Straight comedies aren't usually the place to look for stunning visuals. So this inconsistent 1080p presentation of Mike Judge's laugher won't disappoint too many fans. The colors are good, but the blacks are patchy. The sharpness of the picture pops in some scenes, making it look the best any Judge film has looked, but then other scenes look soft and flat. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack isn't any better. The speaker balance is front speaker skewed. While the dialog is crisp, the soundscape is flat, especially in scenes inside the extract plant. The only element that utilizes the 5.1 effectively is the scoring and music.
The special features are few, short and not too impressive. The only one of note is the 11 minute making of doc titled "Mike Judge's Secret Recipe." The featurette skims the surface of the production, focusing a great deal of the factory elements of the story. Judge talks about his inspirations for setting the film in a factory, which is the only real depth in the special features. But it's not much. There are some funny moments, but not enough to enlighten fans on what Judge had intended with the overall film, which is his weakest to date. The only other features include some extended moments and one deleted scenes. They add nothing.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
