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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
|
| Chasing
Papi
|
 |
Reviewed
by: |
David
Litton
|
| Genre: |
Comedy
|
| Video: |
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen,
1.33:1 fullframe |
| Audio: |
English Dolby Digital 5.1,
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
|
| Language: |
English, Spanish |
| Subtitle: |
English, Spanish
|
| Length: |
80 min
|
| Rating: |
PG
|
| Release
Date: |
08/26/2003
|
| Studio: |
Twentieth Century Fox Home
Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
Feature commentary with director
Linda Mendoza, cinematographer
Xavier Xavier Pérez Grobet, and cast members Roselyn
Sanchez, Sofía Vergara,
and Eduardo Verástegui
|
| Documentaries:
|
None
|
| Featurettes:
|
"Todo 'Everything' Papi" featurette |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None
|
|
Interviews: |
None
|
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Theatrical trailer, soundtrack promo spot
|
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None
|
| Music
Video: |
Huey Dunbar and Fat Joe "Chasing
Papi" music video
|
| Other:
|
"Papi Lite" bloopers
and outtakes |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Roselyn Sanchez, Sofía
Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, Eduardo Verástegui,
Lisa Vidal
|
| Written
By: |
Laura Angelica Simon, Steven
Antin, Alison Balian, Elizabeth
Sarnoff
|
| Produced
By: |
Forest Whitaker, Tracey Trench,
Laura Angelica Simon
|
| Directed
By: |
Linda Mendoza
|
| Music:
|
Emilio Estefan, Jr.
|
| The
Review: |
Prior to viewing "Chasing
Papi," I was of the belief that "How to
Lose a Guy in 10 Days" was the year's worst romantic comedy
to date; I have
now officially downgraded my opinion. A clunky, lifeless attempt
to inject
life into a flailing genre whilst adding a bit of Latin flavor,
the film
tries to spice things up, with the end results becoming the
equivalent of a
painful bowel movement five days in the making. The titular
character
(Eduardo Verástegui) is your everyday womanizer, with
three women (Roselyn
Sanchez, Sofía Vergara, Jaci Velasquez) in various cities
across the United
States whom he visits in a regular basis. One day, Bozo- I mean,
Papi, makes
the mistake of inviting all three of them at the same time to
his place in
Los Angeles, which leads to their finding out about one another,
after which
Papi passes out as a result of taking too many tranquilizers,
which leads
the three busty babes to take him to a secured location while
they enter
beauty contests? Huh?
***
It's becoming not so much a rarity in cinema these days to find
at least one
bad movie in every weekend opening, with as much as two or three
pouring in
simultaneously. But "Chasing Papi" reaches for new
lows in the departments
of character development and storytelling, relying on a script
that is as
jumbled and ridiculous as it could possibly be. Nothing makes
sense here,
which is odd, as romantic comedies usually make too much sense
too fast, and
then there's nothing left but to watch yuppies to the darndest
things. Here,
the movie veers drastically from one end of the spectrum to
the other, even
incorporating a needless drug money subplot that seems like
an excuse to
include yet another curvacious actress (Lisa Vidal) to play
detective. It
should come as no surprise that the script was written by four
people
(probably with crayons), and director Linda Mendoza, in her
feature debut,
doesn't seem to have a clue as to where the material is going
at any given
moment. A truly reprehensible mess. |
| Image
and Sound: |
A pretty decent transfer from
Twentieth Century Fox. The
1.85:1 anamorphic transfer for "Chasing Papi" features
bright, inviting
colors that have been reproduced and saturated here for full
effect.
Fleshtones are accurate and warm, while blacks are solid throughout.
Contrast looks great, with well-defined shadow detail that adds
depth to the
image. Clarity is well-done, with sharp edges that aren't overly-hampered
by
enhancement halos, and there isn't a lot of film grain present
here, either.
Muy bien!
***
The sound is mastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, and for what it
is, it performs
well enough to get the job done. The Latin-based music fills
out the front
and rear channels nicely, with some oomph to spare in the low
end .1 LFE.
Dialogue sounds crisp throughout, and channel separation, when
needed, is
admirable. |
| The
Extras: |
On the widescreen side you'll
find the featurette "Todo
'Everything' Papi," which is bland and tasteless, with
interviews that are
uninteresting, and material that covers the use of animation
that is
pointless. Turn the disc over to the fullframe side, and you'll
find some
dumb bloopers, a music video, and promotional material. A one-word
review?
"Barf" pretty much says it all. |
| Commentary:
|
How much substance will you
receive from the commentary track?
Not much at all; director Linda Mendoza, cinematographer Xavier
Xavier Pérez
Grobet, and cast members Roselyn Sanchez, Sofía Vergara,
and Eduardo
Verástegui will comment every once in a while about something
that went on
during the production, but for the most part, they just amble
on making
jokes and cheering themselves on when they appear onscreen.
|
| Final
Words: |
A pretty straightforward DVD:
if you liked the movie, then the
extras might be of some interest. Anyone else will revile this
like the
plague that it is. _________________________________________________________________ |
|
|
