Friends with Benefits looks more than acceptable on Blu-ray, framed at 2.40:1. Shot digitally, the transfer looks good without ever being spectacular. Detail is strong overall even in low light scenes, which is a good thing considering how much of the movie takes place at night. When she’s backlit, you can practically count the individual strands protruding from Mila Kunis’ otherwise straight hair. Maybe it’s just the makeup or the way they were lit, but the actors’ faces appear a bit smoothed over and lacking in fine detail. Colors seem intentionally subdued, giving the film a somewhat cool look. This is not a poor reflection on the Blu-ray, just worth mentioning as this isn’t the kind of presentation where colors pop off the screen. This is not a stunning example of high definition’s capability, but it looks just fine.
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is simply adequate. This type of movie doesn’t really require anything more than is delivered here. Dialogue is centered, distortion-free, and always mixed at an appropriate level. Being a dialogue-driven romantic comedy, there isn’t much going on in the rear channels other than crowd or traffic noise during the appropriate scenes. It all sounds fine without being anything noteworthy. A scene involving Woody Harrelson piloting a small water vessel on New York harbor offers a bit of an atypically immersive soundscape. Music is clear and provides some nice LFE channel action.
Supplemental features include a surprisingly entertaining commentary track by director Will Gluck accompanied by stars Timberlake and Kunis. The chatty, profanity-laced track is refreshingly funny, with on one taking it too seriously (not kidding - the commentary is infinitely funnier than the movie itself). The eight minutes of deleted scenes contain a few laughs, while the outtake reel is a fairly standard montage of miffed lines (Harrelson provides the best bits). Exclusive to Blu-ray are a pop-up trivia track, a fluffy behind the scene featurette, and another short featurette about choreographing the flash mob sequence. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack also includes - you guessed it - a standard DVD of the movie as well as an UltraViolet digital copy.
.jpg?t=20130517094513)
Article comments