Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Half Baked (Umbrella Entertainment) Blu-ray Review

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Half Baked (Umbrella Entertainment) Blu-ray Review



    Released by: Umbrella Entertainment
    Released on: November 4th, 2020.
    Director: Tamra Davis
    Cast: Dave Chapelle, Harland Williams, Jim Breuer, Rachel True, Guillermo Diaz
    Year: 1998
    Purchase From Amazon

    Half Baked - Movie Review:

    Tamra Davis, who a few years earlier gave us the gift that keeps on giving that is Billy Madison, directed Half Baked in 1998, a film that stars a pre-Chapelle's Show Dave Chappelle as Thurgood Jenkins. Ever since he was young, Thurgood has enjoyed smoking weed, and these days spends his days working as a janitor at a pharmaceutical company in New York City, or as he puts it, “a master of the custodial arts.” When he isn't at work, he's mostly hanging out with his roommates, Scarface (Guillermo Diaz), Kenny (Harland Williams) and Brian (Jim Breuer), all of whom are also big into reefer.

    One night, after getting the munchies, Kenny decides to go out for a snake. On the way back he comes across an NYPD horse and decides to feed it and, shortly after he does that, the horse dies. Kenny is arrested and locked away unless his pals can come up with the $100,000.00 he needs to make bail. When Thurgood learns that the company he works for has a division that deals in experimental strains of weed, they decide to lift some product and sell it to raise some quick cast and spring their pal from the bighouse.

    Around the same time, Thurgood meets a lovely young woman named Mary-Jane (Rachel True). He falls for her pretty quickly and she for him, but she frowns upon the fact that he smokes as much dope as he does. This leaves Thurgood in a bit of a pickle - can he clean up his act and go straight and still help Kenny out or will he fall back into old habits and spend the rest of his life as a stoned slacker?

    The best part about Half Baked is the acting. Jim Breuer isn't exactly stretching as an actor here, but he plays the stoner cliché well enough to work. Harland William's consistently goofy presence is always good for a laugh and he's got a few legitimately funny moments here. Guillermo Diaz and Rachel True are fine in their supporting roles as well, but Dave Chappelle is the big draw here, laying down the genesis of what would become the type of comedic performances he's known for now in the skits that he created back when he had his show on Comedy Central. Snoop Dogg, Tommy Chong, Willie Nelson, Jon Stewart, Janeane Garofalo, Bob Saget (who has the best line in the movie), Tracy Morgan, Stephan Baldwin, and Steven Wright also all have amusing cameos in the picture, which adds to the amusement of the picture.

    The script might not be all that original but it's good enough to work. The fact that not every character in the movie is a stoner cliché definitely helps in this department, as that's been done plenty of times and at this point, it can get old fast. Production values are decent here and Tamra Davis does a nice job with the pacing. This is a movie that probably shouldn't have been as genuinely funny as it is, but the cast bring it home and if you can appreciate stoner comedies, this is one of the better ones from the nineties.

    Half Baked - Blu-ray Review:

    Umbrella Entertainment releases Half Baked on region free Blu-ray in a 1.85.1 widescreen transfer in AVC encoded 1080p high definition with the feature taking up 24.3GBs of space on the 50GB disc. Likely taken from an existing master, this doesn't rise to the levels of detail that a more recent remaster would have been able to provide, but it does surpass the old DVD release. There's some edge enhancement and noise reduction clearly baked into the master (likely an older Universal job as this was common with their work a few years ago) so keep your expectations in check. Colors look really nice, however, and we get decent black levels as well.

    The only audio option on the disc is an English language 24-bit DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. There are no alternate language options or subtitles provided. The 5.1 mix is solid, using the surround channels effectively during action scenes, while keeping most of the dialogue up front and center in the mix. No problems with any hiss or distortion to note here, and the levels are balanced well and the use of music definitely benefits from the improved quality of the lossless track.

    There are no new extras here but it looks like everything off of the 'Fully Baked' special edition DVD release has been carried over, starting with a very laid back commentary track from director Tamra Davis. It's a decent talk, covering what it was like working with the different cast members, her thoughts on the movie overall and quite a bit more. A moderator might have made this more engaging as there are moments where she goes a little quiet, but the good outweighs the bad (though really, a cast commentary surely would have been gold?).

    The disc also includes ten deleted scenes and an alternate ending, which are amusing to see if not exactly revelatory (though the alternate ending is just as good, if not better, than the one used in the movie proper).

    There are some other throwaways extras included here as well. Five Minutes With The Guy On The Couch is literally five minutes with Steven Wright, who plays… the guy on the couch. He mostly just sort of rolls around and farts. The brief Different Types Of Smokers featurette is an animated bit that details different pothead clichés, while Granny's Guide To Bakin' is a goofy bit where an old lady makes some dishes using weed as an ingredient. None of these are as funny as they think they are but better to have them carried over than not.

    Menus and chapter selection options are also provided.

    Half Baked - The Final Word:

    Half Baked is genuinely funny, and a fair bit smarter than your average stoner comedy. Chappelle is great in the lead and both Williams and Breuer are quite funny as the support. It moves at a nice pace and features plenty of laughs throughout. Umbrella's Blu-ray is clearly taken from a dated master and leaves room for improvement in the transfer department while still easily besting the old DVD. Audio is quite good and while there are no new extras, the older ones are all here. As of right now, this would seem to be the best version around on home video.

    Click on the images below for full sized Half Baked Blu-ray screen caps!






























    Posting comments is disabled.

Latest Articles

Collapse

  • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Severin Films
    Released on: April 30th, 2024.
    Director: Lee Frost
    Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
    Year: 1969
    Purchase From Amazon

    Hot Spur – Movie Review:

    Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
    ...
    03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
  • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Mondo Macabro
    Released on: April 9th, 2024.
    Director: Max Pecas
    Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
    Year: 1985
    Purchase From Amazon

    Death Squad – Movie Review:

    Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
    ...
    03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
  • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Quality X
    Released on: February 28th, 2024.
    Director: Chuck Vincent
    Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
    Year: 1982
    Purchase From Amazon

    Roommates – Movie Review:

    Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
  • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Blue Underground
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Jess Franco
    Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
    Year: 1970
    Purchase From Amazon

    Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

    Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
  • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Saul Bass
    Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
    Year: 1974
    Purchase From Amazon

    Phase IV – Movie Review:

    Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
    ...
    03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
  • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
    Ian Jane
    Administrator
    by Ian Jane


    Released by: Radiance Films
    Released on: March 26th, 2024.
    Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
    Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
    Year: 1969-1972
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

    Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
    ...
    03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
Working...
X