Blu-ray Picks: The Addams Family, Zombies, And Kevin Smith – Forbes

Snootchie Reboot-chies! Jay and Silent Bob are back, and ever-so-slightly maturing.

The theme of this weeks major releases is family, in all its weirdest, quirkiest forms. From the clan named Addams to the extended family of Kevin Smiths View Askewniverse and the makeshift clan of the Zombieland saga, these groups stick together in the weirdest and most trying of circumstances. And in Smiths case, his literal family has joined the filmmaking one, as wife Jennifer Schwalbach and daughter Harley regularly appear in his productions.

Smiths output since discovering marijuana has been erratic to say the least sometimes even when his stories start strong, as with Red State and Tusk, he seems to have no idea how to end them. Fortunately, for the most part, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a return to vintage form, with Smith revisiting his signature characters and cinematic universe (a thing he was doing long before everyone else was). The reported gross on it is $3.5 million, but its not clear if that just includes the limited Fathom Events theatrical release, or includes tickets from roadshow screenings that also included meet-and-greets and Smiths combination of public speaking and stand-up comedy.

What makes Reboot significantly better than the more self-indulgent prior Jay and Bob live-action feature, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, is the underlying tone. Strike Back was self-glorification, with Smith clearly relishing the chance to spend Miramax money on everything he could never afford in previous films. Reboot is pure self-deprecation, possibly because having a teenage daughter will familiarize any dad with that concept. Like Clerks II, it acknowledges that even these perpetually immature characters grow up somewhat. And that includes characters from previous movies, including a welcome return by Mallrats Brodie (Jason Lee, whos mostly retired from acting these days) and Chasing Amys Holden (Ben Affleck, whose oddly smoothed forehead is hypnotically weird).

Because Smith is always building a fanbase, he loads the cast with cameos from famous faces willing to do it for cheap or free Val Kilmer appears and says nothing, which makes one wonder if a single spoken word would force his fee upward. The story, such as it is, features a road trip to a pop-culture convention, allowing for all sorts of random encounters, and Jay discovering the daughter he never knew about (actually Smiths daughter Harley; Jason Mewes daughter plays Ben Afflecks kid instead). If the climax feels a tad awkward and abrupt Ted 2 already did it on a larger scale it doesnt negate the good will built up by what precedes it. Even if, like me, you arent always all-in on Smiths Askewniverse, anyone who has ever had any love for these characters should appreciate their loving roasts of themselves and one another.The Blu-ray extras are a mixed bag, starting with a roll call of every minor actor answering the same questions. Yes, the movie felt like family; yes, Jay and Silent Bob are like vaudeville characters; great, you came up with a hilarious backstory we never see onscreen. Better is one where Smith and Mewes do the interviewing: Smith asks some deep fanboy questions of Rosario Dawson, while Mewes tracks down random crew members and learns...not much. The outtake reel is funnier than most, because Smith understands comedy, and a montage of Jay and Silent Bob getting their wigs fixed on set is the right kind of minor gag. But no commentary track? Is that just because Smith wants to save the talking for paid events? Fair enough if so; its what hes best at and best at capitalizing.

WESTWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 10: Ruben Fleischer attends the Premiere Of Sony Pictures' ... [+] "Zombieland Double Tap" at Regency Village Theatre on October 10, 2019 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The blooper reel makes clear that may of the interior driving scenes are shot in a vehicle surrounded by bluescreens, and background added in later. The same is true in Zombieland Double Tap, out this week on 4K as well as Blu-ray, and director Ruben Fleischer elaborates on why that is. Were at the point where its far cheaper to do that then to have to reset the vehicle every time a long dialogue scene needs a new take, and that gets especially repetitive if the actors improvise, as they should. Easier to keep them in the same place, and fake the movement...which, ironically, could be a criticism of the movie itself. It is a very entertaining movie, but it is also very much more of the same. However, it feels like forward momentum, because since the first film, the entire Walking Dead TV franchise has sprung up, making Zombielands mockery of the zombie subgenre once again feel like a healthy corrective. Where The Walking Dead presents by implication, and via the Dixon brothers, the notion that rednecks are best suited to survive the undead apocalypse, the Zombieland sequel ($73 million domestic gross on a $42 million budget) flat-out imagines such peoples sense of style taking over the world, with a whole lot of monster trucks, Elvis paraphernalia, and, yes, marijuana.

The 4K transfer, however, is not great. Flesh tones are frequently blown out, and with so many night scenes being shot either in-studio or day-for-night, the high dynamic range isnt really essential. Perhaps its because so much of the movie is digital: the backdrops, cityscapes, skylines, virtual set extensions, and even all the gore is basically CG. Tweaking it wont make it look better, but it can look worse. Ironically, the films best tricks are old fashioned, like a seeming one-take fight sequence, which actually features about seven different cuts, but appears on the extras in uninterrupted master-shot form. Fleischer delivers a commentary that he begins by apologizing for his monotonous voice, but offers good insights and trivia, like the deleted Wienermobile cameo, or the fact that the White House sets are from Veep. He reveals where the hidden cuts are in that single take, and is quick to cop to things that didnt work. Even better: every deleted thing he mentions turns up on the extras and featurettes, all of which enhance the experience and show us the kind of bonus content we really want to see. The Bill Murray credits scene, of course, is an all-timer. Theres just one curious omission: nobody involved ever mentions the aborted TV series for which a pilot was made, as if this has the first and only attempt at a sequel in the past decade.

The animated Addams Family movie, out this week on Blu-ray after grossing $200 million internationally, is but the latest reboot of a property based on single-frame comics by cartoonist Charles Addams. While boasting a cast whod be perfect in a live-action version Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz and Finn Wolfhard it uses fairly basic CG animation that apes the style of Addams artwork without adding much extra texture or detail. As a result, it feels very visually five years ago, or more. The plot plays like kind of a reverse Edward Scissorhands, as the Addams creepy home becomes forcibly integrated with the pretty, pink enclave of rich conformity down the hill. Theres a lot of potential in Wednesdays desire to go to junior high because the girls there represent a new form of evil to be competitive with, and gags like Lurch dusting the house by adding more dust are classic Addams. Still, it feels more like an animated series pilot than a film unto itself its also the first of the Addams theatrical remakes to shell out the money for the full TV show theme song. Youd never get this cast to reunite regularly, but for those used to Disney/Pixar level plot perfection in their scripts - or even Illumination-level animation - this falls short. Its fun enough to pass the time, but if you waited for rental, you chose wisely.

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Blu-ray Picks: The Addams Family, Zombies, And Kevin Smith - Forbes

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero