Denis Leary, the man behind Arsehole, is back this time playing an arsehole. Doug (Leary) meets Anna (Liz Hurley), his grandfather’s lawyer, at said grandfather’s funeral (funnily enough) who says that he is to inherit one million dollars. In order to do this, he must get 12 of his past one-night stands to say “I forgive you.” The 12 women are selected by Anna and the road trip begins with the two driving around California tracking them down.
OK, a few points – how can someone with Leary’s appearance get so many one-night stands? And why is it that lawyers are portrayed as beautiful women (i.e. Legally Blonde)? But anyway, if I keep going I’m gonna get really nasty...
While this American (need I say any more?) so-called comedy does have its moments, they are generally predictable and unfunny. To make matters worse, serious sequences have been added which just don’t fit in with the tone of the rest of the film.
Why do cruddy films end up with good transfers while brilliant films end up as coasters? Hmm, the wonders of the modern world...
This video is presented in a widescreen aspect of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced.
Colours are rich, strong and bright, adding to the atmosphere and tone of the film. Reds are deep and vibrant with no bleeding, and skin tones are pink and fleshy, like how they should be. Blacks are generally bold and strong and black (most importantly) yet shadow detail is quite poor. This isn’t a huge problem, but just shows up a lack of clarity in some scenes.
The picture is relatively soft for the entire duration with an amateur appearance. This isn’t a problem as such, but just apparent and can be annoying if you’re trying to focus on the quality of the video...
Film grain is a problem for the entire film, with a constant regular wash over the entire image. Film artefacts come and go, at times leaving large black specks on the screen. MPEG artefacts too come and go, and at times the disc looks like it is about to break out into pixelisation - Yet luckily this never actually happens. It’s just the anticipation that drives you mad...
There are no subtitles on this disc, nor is there a layer change.
There are two audio tracks on this disc – both Dolby Digital English, but one is in 5.1 and the other in surround-encoded 2.0. Both tracks offer a high fidelity with a rich detailed clarity, and spot-on audio synch.
The 5.1 track offers a great enveloping soundstage with each speaker getting a heavy work out. The centre speaker is used for dialogue, while the front and rear left and right speakers carry the sound effects and music. The subwoofer even gets a kick every now and then with subtle effects.
The 2.0 track offers a suitable listening track, yet lacks the definition of the 5.1 track. Dialogue is crisp and audible for the duration of the film.
Bad extras? Let me rephrase that - virtually no extras whatsoever... just the usual promotional trailer, and of course the ever so special extra feature of an animated menu. Yahoo! Umm, note the use of sarcasm...
Bad Boy tries hard yet really misses the target. The transfer is neat in all respects with only very minor problems. And do I need to get started on the so-called ‘extras’ again? If you’re in the need of mindless American formulaic entertainment don’t walk past this. If you want something deeper than a child’s wading pool, then keep on walking...
