This month Mill Creek Entertainment has released another one if its double-feature Blu-rays, this one containing pair of Universal comedies starring Vince Vaughn, both of which happen to be set in Chicago. The release includes The Break-Up (2006) co-starring Jennifer Anniston, and The Dilemma (2011) co-starring Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly & Winona Ryder.
The Break-Up (2006)
Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) met at a Cubs game and quickly fell in love and moved in together. However, over the years that followed, Brooke has grown resentful of Gary, who usually just thinks of himself, never offering to help clean up or assist in preparations for game nights/dinners with their family/friends. Instead he’ll just plop himself in front of the TV watching sports or playing video games. Brooke wants Gary to want to help out without her having to nag him. One day the situation becomes so bad that Brooke just tells Gary that she’s had enough and wants to break up. However, neither of them are willing to move out of their luxury condo, and so it becomes a game of chicken as each tries to passive-aggressively make the other want to leave. At the same time, the couple’s mutual friends, family and co-workers get dragged into the middle of this battle between cohabitating exes, including the couple’s realtor/friend Riggleman (Jason Bateman).
Brooke works at an art gallery run by the eccentric Marilyn Dean (Judy Davis), who is constantly threatening to fire her and oddball coworker Christopher (Justin Long), though Brooke knows that these threats are in vain and that Marilyn secretly needs and wants them there. Meanwhile, Gary runs a bus tour business with his younger and older brothers, Lupus (Cole Hauser) and Dennis (Vincent D’Onofrio), with dreams of expanding the extremely popular land-based tours into the sea and air as well. While Brooke often seeks advice/assistance from best friend Addie (Joey Lauren Adams) or a cappella-loving brother Richard (John Michael Higgins), Gary is usually getting his own bad advice from best friend/bartender Johnny O (Jon Favreau).
While The Break-Up has an amazing comedic cast, I didn’t find it all that humorous. Instead, the film has more of a depressing and too-real of a tone. What starts off as a happy couple quickly turns into two spiteful people burning their former relationship to the ground, with seemingly no chance of reconciliation. While the film does end on a bit of a high note, I was hoping for more of a rom-com rather than a somewhat realistic break-up drama.
Mill Creek’s Blu-ray re-release features a clean picture with bright colors and a nice level of detail. The audio track features clear dialogue, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels to add ambiance to the scenes, such as the roar of the crowd in the opening Cubs game, or when Gary throws a strip poker dance party inside the condo. Like other double-feature releases from Mill Creek Entertainment, this release does not include any special features, dropping the plethora of material that had been included on Universal’s previous standalone Blu-ray release—two audio commentaries, an alternate ending, 10 minutes of deleted/extended scenes, and over an hour of outtakes, improv, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Die-hard fans of this film will likely want to seek out that release instead of this barebones double-feature.
The Dilemma (2011)
Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (Kevin James) have been best friends since college. They are currently working on creating a new engine for electrical vehicles that will give new cars the same roar and rumble of a classic gas-guzzling muscle car. Ronny is the business guy and salesman with a way of words, while Nick is the engineer with the technical expertise to make it happen. They have secured an important meeting with Dodge to present their product, but the meeting is just a few days away, and their engine is nowhere near complete, so Nick is stressed out and not getting any sleep. Meanwhile, Ronny is also stressed, trying to figure out the right way to propose to girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly), a professional chef. And things get even more stressful while Ronny’s checking out a potential venue to pop the big question—he witnesses Nick’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) having an affair with a younger man (Channing Tatum). Now Nick has a dilemma—does he tell his best friend that his wife is cheating on him and risk Nick getting distracted and unable to complete the project in time, or does he keep it a secret until after the meeting? The more Ronny tries to deal with the situation on his own, trying to gather evidence or confront Geneva, the more he ends up in awkward and ridiculous situations, which also start to affect his own life and relationships. The longer Ronny holds back the truth from his best friend, the worse it’s going to be when everything finally/ultimately comes out.
The Dilemma could probably have been 15-20 minutes shorter, but overall I found it to be an enjoyable comedy. Vince Vaughn is always great at his fast-talking style of humor, and also gets a nice blend of physical and situational comedy in this film. He also has a good chemistry with Jennifer Connelly, and their two characters make a believable couple. Kevin James felt a bit underutilized, not getting a whole lot of comedic material, but rather playing the more serious, stressed-out sidekick. However, there are some really fun moments with the supporting characters. Channing Tatum is hilarious as this slightly-drugged out boy-toy who’s sleeping with Geneva. Winona Ryder is delightfully evil when Ronny confronts Geneva about her affair, and she proves to be manipulative and willing to do anything it takes to avoid taking responsibility. And Queen Latifah, while only appearing in three short scenes, is so much fun as Susan Warner, a consultant for Dodge who’s been assigned to work with Ronny and Nick.
Mill Creek’s Blu-ray release features a solid, clean picture with a nice level of detail throughout. The audio track provides clear dialogue and a nice general ambiance throughout. Like other double-feature releases from Mill Creek Entertainment, this release does not include any special features, losing all of the bonus material that had been included on Universal’s previous stand-alone Blu-ray release—an alternate ending, 45 minutes of deleted scenes, a gag reel, and over 15 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes. Die-hard fans of this film will likely want to seek out that release instead of this barebones double-feature.
Both films reside on a single Blu-ray disc, which has a basic menu with subtitle on/off options and a play buttons for each of the two movies. There is no slipcover, digital copy or bonus material included with this release.
What’s Included:
Films:
- The Break-Up (2006) (1:46:23)
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH
- The Dilemma (2011) (1:51:22)
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
- Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH
Extras:
-
This release contains no bonus material.
Final Thoughts:
I found both of the comedies included on this double-feature release to be a bit middling—probably not the best of Vince Vaughn’s career, but still somewhat enjoyable. Mill Creek’s release features solid picture and sound, but is lacking any bonus material. Both films had previously received stand-alone Blu-ray releases from Universal, with those discs being loaded with hours of special features. Die-hard fans of these films may be better off seeking out those previous disc releases instead, but more casual fans who are just interested in these Vince Vaughn movies themselves can pick up this double feature and save a bit of shelf space.
