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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Full FramePan&Scan
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • French: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras

    Funny Farm

    Warner Bros./Warner Home Video . R4 . COLOR . 100 mins . PG . NTSC

      Feature
    Contract

    OK, hands up if you liked National Lampoon’s Vacation? (Hands go up...)

    And hands up if you liked The Three Amigos? (More hands go up...)

    Now hands up if you found Funny Farm funny? (Hands go down.)

    Exactly. As a child this movie was funny, but also as a child, farts were funny. Now with the benefit of some added maturity, this film leaves a lot to be desired. Chevy Chase is an actor who had it in the '80s like how Adam Sandler has it now... same humour, different movie... again, and again, and again.

    Director George Roy Hill had some genuine classics under his belt including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well as The World According To Garp, but then somehow came out with this – his last film. But a director’s work can only be as good as the source material – the script. The jokes are not really funny (well, again, they are as funny as farts are to kids) and reek of '80s American movies such as the National Lampoon series and anything featuring John Candy. Even some of the so-called “film” coming from America today is classier and funnier than this flick. Maybe its just that audiences have changed so much in the 15 years since Funny Farm’s original release. Lots of so-called ‘jokes’ are brushed over and predictable, and leave many alternate doors open without walking through any of them.

    The film starts off with Andrew ‘Andy’ Farmer (Chevy Chase) at a farewell party where he and his wife Elizabeth (Madolyn Smith-Osbourne) are about to leave for a rural town called Redgum, where Andy can write the great American novel. But right from their arrival, the ‘gags’ start coming. In typical Chevy Chase fashion he always gets stuck playing the loser – i.e. National Lampoon’s European Vacation and National Lampoon’s Vacation. That is the simplest version of the story, and that is as deep as it goes – riveting stuff, ain’t it?

      Video
    Contract

    The video is presented in a lovely pan and scan 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is obviously not 16x9 enhanced.

    The quibbles with Warner releasing NTSC region 4 discs in Australia have been well covered, but it really isn't acceptable for a PAL region. Big marks lost from that to start with.

    So being an NTSC transfer, the clarity isn’t as great as a PAL transfer. The sharpness is passable, but still nothing to get excited about.

    Blacks appear pale, with a very poor level of shadow detail. Shadows are messy and not clearly defined, yet this isn’t of paramount importance as dark spooky scenes don’t play a part in this film.

    The colours appear very soft and muted, definitely no Mardi Gras here. The green and blue tones of grass and sky (respectively of course) are realistic and lifelike, yet the colours just seem to be lacking that special oomph.

    These problems are often associated with NTSC transfers and really make this transfer painful to watch.

    Film artefacts are everywhere – just like someone wiped the source print through a cat bed before mastering the video. Hairs and blobs pass by often and are of a size where they are noticeable and annoying after a while. Sure the film is a little old, but these things can be cleaned up a little first. Grain is a slight problem, but it's nowhere near as obvious as the artefacts. No MPEG artefacts are present on this single-layered transfer.

    No subtitles are supplied, so sorry to all you hearing impaired people.

      Audio
    Contract

    There are two audio tracks for this film – English Dolby Digital 2.0 and French Dolby Digital 2.0. For a stereo track, the English does its job, but it's nothing to rave about. Dialogue is clear and crisp throughout, but some slight distortions from sound effects start to get annoying after a while. They're nothing terribly loud or overly noticeable, but they're still there. Bass levels are fairly low with a trebly soundtrack that causes the soundtrack to lack depth and range. There is no surround usage, nor digital subwoofer usage. This is definitely nothing to rave about, and rivals the best VHS stereo tracks.

      Extras
    Contract

    This section can be removed for this disc. A menu doesn’t count as an extra, sorry.

      Overall  
    Contract

    This movie is so unfunny that it’s sad, and the transfer leaves quite a bit to be desired – and that’s before the NTSC factor is taken into account. With non existent extras to boot, the only reason for upgrading from VHS to DVD is to get rid of tracking problems – but the video quality on your VHS tape may be better than what is delivered here.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1602
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      And I quote...
    "Isn’t this meant to be Funny Farm?"
    - Martin Friedel
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Nowa DS-8318
    • TV:
          TEAC 68cm CTV
    • Speakers:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Centre Speaker:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Surrounds:
          Teac PLS-60 Home Theatre System
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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