He’s Just Not That Into You appears in both an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an appealing presentation.
Overall sharpness seemed solid. A couple of wide shots looked a smidgen soft, but those were the exception to the rule, as the majority of the flick was accurate and detailed.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I noticed no edge haloes. Source flaws were absent, as the movie looked consistently clean.
Like most films of this sort, Into You gave us an amber-tinted palette. Some teal appeared as well, but the golden feel dominated. Within those parameters, the hues were positive.
Blacks seemed deep and dark, while shadows showed good smoothness and clarity. I felt happy with the transfer.
In regard to the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack of Into You, I couldn’t find much to praise. I expected that, though, since I wouldn’t anticipate a wild experience from this sort of romantic comedy.
The soundfield focused relentlessly on the front spectrum, and music presented the most prominent element. The score showed good stereo imaging, and we got some minor ambience, but that was about it.
When the surrounds played a part, I barely noticed them, as they added some mild reinforcement and nothing else. This was a very low-key experience.
Audio quality was fine. Speech sounded distinctive and natural, without edginess or other issues.
Effects didn’t have much to do, but they were acceptable for what they offered. Music appeared reasonably full and rich. There wasn’t enough here to merit a grad above a “B-“, though, so don’t expect a memorable soundtrack.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the DVD version? The BD’s lossless audio added some warmth to the mix, though the subdued nature of the track limited growth.
On the other hand, the BD offered significantly superior visuals. The DVD packed both 2.35:1 and 1.33:1 versions onto one disc, which meant it compressed the heck out of the movie to fit.
Without those limitations, the picture could show its potential. This meant the BD looked much better defined and smoother than the blah DVD counterpart.
As noted, the DVD packed two versions of the film, so that meant only one extra on it: five Deleted Scenes that repeat here. These run a total of 13 minutes, 45 seconds.
The major additions involve Theresa Russell as Anna’s mother. Not only does she appear in “Anna Visits Her Mom”, but she’s also the focus of “Birthday Party/Walk Home”.
These are interesting to see, as they add to the Anna character. They would’ve made an already long movie too extended, but they would’ve fit fine in the final flick.
“Anna’s Song” just shows a performance from Anna. It also connects to the first two cut scenes, but it’s not as compelling and it would’ve made the film drag.
“Gigi’s Date With Bill” spells out the dullness of the Bill character. The movie works better without it, as the theatrical cut allows us to see Bill as a viable possibility for Gigi’s heart, while “Date” shows us he’s a dud.
Finally, “Gay Pride Parade” shows an alternate introduction for Mary and Conor. It’s considerably weirder and less effective than the version in the final cut.
We can watch these with or without commentary from director Ken Kwapis. He offers some thoughts about the various scenes and also lets us know why he deleted them. Kwapis proves informative and engaging, so it’s too bad he didn’t do a full movie commentary.
Three other extras are exclusive to the BD, and Baltimore Blade: The Relationship Issue offers an interactive piece that lets us see what happened to the movie’s characters after the film’s conclusion. It spreads into six featurettes that fill a total of 18 minutes, 33 seconds.
The movie’s end credits offer small snippets of this footage, so some of the material repeats. I like our ability to view the longer clips, though.
Six Words That Make Up a Film runs 11 minutes, four seconds and brings info from Kwapis, co-author Liz Tuccillo and Greg Behrendt, producer Nancy Juvonen, screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, and actors Ginnifer Goodwin, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Aniston, and Kevin Connolly.
“Words” looks at the source book and how it moved into cinematic form as well as related areas. “Words” turns into a pretty decent “making of” piece.
Finally, The Director Stages a Scene: Duet for Telephones goes for four minutes, two seconds and offers comments from Kwapis as he dissects a scene between Gigi and Alex. Kwapis offers solid analysis of his cinematic choices.
While not a great – or even very good – movie, He’s Just Not That Into You provides more entertainment than I expected. The film boasts an excellent cast and moves at a brisk enough pace to ensure that we never become too bored. The Blu-ray offers very good visuals along with mediocre audio and a few bonus materials. This is a fair “date night” rental but not more than that.
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