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Meet the Browns
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (2nd September 2008). |
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The Film
 As much as I'd love to say I enjoyed this movie, I don't think I can say it. I'm about as far as you can possibly get from the target demographic. I'm not even going to pretend I enjoyed this movie, but I'll be very open-minded about its target demographic and say that it may be enjoyed by some people. On the other hand, even the target demographic has better movies to choose from. My thoughts on this movie can be summed up with one example. First, the plot. Angela Bassett plays mother of three, struggling to make end's meet in Chicago, when she suddenly inherits a house in Georgia. Because she has no money, she can't pay the neighborhood babysitter when she works. Now for my example. This babysitter, an older women, calls Angela Bassett a 'young mother' (who can't take care of her kids). For crying out loud, Angela Bassett turned 50 this year! There's a short-sightedness about this statement – and this movie as a whole, that asks too much suspension of disbelief of its audience. (Well, of myself, at least.) Life is not this easy, not this rosy and not this simple, even for idealists. To be fair, with this movie, writer/director/producer Tyler Perry extends racial diversity to his world by actually having a latina character in here, the literally and figuratively smokin' Sofia Vergara. No, sorry, I'm mistaken. The greedy company heads who run off with the employees' (i.e. Brenda's) money and the gas company man that cuts of Brenda's power are both Caucasian. Mr. Perry's characterisation of humanity is reminding very strongly of gwai lo characters from so many Hong Kong movies I've seen. Nothing in this movie is original and nothing in this movie is unforeseen. Perhaps Tyler Perry's success can be attributed to this fact. There's something safe and comfortable about similarity. No matter how bad things are for the characters, you know everything will turn out all right for those you're supposed to care about, while the antagonists will have a tough time after the credits role. I do appreciate the rather light tone of the movie, as a darker one would have been too much, but I never like the unnecessary stretching of emotional scenes to elicit a desired reaction. By the same token, the 'urban drama' subplot is utterly unnecessary and goes absolutely nowhere. A good director never needs to do this kind of manipulation to get the audience to cry, or to laugh. (See 'The Road Home' for the perfect example.) Clichés aren't so bad if the actors seem to be having fun, or if you enjoy the characters, but here I didn't really care for anybody. Again, perhaps the demographic thing. The only character I moderately enjoyed was Cheryl, Miss Vergara's character. Though she's typically latina, and one-dimensional, she's the only character in the movie who followed her instincts and does what she wants to do, whatever the consequences. In this movie of quite unequivocal morality, she's the only character I'd ever root for. On the flip side, David Mann's Leroy is one of the more annoying characters I've seen in a long time. He's loud, annoying and entirely grating. Jenifer Lewis, on her side, is not only grating but crass and even louder. She's played the same kind of character as long as I can remember, and there's no change in my feelings toward her portrayal of virtually the same character with this movie. Tyler Perry has created his own little universe for himself, with Madea and her various family members, friends and acquaintances. This movie is part of that world, as Madea is mentioned a few times and is related to these characters in various ways. I can say for certainty that if you enjoyed any of Mr. Perry's other works, then this movie will be worth watching. Indeed, the ending of this movie segues pretty smoothly into 'Madea Goes to Jail', due in February 2009, and sure to please the same audience. However, if you enjoy other types of movies, then I suggest following your instinct and finding something else to watch.
Video
1.85:1 widescreen, using the MPEG4/AVC codec. The cinematography is very open and clear, so there aren't really any problem areas for the transfer. The picture is clear throughout the movie, showing no haloing or artifacting. The colours are bright and show good contrast. Skin tones are reproduces very accurately, and the black levels are very strong. There doesn’t seem to be too much digital manipulation, as well. The image could probably look a bit more film-like, but the picture is still very good as it is.
Audio
The movie comes with an English DTS-HD Master 5.1 track and a Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. I've read three different reviews with three different audio specs. I can assure you this track is in 5.1. Saying this track is bad would be lying, because every sound element in this track is clear. The track has no problems handling what's thrown at it, but that's more because there's nothing particularly intense about the movie. The dialogue is clear, as are the score and the various other elements. The volume levels are okay, and the rear speakers, though used sparingly, do get used for ambiance. A lossless track for this movie isn't really necessary, so this lossless track is more than enough to support the movie. English and Spanish subtitles are provided.
Extras
Fans of the movie will more than likely enjoy these featurettes, as they're pretty informative, if slightly on the fluffy side. The disc contains a slew of featurettes talking about various aspects of the movie. First is Meet the Manns (11:04), which concentrates on David and Tamela Mann. They are married, but play father and daughter in the movie (and in the play's original run). Mr. Perry and the Manns talk about their history together and how this lead to the movie role here. Next is Mr. Brown's Fashion Breakdown (2:49). This has David Mann talking about and showing you his character's eccentric clothing style. The first one is more interesting than the latter featurette, simply because he's not trying too hard to be funny in the first featurette. Next is Angela & Rick: Meet the Lovebirds (7:28), which focuses on the relationship between Angela Bassett and Rick Fox in the movie. Mr. Perry talks about working with Mrs. Bassett, and casting Rick Fox. Both actors talk about their roles and working with each other. The Browns are Born: The Story of Meet the Browns (7:35) is a more general featurette. Mr. Perry and producer Reuben Cannon talk about how Mr. Perry's play made from the stage to the screen. Jenifer Lewis: Unleashed (5:59), as you may guess, is all about Miss Lewis. She talks about working on the movie, while trying to be funny in front of the camera. Also From Lionsgate are a bunch of trailers. I will run off the trailers here and let's see if you can guess the common thread: 'Why Did I Get Married?' (2:38), 'What's Done in the Dark' (2:14), 'Madea's Family Reunion' (1:02), 'Daddy's Little Girls' (2:24) and 'House of Payne' (0:32). If you guessed that they are all Tyler Perry movies, then you win. These, by the way, are also start-up trailers. Disc two of this supplies the buyer with a digital copy of the film for use on a personal computer and portable video player/Zen/Zune/iPod/what-have-you. High-Definition Exclusive Extras: Disc one has a couple of exclusive featurettes. The Music of Meet the Browns (5:40) is just what it says. The composer talks about the differences between the score for 'Meet the Browns' and 'Why Did I Get Married?', his first Tyler Perry project. He talks about writing a more comedic score and how he accomplished that in relation to the script and the movie. Lastly is Bakin' It & Shakin' It with Mr. Brown (6:47), which, again, I found slightly annoying. This has David Mann, in character, baking some donuts for you. He jokes all the way through this featurette. It shows some of the levity on set, which is always nice to see, but because of my feelings on the character, I'll refrain from expanding on my thoughts here.
Overall
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