vices in order to receive a big share of his late mother in law's manor. An early problem with Easy Money is the plot: The film spins its wheels for a half-hour or so before hinting at the primal conflict. Career actress Geraldine Fitzgerald plays the grouchy Chiliad-I-50, who thinks her daughter could do better than a boozing, gambling, smartass. The codicil requiring Monty requite up his current lifestyle is a final jab from the grave, but Monty decides to give it a go for his married woman (Candy Azzara) and kids (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Lili Haydn). In that location's also an extended subplot almost girl Allison'south (Leigh) marriage to wacko Julio (Taylor Negron), which is decidedly not the picture show'due south best card.

The late Roger Ebert called Easy Money'south plot "a line to hang gags on," which is a ameliorate description than any I could accept mustered. Dangerfield is often hilarious hither, but his performance feels tempered, even in this R-rated film, every bit if some of his scenes were trimmed to dial back his irreverence. This is the way I feel about the overall film, too, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of footage concluded upwardly on the cut room floor. The pace is disjointed, and there are many detours that event in dead-ends. Director Signorelli, who worked extensively on "Saturday Dark Alive" in the decades following this film, could have pushed this material farther. Very few scenes push the comedic envelope, though the drunken driving scene with Dangerfield and Joe Pesci, who plays a similarly irresponsible blue-collar joker, probably wouldn't fly today. God bless the '80s. *** (out of *****).

Men at Work (1990 - directed past Emilio Estevez):

Emilio Estevez directs, writes and co-stars with brother Charlie Sheen in this uneven comedy near ii garbage collectors who witness a murder. Carl Taylor (Sheen) and James St. James (Estevez) work the night shift, bitching and grouse and alluring the attention of local blowhard cop (John Putch), who dislikes their cavalier attitudes. The guys suspension up a domestic disturbance by shooting at a human (Darrell Larson) with a pellet gun, but soon witness this same man go strangled by two unknown assailants. They later discover the body in a metal drum, and enquire Vietnam vet Louis Fedders (Keith David) for help, fearing the pellet-gun wound volition implicate them in the man's murder. This set-up and follow-through are a flake too complicated for their ain good, just this premise at least allows Estevez and Sheen to riff off of one some other for 90 minutes.

The Brothers Estevez play well together, and their performances are the best role of Men at Piece of work. Sheen has made a career delivering witty, dry, deadpan humor, and this complements Estevez'due south slightly more subdued comedy. The picture show finds it'due south footing mid-step, simply falls autonomously once more at the climax. The larger conspiracy does not really matter, and I grew a bit tired of Men at Piece of work in the terminal reel. This PG-thirteen moving picture might accept played improve with an R-rating, as both leading men are certainly upwards to the task of pushing the boundaries of good gustatory modality. Estevez has directed only a handful of films, and he is obviously learning the ropes here. If anything, Thanksgiving with the Estevez family must be a hell of a affair. *** (out of *****).

THE BLU-RAY:

PICTURE:

Both films appear on a single, dual-layered Blu-ray disc, and each sports a 1.85:1/1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. Easy Money is the expectedly grainer and grittier of the ii, and there is some minor print damage throughout. Colors are reasonably well saturated, and black levels are resolved. Shout Manufactory skips the digital noise reduction pass, and at that place is a pleasing, filmic appearance to the prototype. Fine-object detail is decent, but in that location are the occasional soft shots. Men at Work looks quite good, though in that location appears to be some slight digital scrubbing baked into the master. Fine-object detail is by and large good, as are texture and sharpness. Black levels impress, and print anomalies are deficient.

Audio:

Each film is presented with a 2.0 DTS-Hd Primary Audio soundtrack (with optional English language subtitles). These work fine for the textile. Easy Coin has an early glitch, where the sound cuts out for a brief moment, but the track recovers nicely afterwards that. Dialogue is articulate, and the furnishings and soundtrack are reasonably weighty. Men at Work has more depth, and some of the action furnishings are quite boisterous in stereo. Dialogue is similarly without distortion.

PACKAGING AND EXTRAS:

This single-disc double feature is packed in a standard case with dual-sided artwork. The only extras are the films' theatrical trailers.

Terminal THOUGHTS:

Shout Manufacturing plant releases Like shooting fish in a barrel Money and Men at Work on Blu-ray for the first time as part of this double characteristic. Both films are enjoyable, if unremarkable. Rodney Dangerfield, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen are the best things here, and the plots of these comedies come second to the talent. The A/5 presentations are good, and this double feature is Recommended.

Additional screenshots:

Easy Money: