DVD Review: SOMEONE LIKE YOU

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Dec 02 Posted by Kyle Nolan in DVD/Blu-ray, Reviews | Comments

28-year-old Birmingham architect Dawson Gage (Jake Allyn) has been in love with his best friend London Quinn (Sarah Fisher) ever since they first met in high school, during a senior trip to the zoo a decade earlier. Dawson had never admitted his feelings to London, and they never explored a romantic relationship. And just when Dawson is finally about to tell London how he felt, tragedy strikes, leaving Dawson distraught and heartbroken. London’s parents, Louise (Lynn Collins) & Larry (Scott Reeves), reveal that London had been an in vitro baby, and that they had given away a second embryo after the pregnancy had taken a physical toll on Louise. However, they had signed a non-disclosure to never look into who that embryo went to. While London had lost her faith a while back, Dawson’s belief is still strong, and he feels like this is a sign.

Meanwhile, over 4000 miles away in Nashville, everything seems to be going great for Andi Allen (also Sarah Fisher). She just landed a new job working at a zoo, her boyfriend Matt (Austin Robert Russell) is about to propose, and her parents, Drs. Jenny (Robyn Lively) & Jim Allen (Bart Johnson), are planning her 24th birthday party. What Andi doesn’t know is that her parents are struggling with the fact that they never told their daughter the full story about her birth. And before they get a chance to do so, Dawson shows up, shocked to see how much Andi resembles London, and accidentally reveals this information to her. Devastated by the lies her parents had told her, Andi decides to head to Birmingham to meet her biological parents, and learn more about the sister she never knew. As Dawson spends more time with Andi, he starts to once again fall in love. But does she feel the same, will he tell her, or will he miss out on this second chance at love?

Someone Like You is based on the bestselling novel of the same name written by Karen Kingsbury, who also co-wrote and produced the film. It is an entertaining, heartfelt story about forgiveness, love, faith, and second chances. I had never heard of this book, so I didn’t know what to expect as I sat down to watch the film, and was quite surprised by the turn things take about 30 minutes in. Overall, it is a very interesting approach to a topic that isn’t really explored. While there have been plenty of films where a character discovers that they’ve been adopted, I don’t think I’ve seen where someone discovers they came from a donated embryo. When Andi learns that she is not who she always believed she was, she is angry with her parents for lying to her all her life. And so as she tries to learn about and bond with a biological family she never knew, she also must find a way to forgive her parents. Meanwhile, When Louise & Larry meet Andi, they are also upset witb themselves that they gave away this embryo and missed out on the first 24 years of this other daughter’s life.

The film also has this big love story with Dawson. Dawson always had this unrequited love with London, and is now presented with a second chance. While Andi physically reminds him of London, she is not just a replacement—she has her own unique life experiences and personality that he is drawn to. And, ironically, their first meeting was also at a zoo. Dawson lost his parents at an early age, and was too nervous to put himself out there for London for fear of experiencing that loss again. Will he make the same mistake again, or will he let Andi know how he feels this time around? You start off the film rooting for this relationship between London and Dawson, but the relationship between Andi and Dawson quickly becomes just as engaging.

The film definitely has elements of faith woven in, but never feels overly preachy (for those who tend to get turned off by that sort of thing), it’s just a part of these character’s lives, and something they can turn to in times of grief and trouble.

Mill Creek Entertainment has released Someone Like You on physical media on a generally-available DVD disc as well as on limited edition Blu-ray exclusively available from the Karen Kingsbury Bookstore. The film is also available digitally in HD. We were sent the DVD release for review. The SD picture fairly good for a DVD, but lacks that level of clarity and sharpness that a Blu-ray would provide. This was primarily noticeable in some of the wider nature shots where there is a lot going on, such as London and Dawson jetskiing out on the lake. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, and makes nice use of the surround channel to add ambiance and provide a more-immersive experience. The DVD disc comes packed in a standard DVD keepcase. Our copy did not include any slipcover. The disc also contains a nice assortment of bonus material, including a writer/director commentary, 10 minutes of deleted scenes, 20-minutes of behind-the-scenes footage/interviews with the cast/crew, plus some cast audition footage.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:06:03)

480i / Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

Audio Commentary (2:06:03)
Writer/executive producer Karen Kingsbury and son director/co-writer Tyler Russell provide and interesting and informative commentary throughout the film, sharing lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the production.
The Heart of Someone Like You (15:57)
The cast and crew discuss the film, the tone and atmosphere on set, the role of prayer and faith, working with the director and crew, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with stars Sarah Fisher (“London Quinn” / “Andi Allen”), Austin Robert Russell (“Matt Bryan”), Scott Reeves (“Larry Quinn”), Lynn Collins (“Louise Quinn”), Jake Allyn (“Dawson Gage”), Robyn Lively (“Dr. Jenny Allen”) & Bart Johnson (“Dr. Jim Allen”).
Fallin’ For Sarah and Jake (5:50)
Stars Sarah Fisher & Jake Allyn talk about their characters, their similarities with their characters, what it was like working with one another, and more. Also includes some behind-the-scenes footage.
Deleted Scenes (10:32)
9 deleted scenes play back-to-back.
Audition Videos (14:46)
Three audition videos for Sarah Fisher, followed by 2 side-by-side Zoom chemistry reads between Jake Allyn & Sarah Fisher.

Final Thoughts:

My Rating

Film:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Recommended

Someone Like You is an interesting and heartwarming tale of love and forgiveness. I haven’t read the novel so I cannot comment on how closely it resembles the book. However, given that the author was heavily involved with the film, fans should likely be pleased with this adaptation. The DVD presentation looks okay and sounds great, but I’d probably opt for the Blu-ray release, which needs to be ordered from the author’s web site, for the extra level of clarity. That said, either disc format contains a solid selection of bonus material.