“A confident feature debut” (Teo Bugbee, The New York Times) from multi-talented powerhouse Eddie Huang, BOOGIE is the coming-of-age story of Alfred “Boogie” Chin, a basketball phenom living in Queens, New York, who dreams of one day playing in the NBA. While his parents pressure him to focus on earning a scholarship to an elite college, Boogie must find a way to navigate a new girlfriend, high school, on-court rivals and the burden of expectation.
For in-depth thoughts on Boogie, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment brings Boogie to Blu-Ray with an excellent 1080p video presentation. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs splashes of vivid colors within the clothing and production design, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep and inky, but digital noise does prove to be a minor issue at certain moments in the film. The flesh tones are natural with gentle nuances showcased well in close-ups and medium shots. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. When this film goes into the Chin house or explores the urban setting more, the details present as impressively sharp in all lighting conditions. This is as solid of a presentation as any modern movie should provide on Blu-Ray. Universal has treated this film very well with this disc.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that is quite excellent without being domineering. Music plays an undeniable role in establishing the mood of the narrative, and this track does a great job of filling the room in a truly enveloping way. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever falling victim to overlapping voices or an overbearing soundtrack. Everything is mixed perfectly with directionality accurately rendered across all channels. The sounds of the city provide a good amount of activity in the rear channels, and music stirs up some intense activity in the low end. This track honors the spirit of the movie with an immersive journey that ranks as something worthy of praise.
Special Features
- The Road to Boogie-Town: A nearly three-minute piece in which Huang discusses finding Taylor Takahashi, the cultural elements of the story, specific character details, the role of basketball in the film and more.
- Eddie Huang – It’s Personal: A two-minute piece which looks at why this tale is so personal to Huang, how he directed his feature directorial debut, the cultural significance of the journey and more.
- Shout Out To Pop Smoke: A minute-long look at the late rapper’s work in the film with reflections from Huang.
- In-Theater Trailer: A two-minute hybrid of behind-the-scenes piece and proper trailer.
Final Thoughts
Boogie is a really smart directorial debut from Eddie Huang, who uses his own personal experiences to create a story that is universal. While from the outside the film may appear to follow a standard path, it is the heart and culturally distinctive personality Huang injects into the story that makes it such a joy to watch. The acting debut from Taylor Takahashi is extremely impressive alongside an ensemble cast who all add something special to the narrative, especially the late Pop Smoke. Universal Picture Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that sports fantastic A/V presentation and a few brief special features. This one is definitely worth a look if it sounds interesting in the slightest to you. Recommended
Boogie is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
