One Crazy Summer appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a pretty solid presentation.
Overall sharpness worked fine. A few wider shots could seem slightly soft, but the majority of the movie came with appealing delineation.
No instances of jagged edges and shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. In terms of print flaws, the film came free from issues.
Colors appeared positive. The movie opted for a natural palette, and the tones seemed fairly full and rich.
Blacks felt dark and dense, while shadows offered appropriate clarity. Expect a solid transfer here.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, it seemed perfectly adequate. Speech was natural enough, with no obvious edginess on display.
Music showed decent range, and effects felt the same, as they showed reasonable impact and avoided obvious distortion. Given the movie’s age and sonic ambitions, this became an accurate representation of the source.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we find an audio commentary from writer/director Savage Steve Holland and actors Curtis Armstrong and Bobcat Goldthwait. All three sit together for this running, screen-specific look at story and characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, and various experiences.
Much of this chat revolves around joking and loose memories of the shoot. The emphasis remains on a light tone, and that works.
Goldthwait adds a lot of humor, and we get just enough actual production info to carry the piece. A few too many dead spots occur, but this still turns into an enjoyable commentary.
Note that much to my relief, Goldthwait uses his real voice here, not the screechy tones he adopted for his 1980s comedic persona. I think Goldthwait abandoned that character years ago – the shtick got old fast – but I still worried he’d revive that voice for the commentary, so I feel happy that he doesn’t.
Because I lived through the 1980s, I remember when wacky comedies like 1986’s One Crazy Summer seemed daring and hilarious. 35 years later, however, the flick too often comes across as tacky, dated and dumb, with only occasional glimmers of humor. The Blu-ray brings very good picture along with appropriate sound and an audio commentary. This turns into a quality release for a fairly mediocre movie.