The Film
It's been a few years since Meathead directed a movie. Rob Reiner's last outing, 2007's The Bucket List, had a very high profile, thanks to mega-stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. His latest, Flipped, flew way under the radar.
The film does have its share of big names, including Aidan Quinn, Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay, and John Mahoney. Sure, none are really Bucket List caliber, and all are filling supporting characters. Based on the 2001 Wendelin Van Draanen novel, this is the really a love story between Julianna (Madeline Carroll) and Bryce (Callan McAuliffe), who have a series of ups and downs from the second grade through junior high.
That's pretty much it. Both families have their share of drama, but not Hollywood drama. The main characters are cute and their story is sweet, but also sort of vanilla. It's not a bad movie, but we do expect a lot more from the man who gave us Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride. It seems like a lot of the movie might be missing. For instance, the subordinate characters are way more interesting, but totally underused.
Flipped is sweet, with shades of another Reiner effort, Stand By Me -- just without the body. Where's the fun in that?
The Picture
The image on Flipped isn't as cute as its main characters, but it's not horrible either. This 1.85:1 transfer is filled with bright spots, including atop that glorious sycamore tree, in the school cafeteria, and other popping textures around the '60s small-town backdrop. That said, the transfer is marred by a lot of softer shots. While that does push the 1960's vibe in the movie, it also takes away a lot of the detail. It's hard to get angry over a sweet coming-of-age story, but the image isn't going to make this a must-own, either.
The Sound
Like the image, this release's DTS-HD Master Audio track is nothing special. The dialogue comes through nicely, but there's little going on in the surrounds. It's really a shame, too, because the film does have plenty of moments that could use the extra push. The only time those surrounds do perk up is to blast the film's time-stamped soundtrack, which includes The Chiffons, The Ventures, The Everly Brothers, and Fats Domino.
The Extras
The extras included with Flipped are insanely short. That's OK though, because if these were much longer, they would have been kind of painful. There's 3 minutes on how the kids would giggle during kissing scenes, another 5 minutes on the on-set chickens, and an equally quick short on one of the in-movie science projects. The real "meat" comes from "The Difference Between a Boy and a Girl." It's less than 7 minutes, but has Reiner talking a little about the first-love angle and casting, with the bulk of the featurette flipping back and forth between the two young leads talking about their respective roles. It would have been nice to have a short on the many subordinate characters, who are completely absent in the extras. Another missed opportunity is that there's no Reiner commentary track. It might have been more interesting than the actual dialogue.
Final Thoughts
There's nothing wrong with Flipped. There's also nothing all that exciting about the movie, either. We expect more from director Rob Reiner. Still, this is a fairly cute, sentimental movie about (very) young love. If you want to walk down Memory Lane, it might be worth a rental.
Product Details
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
