A playwright hits a creative road-block, until a novice writer enters the scene. She not only helps him pen hit after hit…she also steals his heart! Now, there are just two things standing in the way of their romance — his wife…and her husband!
For thoughts on Romantic Comedy, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
[youtube https://youtu.be/e75oPdYf6F0?si=D6IzG9YEq-jQTgh5&t=3144]
Video Quality
Romantic Comedy arrives on Blu-Ray with a 1080p transfer in its original 1.85:1 which appears to be from an acceptable older master from MGM. Colors are saturated pleasantly with a notable vibrancy within the clothing, production design, and environment. Highlights are consistent without any obvious blooming on display. Black levels are a bit more inconsistent when it comes to depth, as there are key moments when you desire more clarity. The picture retains its natural film grain with no offputting fluctuations in density. The transfer avoids most damage and digital manipulation with only intermittent specks of damage throughout. The transfer is richly defined with nice clarity when it comes to revealing subtle details. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies do not hinder the image. MGM has done a fine job even without a new master.
Audio Quality
MGM brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that translates the material well enough. Dialogue comes through clearly without being clipped by any other element. The soundtrack and the score establish the tone of the story that maintains its fidelity without issue. The environmental effects make the world feel a bit more lived-in. Sound effects add some discrete texture to the proceedings. While we would not pass up a fresh audio presentation, MGM has treated this one pretty well overall. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on the disc.
Final Thoughts
Romantic Comedy is a somewhat frustrating example of the genre as it fails to truly deliver on the “romance” part of the equation. The lead character as played by Dudley Moore is a bit too detestable to make for a suitable partner for, well, anyone. Mary Steenburgen is such a stunning ball of light that she is able to carry this movie what little it does work. With a bit more fearlessness, this movie could have made some narrative choices that would have made it an admirable subversion of the genre, but it loses its nerve when it needs it most. While not completely without merit, this is an underwhelming effort. MGM has brought this film to Blu-Ray with a fine A/V presentation but nothing in the way of special features.
Romantic Comedy can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or various other online retailers.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: MGM 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.
