A law student transplanted to Southern California, Monroe Clark (C. Thomas Howell) serves eviction papers to Zack Barnes (Peter Horton), a former volleyball star. When Barnes learns that Monroe is a recreational player, he offers a few pointers. Monroe and his teammate, Wiley (Christopher Rydell), plan to compete in an upcoming tournament. But when Wiley is injured, Monroe partners with Zack. They’re underdogs in a tough field of competitors, but Monroe and Zack feel they’re up to the challenge.
For thoughts on Side Out, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic here.
Video Quality
Side Out gets an upgrade to Blu-Ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, but deeming it an upgrade feels disingenuous. The transfer is sourced from an older master provided by Columbia Pictures that shows nary a moment of natural film grain underneath a large assortment of digital issues. The biggest issue with this disc is not the occasional speck of damage to the print, but rather the ugly compression artifacts and macroblocking that plague most of the film. The presentation has a handful of moments where scenes stabilize a bit more, but these moments do not stick around long. The colors are muted with not much stability in saturation. Skin tones look fairly natural, but the black levels are inundated with crush. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray disc that might technically be a step up from DVD, but it is one of the poorer efforts I have seen in some time.
Audio Quality
This new Blu-Ray comes with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix that offers a much more pleasing presentation than the video portion of the disc. The film is not an audio heavy-hitter, but certain moments of the soundtrack pack a nice punch in the mix. The dialogue holds up well, coming though clearly without being stepped on by the music or sound effects. The environmental effects are delineated nicely when it comes to showcasing the ambience of the beach setting. The track mostly avoids instances of age related wear and tear or distortion. This is a track that represents the film quite capably. Optional English subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
There are no special features included on this disc. The only notable aspect of this release is the “VHS-Style” slipcover that ships with the packaging sporting some superior cover art.
Final Thoughts
Side Out is far from a cinematic masterpiece, but it hits the easy beats of certain ‘80s “dramas” (despite its 1990 release) that evokes a warm feeling of nostalgia. This is a movie built around beach volleyball, so you never really take anything too seriously. C. Thomas Howell makes for an amiable protagonist in an otherwise standard-issue role. Mill Creek Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray that is simply not a good disc. The audio is perfectly fine, but the horrendous video and lack of extras makes this one tough to recommend.
Side Out is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Mill Creek 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.
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Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
