Just Wright (Blu-ray Combo Pack)
Directed by Sanaa Hamri
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox
Year: 2010
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rating: PG
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin
Region: A
MSRP: $ 39.99
Release Date: September 14, 2010
Review Date: September 14, 2010
The Film
2.5/5
Sanaa Hamri’s Just Wright is a paint-by-the-numbers romantic comedy with sports as a background. Sad to say, it’s no Jerry Maguire. It isn’t blessed with charismatic actors in the leading roles (though its top-billed star is certainly the best thing in the picture), its script is completely predictable, and its laugh quotient is way below par. There’s good will here having a leading lady who isn’t a size two, and there is an attempt to integrate the sports scenes more intrinsically into the story than, say, those in Tooth Fairy or The Game Plan, but what emerges is still bland, conventional moviemaking without any snap.
Physical therapist Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) meets star New Jersey Nets basketball player Scott McKnight (Common) at a gas station and introduces him to her gorgeous godsister Morgan Alexander (Paula Patton) whom he immediately falls for. She had been scouting NBA players to see whom she could land as a ticket for a life of luxury, and she wastes no time in pushing the NBA star to propose. After their engagement is announced, Scott is injured in a game, and his NBA career appears to be in serious jeopardy causing Morgan is break off the engagement and split with only a curt note left behind. Leslie as an experienced sports therapist is called in to perform a miracle on Scott in eight weeks to get him ready for the playoffs. As the pair work closely together, they begin to fall in love, but after the rehabilitation is concluded, will Morgan’s revived interest in the recovered player cause a rift between Leslie and Scott?
There isn’t one single surprise in the Michael Elliot screenplay complete with the golddigging gorgeous girl friend, the star athlete who initially can’t see past the glamour to discover the difference between the two women underneath their outside appearances, and the make-or-break games with contracts worth millions on the line. Director Sanaa Hamri hasn’t done anything to gussy-up the material to disguise its utter banality, and the film’s 101 minutes seem rather long ones as we watch events unfold in utter lockstep until the film finally reaches its end. The basketball games aren’t milked for any real tension, and the film’s lack of sophistication makes it seem more a product of the studio system decades ago where homogenized comedies like this were cranked out every week.
Queen Latifah is clearly the star of the film and is certainly playing the most interesting character in it. There’s a moment where she sits on a piano bench while Common noodles on the piano, and we think we’re about to hear some jazz-infused singing from her (like she dazzled with in Living Out Loud), but, alas, it’s brief and over in a second. Otherwise, she’s a refreshing change from the petite leading ladies of most romantic comedies and believable as a sports trainer and fan. On the other hand, her vis-à-vis Common is a complete disaster playing this romantic leading man role. He looks the part, and he’s certainly believable as a basketball player (though he’s shorter than the average NBA player), but his line readings are flat and unengaging, and there’s no chemistry at all with Queen Latifah. Paula Patton plays the film’s most despicable character, a woman whose eye-on-the-prize golddigger isn’t sweet and sassy but selfish and grossly thoughtless. The script attempts to redeem her somewhat in the film’s closing quarter hour, but it doesn’t work. The movie wastes the talents of James Pickens Jr., Phylicia Rashad, and Pam Grier. Some NBA players and network sports anchors play themselves.
Video Quality
4.5/5
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 is delivered in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. The movie has been bathed in warm tones which reproduce beautifully on this high definition encode. Sharpness is excellent, and the image is loaded with detail. Colors are well saturated but never to the point of blooming. Black levels are a shade under optimum, the only slight disappointment in an otherwise superb video encode. The film has been divided into 24 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix takes advantage of its sports background and delivers a more immersive audio experience than most romantic comedies. There is also a rich selection of R&B and jazz on the soundtrack which gets a nicely separated treatment into the various available channels. Dialogue is well recorded and placed firmly in the center channel.
Special Features
3/5
All of the featurettes are presented in 1080p.
“The One You Can’t Live Without” is the set’s most substantial bonus: 7 minutes of behind-the-scenes discussions with the director, the producers, the production designer, and the stars discussing the project.
“Common on the Fast Break” finds the film’s leading man discussing his intense work to measure up for the basketball sequences in the movie and the crew extolling his great work ethic. It runs for 5 minutes.
“When Amazing Happens” discusses the necessity of getting the NBA to sanction the use of their logos and the participation of their teams in the making of the film as well as several NBA stars who also show up in cameo appearances. It runs for 6 ¾ minutes.
The movie’s gag reel runs for 2 ¾ minutes.
The movie’s theatrical trailer plays for 2 ½ minutes.
The disc also features trailers for Our Family Wedding, Date Night, and Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too.
The second disc in the set is the digital copy of the movie with enclosed instructions for installation on PC and Mac devices.
In Conclusion
2.5/5 (not an average)
There isn’t much of fresh interest here narrative-wise, but Just Wright does feature a strikingly good video and audio transfer and might do for a date night rental.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
