The Best Man Holiday appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This was a somewhat flat image.
For the most part, sharpness was good, but it wasn’t terrific. Though most of the movie showed positive delineation, it came with mild softness at times, an issue exacerbated by some light edge haloes. Still, the majority of the flick came across as reasonably concise. No issues with shimmering or jaggies occurred, and I saw no source flaws.
Colors tended toward an amber tint typical of character films such as Holiday. The tones suited the material and seemed well-developed within the stylistic choices. Blacks were fairly dark and dense, while shadows seemed smooth and clear. The softness was the most notable issue, and it brought my grade to a “B-“.
I thought the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack also deserved a “B-“, mostly due to a lack of sonic ambition. One wouldn’t expect fireworks from a character piece such as this, and that limited scope dominated the movie. Music showed nice stereo spread, and environmental elements filled out the room in a satisfactory manner. However, the audio had little to do and remained focused on dialogue, so don’t anticipate anything memorable from the 5.1 track; even when we went to a football stadium, the material remained subdued.
Sound quality seemed fine. Music was full and rich, while effects showed good clarity and accuracy; they remained low-key and didn’t tax my system, but they were perfectly acceptable. Speech appeared distinctive and natural. Though not an impressive mix, the audio suited the film.
When we shift to extras, we open with an audio commentary from writer/director/producer Malcolm D. Lee. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/character areas, sets and locations, cast and performances, music and visual design, editing, and a few other domains.
On the positive side, Lee presents a lively, engaging personality, and he gives us some good notes about the production. He seems willing to comment on problems experienced during the shoot, so he doesn’t simply give us incessant happy talk. Heck, he even gets angry some times, such as when he discusses the Real Housewife shows.
On the negative side, however, lee tends to narrate the movie an awful lot. Since we’ve already seen the movie, we don’t need Lee to tell us what we find on-screen. Lee still offers enough good material to overcome that issue, but the frequent narration limits the quality of the piece.
We find an Alternate Ending (1:39) as well as 19 Deleted/Extended Scenes (25:12). The “Ending” shows a different path to the same essential resolution; it’s mildly interesting at best.
As for the bevy of deleted/extended moments, they tend toward a variety of character moments. We find alternate introductions to a bunch of roles and learn a little more about different topics/personalities. Fans will enjoy the chance to see the added footage, but I can’t say any of them offer anything vital.
We can view these with or without commentary from Lee. He tells us about the scenes and why he cut them. Lee continues to be chatty and informative.
Two featurettes follow. Holiday Reunion runs 12 minutes, 14 seconds and includes comments from Lee and actors Harold Perrineau, Melissa De Sousa, Nia Long, Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan, Monica Calhoun, and Eddie Cibrian. “Reunion” covers the decision to make a sequel and bringing back the actors, story/character topics, performances, and Lee’s work on the shoot. A few decent notes emerge, but this is mostly a promotional puff piece.
Smack Talk: Filming the Girl Fight Scene goes for four minutes, nine seconds and involves Lee, De Sousa, Hall, Perrineau, Howard, Lathan and stunt coordinator Angelica Lisk-Hann. We get a few notes about the specifics related to the cited sequence. The piece is too short to tell us much, but it has some good shots from the set.
We finish with a Gag Reel. It lasts four minutes, 53 seconds and shows a bunch of mistakes and crack-ups. Don’t expect anything outside of the norm here.
The disc opens with ads for Dallas Buyers Club, Rush, and Riddick. No trailer for Holiday shows up here.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of Holiday. It comes with the commentary, “Reunion” and the gag reel.
Almost 15 years after the original, The Best Man Holiday delivers a limp sequel. It runs too long, suffers from too much melodrama and lacks much real entertainment value. The Blu-ray offers reasonably good picture and audio as well as some decent bonus materials. Fans of the first flick may get something from Holiday, but it does little for me.