After the terrific critical and public success of his first film The Brothers McMullen, writer-director Edward Burns was given $3 million for his next film. He chose to take another bite out of the Irish Catholic romantic/domestic comedy apple with She’s the One. As before, the film’s strengths are in the glib writing and Brooklyn attitude that Burns injects into this dialogue. Otherwise, however, the film rehashes some situations and themes from the earlier film and is much less satisfying overall. As a film it’s slicker to look at and has a more talented cast than The Brothers McMullen, but there’s little that’s new or fresh here.
She’s the One (Blu-ray)
Directed by Edward Burns
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Year: 1996
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rating: R
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround English; Dolby Digital 2.0 surround Spanish, French
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 19.99
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Review Date: October 3, 2012
The Film
2.5/5
Siblings Mickey (Edward Burns) and Francis (Mike McGlone) Fitzpatrick couldn’t be more different. Francis is a natty dresser and has a big job as a stockbroker on Wall Street. He’s been married to Rene (Jennifer Aniston) for awhile but has been having an affair with his brother’s ex-fiancé Heather Davis (Cameron Diaz) who’s also a Wall Street broker. Mickey, on the other hand, drives a cab and isn’t looking for love when Hope (Maxine Bahns) hops into his cab and asks for a ride to New Orleans to attend a wedding. One day together, and the couple marry. Then Mickey finds out that Hope is awaiting word on whether she’ll be attending art school at the Sorbonne in Paris. So with their personal lives in tumult, the brothers turn as they often do to dear old dad (John Mahoney) who has lots of opinions but can’t see what’s actually happening under his own roof with his own marriage.
The tough love brotherly insults (which also seem keyed to the father’s caustic approach to affection) that distinguished The Brothers McMullen have been greatly amplified in She’s the One to the point that they eventually begin to wear out their welcome. The brothers are so intent on tearing one another down when one has an idea, an opinion, or a manner that doesn’t jive with what the other thinks is proper that there are lots of people talking and throwing out opinions but no one listening or thinking about consequences. Burns’ script recycles the cheating spouse scenario with a brother’s ex right out of the previous movie and does nothing new with it. His inexperience as a director also allows Brooklyn accents within the same family to wildly vary from Jennifer Aniston’s barely audible one to Amanda Peet’s crazily exaggerated one. As before, the direction is smooth but not particularly distinguished, and not much fun is wrung out of obvious things like Francis’ lavish apartment or Mickey’s cramped cold water flat.
With the exception of Maxine Bahns who seems less charismatic than all of the other actors playing around her, the performers are aces. It’s not the fault of either Jennifer Aniston or Cameron Diaz that their characters aren’t explored to nearly the same extent as Edward Burns and Mike McGlone’s characters are; both women are appealing and interesting enough to have warranted further exploration. McGlone really is the star of the film in terms of screen time, and with his shaky balancing act with a marriage and an affair, he does well within the framework of the story. John Mahoney is also terrific as the Fitzpatrick father oblivious to his own unsteady marital state but ready to butt into the love lives of both of his sons with lots of unhelpful advice.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is offered in 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. Except for a few interior shots that appear a bit digital, the images are beautiful: sharp, clear, clean, and very colorful. Flesh tones are realistic and appealing, and color saturation levels are consistently maintained. Black levels are nicely realized. The film has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround sound mix spreads Tom Petty’s songs and score through the soundstage with most appealing results. There’s not a lot of New York City ambience captured in the sound mix, but the dialogue, crucial as it is, has been well recorded and appears in the center channel.
Special Features
3/5
The audio commentary is by writer-director Edward Burns. There are pauses here and there between comments, and Burns’ second filmmaking experience was a mixture of positive and negative both of which he shares with candor. Those interested in the movie will find it revealing.
A production featurette shows behind-the-scenes work on the movie and brief interviews with John Mahoney, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, and Tom Petty. It runs 8 ¼ minutes in 480i.
“Walls” music video is performed by Tom Petty and runs 5 ¾ minutes in 480i.
The theatrical trailer is in 480i and runs for 2 ¾ minutes.
The enclosed 28-page booklet contains wonderful stills and studio portraits and brief pieces on the story, the production, and the major actors in the movie.
In Conclusion
3/5 (not an average)
She’s the One isn’t as fresh as The Brothers McMullen, and one may think he’s seeing parts of the same movie again as the film runs, but there’s a fair share of humor and heart on display, and fans of the filmmaker or the other actors may certainly find it worth a rental.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
