I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. While some of the movie looked quite good, many other moments seemed problematic.
Sharpness usually appeared accurate and detailed. At times, however, I found the image to come across as somewhat fuzzy and soft, with lesser definition seen in some of the wide shots. Nonetheless, most of the movie appeared clear and appropriately focused.
Moiré effects and jagged edges presented no concerns, and edge haloes remained absent. I also saw no print flaws.
Colors went for a mild mix of teal and amber. The hues lacked much vivacity, but they reproduced the source fairly well.
Black levels were fairly deep and rich, but shadow detail was more than adequate. Ultimately, this was a watchable transfer.
As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it was surprisingly involving given the movie’s genre. I don’t expect much from comedies, but the fires opened up the mix in a solid manner.
In the forward channels, the music provided good stereo separation and the effects broadened the track well. Surrounds added positive reinforcement in quieter scenes and kicked to life nicely during the action sequences. The track used the various channels in an active manner and created a fine sense of setting.
Audio quality appeared very good. Dialogue was consistently warm and natural, and speech displayed no concerns related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects were lively and dynamic.
During the fires, bass response seemed especially good, as that side of things brought out real depth. Music also sounded bright and clear. There weren’t enough of those action scenes to bolster my grade above a “B”, but this was still a nice track.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the DVD version? The lossless audio offered a bit more range and impactm though it stayed with a similar soundscape.
Visuals offered a decent upgrade, though, as the Blu-ray seemed better defined and more vivid. While not a great image, the BD still topped the mediocre DVD.
As we move to the extras, we start with two separate audio commentaries. The first comes from director Dennis Dugan and actors Adam Sandler and Kevin James. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific discussion view of locations and sets, other cast members, cut scenes and editing, musical choices, and a few general notes.
With Sandler and James in tow, you might expect a lot of funny bits here. You won’t find many, unfortunately. Oh, there’s the occasional laugh, but for the most part, this is a track packed with happy talk and fluff.
They kid around with each other and tell us how much they like different parts of the movie. They also make sure we know the names of many, many performers in the film, a trend that gets tedious quickly. This isn’t a very interesting track.
Note that although Pronounce boasts a “PG-13” rating, this is an “R”-rated commentary. Sandler lets the “F-bombs” fly, so if you have sensitive ears, you won’t be happy.
Next we get a solo track from director Dennis Dugan. He provides his own running, screen-specific discussion. Essentially Dugan covers the same topics found in the first track, though with a moderately different perspective.
We get a fair amount of the same info. Dugan recorded this commentary after he did the other one and acknowledges that he’s repeating notes but does it anyway.
Dugan does offer a little more detail about the production without Sandler and James along for the ride – not a lot more detail, but enough to make this a more satisfying track for those who want to learn something about the film. Unfortunately, Dugan also uses the space to incessantly shill for his next movie.
He seems to think his promotional efforts are amusing, but they’re not. They’re irritating at best.
Despite that trend, this is the superior commentary of the two. It’s not a particularly good commentary, but it proves more useful than its predecessor.
New to the Blu-ray, U-Control offers a “Friendship Test”. As the movie runs, occasional multiple-choice questions appear that you answer to gauge your attitude toward your pals.
At the end, the “Test” gives you a goofy result about what a good – or bad – friend you are. It’s not a memorable feature but it seems inoffensive.
Inexplicably, the Blu-ray loses deleted scenes and featurettes from the DVD. Very early Blu-rays frequently lost DVD extras, but this disc came out in 2009 when this practice has largely ceased.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry takes a pretty lame premise and turns it into an even less intriguing film. Packed with cheap gags, nary a laugh can be found. The Blu-ray offers generally good picture and audio with some lackluster bonus materials. Avoid this offensive and awful movie.
To rate this film visit the original review of I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY