Suddenly 30 - Collector's Edition

Jenna Rink (Christa B Allen & Jennifer Garner) is about to turn 13 but is desperate to be grow up faster, much faster.

When her birthday party ends up being an embarrassing disaster she makes a wish to be 30 years old, and with the help of some wishing dust her dreams come true. When she opens her eyes she is Suddenly 30 and she has everything she always wanted -- an editorial job at her favourite magazine, handsome boyfriend and a Manhattan apartment.

Mine are bigger than yours. Heh!!!

Confused but excited she tracks down her best childhood friend Matt Flamhaff (Mark Ruffalo) to help her figure out what happened. However, it soon becomes apparent that Janna's perfect life came at a heavy price, as she learns that to get where she is she hasn't been very nice to the people she loves, including Matt and her parents.

While Suddenly 30 follows a pretty standard Hollywood cookie cutter formula driven by cliche and sentimentality, there is enough energy in this romantic comedy to propel it beyond what would have been mediocre and make it a fun and satisfying.

Originally titled 13 Going on 30 for its theatrical release in the US, Suddenly 30is the first major movie appearance for Jennifer Garner and the first directorial role for indi film maker Gary Winick. With a team of seven (yes count them) producers on the payroll it seems like some movie magic was made. And despite being newcomers to the world of big budgets and Hollywood film studios, Winick and Garner have combined to make a highly watchable movie.

Presenting in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen displays, the video transfer for Suddenly 30 is not what you would expect from a new release of a movie with a decent budget and a 'special edition' DVD release.

The Bandit is back, but he's not black.

Numerous video problems are visible throughout the movie. The most obvious problem is the grainy appearance of the picture, usually a characteristic of TV series transferred to DVD and not expected to this degree on a DVD release of a Hollywood movie, especially one with a $37 million budget.

In addition to the bad grain, the picture is often soft and lacking in definition. Black levels are likewise lacklustre and way too black with shadows often appearing way too dark and lacking all detail.

The bit rate is reported from as low as 3Mbps to around an average of 5Mbps, and the highest bit rate I spotted was 6Mbps. The reason for this low bit rate is of course that this DVD is jam-packed with special features, leaving less space for video data, hence a low bit rate and a below average picture quality.

Obviously a marketing and cost decision was made to squeeze all the features onto one disc; it's just unfortunate that the picture quality had to suffer to accommodate the extras.

In stark contrast to the video presentation on this disc the main Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is excellent.

As you would expect, Suddenly 30 has a great 80s musical soundtrack and it really comes alive with the 5.1 treatment.

Thriller.

In addition to the music the audio track performs admirably, presenting all the channels clearly and appropriately. Suddenly 30 isn't an action movie of course, so the surrounds and sub woofer are mainly used for environmental noises like city traffic and music. The centre channel is the real performer and dialogue throughout the movie is clear and crisp, at no times was it an effort to pick up the spoken lines.

Being a 'Special Edition', this Suddenly 30 DVD is packed with over an hour of special features (not including the two commentaries) on one disc:

Audio Commentary by Director Gary Winick
While this is far from his first directorial role it certainly is his first in a big budget movie, and director Gary Winick seems to have his head screwed on pretty tightly. During the full length audio commentary (and I mean full length, he talks until almost the end of the credits) he covers all the usual topics of cast choice, locations, soundtrack and story but manages to elevate it beyond what can sometimes be a dry and technical subject. Well worth a listen.

Audio Commentary by Producers Donna Roth, Susan Arnold and Gina Matthews
While not as interesting as the first commentary and covering almost the exact same subject matter, the way these three producers bounce ideas and information off each other makes this commentary worth a listen.

Deleted Scenes (approx 30 mins)
With a total run time of about 30 minutes there are 17 scenes including in this section. While almost entirely extensions of scenes that were actually used in the movie, some of the deleted parts do add story elements that are completely missing from the feature.

Making of a Teen Dream (18:52)
A documentary behind-the-scenes style promotional piece featuring interviews with cast and crew with nothing new or original but the sections focusing on the casting of the young counterparts to the adult actors is interesting.

Making of a Teen Dream: Another Take (7:37)
I'm not too sure why this special feature is presented separately to the previous one because the content is just an extension of the last with more cast and crew interviews and more discussion of the story with perhaps a little more focus on the teenage actors.

I was a Teenage Geek
Interviews with some of the cast and crew reveal how each wasn't really a 'cool' kid at school, with the exception of Samuel Ball who happily admits he was one of the popular kids because he was "so darn cute". Revelations include Jennifer Garner being a band geek and Judy Greer being an awkward frizzy red head.

Bloopers (3:17)
The bloopers section of the package holds nothing revolutionary, just the usual fluffed lines and uncontrollable laughter.

Video Gallery (2:04)
The Video Gallery is an automated photo gallery slide show featuring still shots from the movie and behind the scenes.

Don't make me angry! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!

Music Videos (approx. 6 mins)
Two of the highly featured songs from the movie are Pat Benatar's 'Love is a battlefield' and Rick Springfield's 'Jessie's Girl', and both are presented here with terrible video and audio suitable for the tragically nostalgic viewer only. The more recent song 'Why Can't I' is also prominently featured in the movie and it would have been a good addition to the extras package but alas, it is not.

Trailers
Trailers for Suddenly 30, Mona Lisa Smile, Maid in Manhatten, Radio, You Got Served all presented here for purely promotional purposes.

The basic story behind Suddenly 30 has been done before, with the most obvious parallel being Tom Hanks in Big, but fans of Garner wont be disappointed as she and the rest of the cast manage to breath new life into what would have been a formulaic remake of a classic theme.