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LOSER
LOSER may not be a winner, but it does have a few funny and tender moments that make it a good date flick. Columbia TriStar’s disc looks and sounds just great, so if you are going to spend an evening with a LOSER make sure it’s this DVD. |
This DVD review 
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DVD
reviews are Copyright © 2001 THE CINEMA LASER and may not be copied
or reprinted without the written consent of the publisher. |
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Although
the title is LOSER ($25), this youth oriented romantic comedy is
neither a loser nor a complete winner. Writer/director Amy Heckerling
who scored a knockout with CLUELESS, has created a group of college
age characters who are less likable than the high school students found
in the previous film- this is where the film’s problems lie. The term
"loser" is supposed to the film’s two central characters, who
can’t seem to do anything right, when compared to their so-called "cool"
peers. However, these twos losers are the only two people in the film
that show any sense of humanity. LOSER stars Jason Biggs as Paul
Tannek, a midwestern boy who comes to New York to attend college on a
scholarship. Paul’s studious ways cause a rift with his roommates, who
see college life as a non-stop party. Eventually, Paul gets bounced from
his dorm and ends up staying in the backroom of a veterinary clinic, where
he rescues Dora (Mena Suvari), the girl of his dreams, from the aftereffects
of a college party. Unfortunately for Paul, Dora is having an affair with
the pompous Edward Alcott (Greg Kinnear), an older man, who just happens
to be one of their professors. So does Paul make Dora see that she is
in a doomed relationship, and that she would be better off with him? What
do you think? The cast of LOSER also includes Zak Orth, Thomas
Sadoski, Jimmi Simpson, Dan Aykroyd and Twink Caplan.
While
LOSER may be a middle of the road comedy, Columbia TriStar Home
Video’s DVD edition of the movie is a total winner. LOSER has been
given a crisp, highly defined transfer that frames the movie at 1.85:1,
with the presentation being enhanced for playback on 16:9 displays. Warmer
hues stand out amongst the strongly saturated colors, in addition to the
picture producing very pleasing flesh tones. Chroma noise and smearing
are non-existent on this DVD. Blacks are pure and the picture delivers
a solid level of shadow detail and good depth. Digital compression artifacts
never make their presence known on this cleanly authored DVD. For those
who are interested, a full screen version LOSER is also included
on the DVD.
The
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack features a fairly standard comedy
mix, with the forward soundstage predominating the track. Surround usage
it primarily tied to creating musical fill, with few directional effects
making their way into the rear channels. Dialogue reproduction is clean
and locked into the center channel, while sound effects make use of the
left-right stereo imaging. The bass channel reinforces the music, but
has little else to do in this dialogue driven film. French, Spanish and
Portuguese Dolby Surround soundtracks are also encoded onto the DVD. Subtitles
are available on the disc in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese,
Korean and Thai. The basic interactive menus provide access to the standard
scene selection and set up features, as well as a few supplements. Included
on the disc is a "making-of" featurette, plus the Wheatus music
video for Teenage Dirtbag. A theatrical trailer and talent
files fill out the extras.
