The directorial debut Lady Of The Manor from brothers Justin Long (Accepted) and Christian Long appears to be the perfect project for these burgeoning filmmakers to tackle. The story is not so ambitious as to need to pull off complex stunts or work with an unwieldy amount of extras, plus the comedic nature of the concept allows for experimentation and improvisation. Add in the fact that Justin has been in the industry long enough to develop relationships with some very talented people he can call on for this feature, and you have a recipe for a good time. Given the outtakes featured in the end credits, there is little doubt that the cast had a lot of fun making this feature, but unfortunately very little of that translates over to the finished product. Nearly everyone involved in this production holds a special place in my heart, which makes it all the more disappointing that this turned out to be such a missed opportunity.
The always-delightful Melanie Lynskey (I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore) plays the stoner-slacker weed courier Hannah who in rapid succession loses her boyfriend, her job and gets charged as a sex offender at the onset of the film – you read that right. You will learn that Hannah does not always make the smartest or most clear-headed decisions, and things unravel pretty quickly when she wanders into a To Catch A Predator-esque bust during a delivery. At the same time, spoiled rich guy Tanner Wadsworth (Ryan Phillippe, Breach) has been tasked by his politically ambitious parents (Patrick Duffy and Andi Matheny) to oversee the care of their historic Savannah family manor. After firing the previous tour guide for less-than-gentlemanly reasons, Tanner finds a plastered Hannah at the bar and offers her the position, hoping she will be an easy sexual conquest. Tanner could not find a less suitable person for the job if he tried, but Tanner is not a character who tries at anything.
Hannah spectacularly fails at her new job; the underachiever pays little interest to silly things like historical facts and she can often be found cursing in front of her groups. She does get called out by a history professor, Max (Justin Long), who quickly goes from perplexed to romantically curious in short order. The movie attempts to sell the idea of a love triangle between Hannah, Max and Tanner, but the “hot” Tanner never feels like a viable option and the romantic chemistry between Lynskey and Long is too subtle to be an important part of the film. Thankfully, Lynskey has a much more dynamic chemistry with Judy Greer (Adaptation), who plays the ghost of Lady Wadsworth, the owner of the house who was most likely murdered and does not appreciate that Hannah is sullying her good name in her portrayal of her. The most interesting parts of the film involve these two women going from playful antagonism to congenial pals as Hannah learns to be more responsible and Lady Wadsworth learns how to be less uptight. It is not groundbreaking, but these two actors elevate the material.
There are several moments of Lady of the Manor that provide laugh out loud moments, but these small bursts of joy are far outweighed by the numerous painfully unfunny moments that make up the remainder of the film. The Tanner character is as obnoxious as advertised, but Phillippe is given very little to make this dolt darkly compelling or funny. The humor of the feature is very juvenile with most jokes devolving into a sex or fart joke. Some of these do hit, such as a perfectly-timed body roll from Greer on the latter account, but there is precious little substance to the remainder of the film. The performers are harnessing every ounce of their innate hilarity to make this material work, but there is too much cringeworthy material to salvage the film completely. We will not go too far into the white-savior aspects of the film, but trust us when we say it is not a good look to have the few people of color be so passive in the story. With the talent involved, this had the possibility of being a really funny ride, but what we get here is on par with a really dirty Lifetime film.
Video Quality
Lionsgate Home Entertainment brings Lady Of The Manor to Blu-Ray with a very pleasing 1080p video presentation in its original 1.85:1. The image is clean with the bright color palette popping off the screen. The film employs nice splashes of bold colors within the production design and clothing, which makes for a very striking image. The black levels are appropriately deep with no discernible digital noise. The flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of detail present in close-ups. The presentation provides a significant amount of depth on display, especially in the interior shots. The production design of the titular manor along with the fabrics of clothing provide crystal clear textural details. This is as solid of a presentation as any modern movie should deliver on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with a steady DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that recreates the settings perfectly. Dialogue is the driving force of the film, and it always comes through crisp and clear without being clipped by any competing sounds. There is very little in the way of action sequences, but the environmental sounds of the house engage the surround speakers in a really pleasing way. Ambient sounds are precisely placed in the rear channels. The music in the film fills the speakers in a wonderful, well-balanced way. There are a few exaggerated moments in the film that engage the low end the smallest bit. The audio track is not pushed to the limit with this content, but it nonetheless proves to be an excellent sounding presentation for this feature.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Co-Directors/Brothers Justin Long and Christian Long provide an enjoyable and straightforward commentary track in which they discuss their experiences during the production, assembling the cast, their relationship with various people in the film, the way in which Justin embarrassed himself in front of Patrick Duffy, the calming presence of Luis Guzmán, the role of improvisation on set and so much more. These two are very likable and do a nice job of bringing worthwhile information to the track.
- A Fart Warming Tale of Friendship and Vengeance – Making Lady of the Manor: An eleven-minute featurette in which the cast and crew discuss early ideas for the script, developing the characters, learning how to act high, the chemistry between Judy and Melanie, the production process and more. This is pretty much a love-fest, but these people are so personable that you don’t mind one bit.
- Outtakes: A five-minute selection of flubbed lines, malfunctioning props, laughing fits, alternate line readings and more. Many of these moments are included in the end credits, but there is some new stuff here.
- Deleted Scenes: Seventeen minutes of unused material is provided here including more etiquette lessons from Lady Wadsworth, a confrontation between Hannah and her ex-boyfriend and more. There is a decent gag here and there, but nothing critical was cut out of the film.
Final Thoughts
Lady Of The Manor feels more disappointing at the end of the day considering the immense love we have for everyone involved. Spending time with some of these performers provides a base level of joy, but the script and execution are lacking substance and laughs. The film succeeds in eliciting a few sporadic laughs, but it is difficult to imagine anyone but the most die hard fans of these performers loving this effort. Lionsgate Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation and a decent selection of special features for those who are interested.
Lady Of The Manor 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: Lionsgate 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.
