Blu-ray Review: Spring Breakdown

Spring Breakdown
Written by: Ryan Shiraki & Rachel Dratch
Directed by: Ryan Shiraki
Starring: Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, Rachel Dratch, Amber Tamblyn, Seth Meyers, Sophie Monk, Missi Pyle, Mae Whitman, Loretta Devine, Sarah Hagan, and Jane Lynch

Blu-ray Specs:
1080p High Definition 16x9 1.85:1
Dolby Digital English 5.1
French 5.1 (Dubbed in Quebec)
English, French, and Spanish subtitles

Bonus Features: Commentary from Ryan Shiraki and Rachel Dratch, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, BD-Live

You wouldn't expect a movie with this kind of talent involved to go straight to video but this one did. You'd think Amy Poehler's involvement alone would escalate this to at least a limited theatrical release. Nope.

Spring Breakdown was shuffled away from a wide theatrical release to the supposed doom of a direct home video release. Was it deserving of this?

Not, not really.

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Spring Breakdown is the story of three nerdy best friends who missed out on Spring Break in college who get a second chance at the party antics 15 years later when one of them is assigned to make sure her Senator boss's daughter behaves on the trip. Hilarity ensues.

Well, maybe not so much hilarity.

Amy Poehler, Parker Posey, and Rachel Dratch play our three geeky heroes and they're all pretty funny. They head down to make sure that Posey's boss's (played hilariously by Jane Lynch) daughter doesn't get into trouble. She doesn't know that her daughter and her friends are the geeky unpopular girls. Amber Tamblyn, Mae Whitman, and Sarah Hagan make up the younger trio.

The film is pretty silly but there is know denying the charm of it's stars, especially Amy Poehler. The three leads are great together. In fact, the entire cast is funny. There are some odd cameos that kind of make you wonder why exactly they are there but then again there are a couple that are really funny.

The problem mainly with the movie is that it isn't sure what it wants to be. Is it an uplifting comedy? A sex comedy? A buddy comedy? It wants to be all these things rolled into one and it doesn't quite work. It never reaches the levels of funny that it could have.

In fact, most of the comedy comes from Amy Poehler and Missi Pile, who plays a middle aged drunk party girl to perfection with often times the biggest laughs in the film. Everyone gets some laughs but these two are certainly the strong points of the film.

It's not a great movie but it is a fun way to kill an hour and a half. It certainly shouldn't have been delegated to home video, especially with Amy Poehler's popularity lately.

The Blu-ray is pretty standard. It looks and sounds great. With a movie like this, that isn't that important. Unless you are one of the people watching this for Sophie Monk, then enjoy her in all her 1080p glory. She doesn't bring anything else to the movie.

The special features are light. There is a commentary and some deleted scenes. I was excited to watch the gag reel but found it shockingly unfunny. There are also BD-Live features and a sticker to obtain a digital copy of the film. Out of all the Blu-rays I have with this feature I have yet to make use of a single digital copy.

Spring Breakdown is a charming little comedy worth your 90 minutes. It's nothign new or original, but it is saved from being awful by its wildly funny cast. I'm not sure I can justify spending $27 dollars on the Blu-ray but when it drops down a bit, it's worth picking up.

Spring Breakdown is available now.