DVD Review: Old School HD

Writer: Todd Phillips, Court Crandall
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, Jeremy Piven, Ellen Pompeo, Juliette Lewis, Leah Remini
Rating: R
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Release Date: November 27, 2007

Raunchy comedies have a special place in my heart. These films, about 40 year old guys who are still in college or that are dying to date a college girl, always seem to amuse me to no end. Considering these facts, it’s no wonder why I was so fond of Old School. Oddly enough, I never had a chance to see this movie prior to this review, but I am seriously glad that it was tossed on my desk because it was completely outrageous.

This version of Old School is labeled “Unrated and Out of Control”. I don’t know what the old version was like, but I can say that this version is certainly deserving of this title. This was one of the movies that propelled Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn into comedy stardom. With an amazing cast lineup and a hilarious concept it makes perfect sense that this movie is as popular with fans as it is.

Now that fans can pick this up on HD, I highly advise sticking to the regular DVD if you have it because the high definition transfer isn’t anything to write home about. The HD presentation offers a slight upgrade compared to what you would see on DVD, which may make it worthy for fans, but not for diehard lovers of HD’s amazing quality.

Release Information:
Old School was unleashed in theaters on February 21, 2003. Shortly after, it was released on DVD and finally it hit HD DVD format on November 27, 2007. This one disc set offers plenty of special features in addition to the feature film. You should be able to find the HD version of Old School at all major retailers. You can find Old School on Amazon for $19.95.

The Old School Plot
Luke Wilson (Anchorman, Legally Blonde, Vacancy) stars as Mitch Martin. Mitch is an up and coming, hard working executive who doesn’t have the best personal life. Coming home early from a business trip one night, Mitch is shocked to find Heidi, his girl (Juliette Lewis) is having a threesome with two blindfolded individuals. As you might expect, home just doesn’t feel the same to Mitch and suddenly he’s single and looking for a new place to live.

Mitch ends up finding a house off campus and what ends up happening is crazier than you could imagine. Three old-school friends end up creating the perfect party house that turns into a fraternity near their old college. While Mitch is less than thrilled, he is somehow convinced of this great plan by friends, Beanie (Vince Vaughn) and Frank (Will Ferrell). Beanie is married to Lara (Leah Remini) and has two kids. Meanwhile, Frank just recently married Marissa.

Of course, the hottest party spot near the University is going to have at least one opponent. In this case, it’s going to be the dean of students, Gordon Pritchard (Jeremy Piven). Pritchard attempts to shut the party house down, as he has never been a fan of the three old school losers and he does everything he can to stop them from having a good time. Another opponent appears in Mark (Craig Kilborn). Mark isn’t thrilled that Mitch has the hots for Nicole. Played by Ellen Pompeo (Grey’s Anatomy), Nicole likes Mitch, but is somewhat put off by his party lifestyle.

Old School is filled with college laughs, pranks, and moments that guys these old just shouldn’t be having. It’s good, never clean, and always fun, which makes it definitely worth the watch.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
When it comes to the audio and video, HD offers the best there is. However, in this case, the HD quality is not what one would expect. The quality is severely lacking in comparison to other HD movies made by Paramount or anyone else for that matter. The film should have appeared stellar with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, but the image was not consistent and the little details that make HD so impressive were often overlooked. The picture quality ended up being plain and not worthy of the HD title.

The audio on the disc was slightly better with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. The sound worked well and was always clear. The sound blew the video out of the water, but the disc was still disappointing due to the poor quality of the visual aspects. You won’t be disappointed if you are just interested in seeing the movie. However, if you want to see the movie in HD, you might want to skip this altogether.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are a series of special features on the Old School HD disc. Of course, most of these features were taken from the film’s original Unrated DVD. This means you will not have any specific HD special features. Additionally, if you have seen the standard DVD, these features will not be new to you.

The longer special features on the disc include “From the Cutting Room Floor”, which includes eight deleted scenes, “Old School Orientation”, and an “Inside the Actor’s Studio Spoof”. You also have your standard outtakes, bloopers, trailers, and various television spots.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
Old School is a great movie, but this just happens to be a sad transfer when it comes to HD. So, in this format, Old School offers a mixed bag. The movie is definitely worth seeing and the transfer is definitely worth avoiding. The easiest solution here would be to skip this version, but buy the movie in another format instead.

Technorati Tags: Old School, HD, DVD, Movie, Film Review, Will Ferrell, Luke Wilson, Comedy, Juliette Lewis, Ellen Pompeo

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Written by Shayne - Visit Website
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I am the proud Papa of a son, Dylan Michael Keller. Other than spending time with my son, I have two main obsessions in life; video games & movies. Often, the two accompany time spent with Dylan. I've been married to Andrea for 13 years this December. One thing I've learned about married life is to always expect the unexpected. After nearly eleven years with just the three of us, and our Golden Retriever, Braeden, I've just found out I'm going to be a dad again. In my professional life, I'm a bit of a cyber geek. I enjoy D&D, writing stories, role-playing, computer games, working on websites, and just hanging out. I work for a computer firm doing computer-tech type work and that's all I can really say about my job. In my fantasy life, I escape to the world of film. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've seen The Return of the King at least 37 times. I signed up to review movies, and you can guarantee I'll do the job right. I hope you enjoy my reviews and always remember kids...Make Love, Not Warcraft.