Fox Home Entertainment presents

Stuck on You (2003)

Walt: Are you kidding? You could win a humanitarian award for how nice you were to us.
Cher: Aww... no. Well, really, is there talk of me getting one?
Walt: No, no, it's just a figure of speech.- Greg Kinnear, Cher

Stars: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear
Other Stars: Cher, Seymour Cassell, Lynn Shaye, Frankie Muniz, Eva Mendes
Director: Peter and Bobby Farrelly

Manufacturer: DVDL
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, sexual situations
Run Time: 01h:58m:12s
Release Date: 2004-04-27
Genre: comedy

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B	C+	B	B	B+

 

DVD Review

It is natural for directors and writers to mature as their careers continue. While this is most often an admirable trait for the Farrelly brothers, it can be seen as something of a detriment. After directing a trio of the funniest films to come out in the 1990s (Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, and There's Something About Mary), the duo have toned down the laughter in favor of more sentimental stories with Shallow Hal and now Stuck on You.

Bob (Damon) and Walt (Kinnear) are two brothers who are close—very close. The are conjoined twins who have lived on Martha's Vineyard since birth and they have made a good life there. They own a restaurant, are the stars of numerous sports teams, and are liked by everyone in town. But Walt dreams of bigger and better things, including moving to Hollywood to realize his dreams of being an actor. At first he is dealt a large number of set backs, until he meets Cher (playing herself), who dreams of being let go from her failing sitcom. To help her project tank, Cher hires Walt.However, her idea backfires and the show is an instant hit, with Walt and a reluctant Bob as stars.

It is not that Stuck on You is without moments of laughter, it is simply that it lacks the sarcastic punch of the directors' earlier works. With a premise rich in possibilities, they plays it safe too often with predictable situations and jokes. It is admirable to see the brothers taking chances and going against what many expect of them, but their script is an anchor that drags the film to a halt.

The Farrelly brothers have constructed a one joke premise and the joke loses its humor rather quickly. All of the clever and original jokes are exhausted within the first 20 minutes and from then on, the script offers very few genuine laughs. On the plus side, the twins have been written with their own disctinct personality and emotions, and the writing does succeed in the more intimate aspects such as Bob's relationship with an internet girlfriend who is surprised by the fact that the pair are conjoined.

Stuck on You is too long at nearly two hours, and drags on well after the arc of the story. The performances by Kinnear and Damon are of top quality; the pair has terrific chemistry, which is a necessity here. Damon seems to struggle with some of the more comedic aspects from time to time, while Kinnear has pitch-perfect delivery throughout. The film also offers fun performances from Cher, Eva Mendes, and Seymour Cassell, as well as cameos from Frankie Muniz and Meryl Streep.

Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: C+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	2.35:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is of average quality, but given that this is a recent film I was hoping for something better. Colors are nicely rendered with no bleeding, but too often it suffers from a rather murky appearance. Edge enhancement is never a real issue, but it is noticeable from time to time.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	French, Spanish	yes
Dolby Digital 5.1	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is what one would expect from a comedy of this nature as the surround speakers are used largely for the score. Dialogue is crisp and natural with no distortion or dropouts. Overall, a basic mix.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 28 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English, Spanish with remote access
1 Original Trailer(s)
8 Deleted Scenes
3 Featurette(s)
1 Feature/Episode commentary by Peter and Bobby Farrelly
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: RSDL

Extra Extras:

1. Blooper Reel

Extras Review: The Farrelly brothers have become moderately famous in the DVD community for their commentary tracks in which they point out their friends and relatives who are extras in their films. The track is focused on who was in what scene, as well as how great everyone was to work with. This is as poor a track as you are likely to find.

Three featurettes are included that deal largely with the production of the film, two of which generally offer very little information. The first is a look at the Farrelly brothers films and their success in the genre. Another is a more promotional look at the making of the film and includes interviews with the cast and the crew. The third is a brief look at the make-up effects used to join Damon and Kinnear together.

Eight deleted and extended scenes are included with optional commentary, and there is hardly a laugh to be found in any of the cut scenes. A very funny blooper reel is included and it is certainly worth a look. Finally, a trailer for the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen.

Extras Grade: B+
 

Final Comments

Overall, Stuck on You succeeds if only because of the performances by Damon and Kinnear, but the screenplay fails and the film seems tepid and empty. It has a lot of heart to be certain, but not enough laughs.

Kevin Clemons 2004-04-25