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Techtite's DVD Reviews! |
"...why couldn't they have just removed the filth, for a nice, harmless chick flick? This film could have easily been devoid of filthy Farrelly- flavored fluff, and made into this year's Legally Blonde. It's a shame it wasn't." --from the review ----------------- Feel free to contribute. As always, review submissions are accepted! ------------------
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The Sweetest Thing
Click Picture(s) to order either DVD version A Techtite ReviewThe Film: This was one of those paradoxical messes written by a woman (Nancy Pimental), yet directed by a man (Roger Kumble). It can never decide if it wants to be a female answer to those Animal House or Fast Times at Ridgemont High sex comedies, or if it wants to be just another sewer-ridden clone of There's Something About Mary (which, after so many idiotic clones, I'm beginning to think was not half as funny as anyone remembers it to be). Add to this paradox a trio of actresses who might've been funny in a PG-13 sort of Legally Blonde flick, yet decide instead to be in an R-rated sex comedy...with all sex simulated off-screen. The end result is a film that could've been so much better, had it just chosen what type of audience it was aiming for. Not that the thought of a sex comedy for women isn't intriguing. The message here is --hello, boys!-- girls think about sex as much as they do. Christina Walters (Diaz) and Courtney Rockliffe (Applegate) tour the local bars, in outfits that look fresh from the cover of some PG-13 men's magazine. Silly men; they think they're dressing that way for the men themselves, when it's simply the women's way to attract a good toy boy to complete their party girl mood. This strategy changes somewhat, when Walters meets "the sweetest thing" (Thomas Jane), who may be the man she's searched for all her life. Is he...? Don't ask too many questions; this isn't that complex of a script. You'd think this is a cute story. Well, it is...though it gets tarnished, thanks to some doofus that thinks that every film Cameron Diaz stars in forevermore, must have sewer humor that surpasses even There's Something About Mary. However, none of these girls wish to shed any clothing, so how good is a sex joke with a fully-clad woman, or a "voice" heard off screen? Sure, these Farrelly Brothers wannabes attempt to force-feed sewer humor anyway, via more "hair gel" (ahem) than in any scene of There's Something About Mary. If they insisted on going this route, it would've been wiser to cast more seasoned, R-rated actresses in the roles, like, say, Nicole "Eyes Wide Shut" Kidman, Sharon "Basic Instinct" Stone, and Linda Fiorentino in the Selma Blair role. On the other side of the film's storyline tug-of-war: why couldn't they have just removed the filth, for a nice, harmless chick flick? This film could have easily been devoid of filthy Farrelly-flavored fluff, and made into this year's Legally Blonde. It's a shame it wasn't. The cast would seem to concur, since they are all of the type of actress who perform a sex scene while still in their clothes. Regardless, don't let it be said that PG doesn't sell anymore; that underwear scene with Diaz is far more humorous than any of the sewer humor scenes. Take away the filthy fluff, and Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate still make a perfect comedienne duo (some will be equally surprised at how a veteran TV star like Applegate keeps her own alongside a veteran movie star like Diaz). If only the overall film had better sense of direction. The DVD: I will give the cast of this film credit; unlike some people I might mention (it's a long list, so let's just move on), the cast of this film was not afraid to throw their hats into the audio commentary ring. Not just director Kimble, though Cameron Diaz, Selma Blair, Christina Applegate, and even Jason Bateman offer their anecdotes. However, is all cast present a great comment track by default? Let's see... The truth is, this is a comment track for a film where the cast was clearly goofing off more than making a good film per se. So, one can guess the comment track that would go along with it. Huzzah, huzzah, the girls are back together, so it's time to goof off some more. As they themselves imply, the film was far more fun to make than to watch; a point made clearer to said cast, when they had to view the final product to make this commentary. No apologies nor regrets are expected here; they were too busy having a good time....much like now, in the audio booth. Unfortunately (or fortunately; take your pick), such audio commentary is not offered on the regular, R-rated DVD version. This confirms what I would expect, that the cast & crew could only stomach sitting through this film once, and they chose the unrated version to do so. I can't blame them, though it does deserve mentioning that without this comment track, both discs (aside from the additional, "unrated" scenes) are identical. Production notes, film trailers, a behind the scenes reel, and "A Day in the Life of Nancy M. Pimental" (the film's writer) are all there. Any explanation of these extras needed...? I didn't think so. Last though not least, what can be said about the "unrated" versus "rated" versions? Only that said unratedness seems like a marketing ploy and nothing more. If films like Eyes Wide Shut got away with what they did for an R rating, this film's "unrated" form could've been equally accepted for an R rating, very easily. The scene selection menu has white dots above each scene with added footage --which, out of 28 "chapters," amounts to a mere four extended scenes-- which include little more than an extended prologue, added footage of the club scene where the girls were dancing, added footage during the time women touch Applegate's breasts to see how "real" they feel, and of course the musical number about men's...well, you know. All taken into account, this is hardly an "unrated" version per se. This is more likely a clever marketing exec noting how banal an extended scene menu would be, so he just put the cut footage in the film and called it an unrated version. If the stars weren't so busy goofing off, perhaps cheap marketing ploys like this would be unnecessary. As Cameron herself muses in the audio commentary, "Maybe we should have just made the @#$% movie."
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