High School appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-Ray Disc. This turned into a satisfying presentation.
Sharpness looked fine. A few shots – mostly interiors – showed a smidgen of softness, but those instances remained minor. Overall definition seemed solid. No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes were absent. No print concerns appeared in this clean presentation.
Colors were positive. The movie tended toward a somewhat stylized palette that was more than adequate, as the hues appeared reasonably full.. Blacks were fairly dark and tight, and shadows showed good clarity. Nothing here dazzled, but the transfer delivered a good reproduction of the movie.
As for the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack of High School, it worked pretty well. Like most comedies, the soundfield emphasized the front channels. The music displayed good imaging, and effects broadened to the sides well. They presented a nice sense of atmosphere and kicked into action well when appropriate. Surround usage became more active than expected, mostly due to the stoner scenes; those expanded the spectrum in a dynamic way that worked the various channels in a lively way.
Audio quality was quite good. Speech came across as natural and crisp, with no issues connected to edginess or intelligibility. Effects were clear and accurate. They showed good range and clarity as well. Music worked very nicely, as the songs and score were bold and dynamic. This was a more involving than expected mix for a stoner comedy.
A few extras round out the set. The main attraction comes from an audio commentary with executive producer/writer/director John Stalberg, Jr. He offers a running, screen-specific look at music, sets and locations, cast and performances, various effects, story/character areas, production design, costumes and photography, and a few other subjects.
Although I don’t think much about his movie, Stalberg provides a very good commentary. He covers a lot of territory and delivers a mix of nice details. Although the track sags a bit at times, Stalberh still provides more than enough good data to make this a winner.
11 Deleted Scenes fill a total of 12 minutes, 31 seconds. Some offer extensions to existing sequences, while others just contribute more stoner humor. A few deliver actual exposition, though, which is unusual; most of the time, cut sequences fall more in the “padding” realm and don’t tell us a lot. The expository bits are more valuable than most; they wouldn’t have made this a good movie, but at least they contribute a little information.
The disc opens with ads for Jersey Shore Shark Attack and Demoted. We also get the trailer for High School.
Although I’ve never been a huge fan of the “stoner comedy”, I think the genre can be entertaining. Unfortunately, High School ends up as an inferior example; it meanders along with a slew of cheap, lame jokes and little else. The Blu-ray provides solid picture and audio as well as a strong audio commentary. This becomes a solid release for a weak film.