Sony brings So I Married an Axe Murderer to 4K UHD Blu-ray for its 30th Anniversary in a release that actually lives up to it Special Edition status.
The Production: 3/5
Charlie Mackenzie (Mike Meyers) is a commitment phobic beat poet in San Francisco who has found fault with every woman he has ever dated and eventually broke up with. That changes when he meets butcher Harriet Michaels (Nancy Travis) one night, stopping at her worldwide meat market to pick up some haggis for his Scottish parents (Brenda Fricker as his mother and Meyers in a dual role as his father). Charlie revisits the butcher shop and, seeing the crowd of customers, offers to lend Harriet a hand. That leads to their first date that evening, and things just click for the two. That is, until he reads a “news” article in a tabloid his mother keeps around the house about a black widow travelling the country leaving pieces of her dead husbands behind. Many of those locations just so happen to coincide with places that Harriet says she used to live, and those old insecurities begin to creep in again for Charlie. Charlie’s best friend, Tony (Anthony LaPaglia), an undercover police detective, doesn’t help matters by providing Charlie with updates on the serial killer that he suspects is Harriet. All of this is played to comedic effect, some better than others.
So I Married an Axe Murderer was Meyers’ follow-up to Wayne’s World, a film that he co-wrote and relied heavily on his improvisational comedy skills to much success. This film, though, was not originally developed as a vehicle for Meyers, and when the former SNL star came on-board, Meyers and writing partner Neil Mullarkey (Austin Powers) rewrote much of the script (although WGA arbitration would give sole credit to original screenwriter Robbie Fox), and once shooting was underway, Meyers was left to improvise much of the film. Unfortunately, much of that improv humor feels forced and often falls flat. On the bright side, the film includes a long list of cameos, including Alan Arkin, Phil Hartman, Stephen Wright, Michael Richards, Charles Grodin, and Debbie Mazar.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
So I Married an Axe Murderer was photographed in the Super 35 process and completed on 35mm film with an intended theatrical aspect ratio on 1.85:1. This was never an attractively photographed film, but the new 4K scan used here in this release (taken from the original camera negative per the press release) with both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range does breathe some new life into the image. This is nowhere near as drab as the prior DVD and Blu-ray releases, with colors appearing much more vivid and flesh tones are more natural. Contrast is better, although the image still suffers a bit in the darker sequences with blacks sometimes losing their details. Film grain is moderate but never distracting. This release does not include a Blu-ray disc version.
Audio: 4/5
The default Dolby Atmos track, new to this release, isn’t necessarily something to write home about. It is a bit more balanced than the more front-heavy DTS-HD MA 5.1 or 2.0 tracks included on the disc. The front soundstage is wider and surrounds are a bit more active on the Atmos mix, but the DTS-HD MA 5.1 sounds a bit punchier when it comes to LFE. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 2.5/5
The previous Blu-ray release from 2008 was touted as a “Collector’s Edition” despite it being a barebones release. Sony’s 30th Anniversary Edition corrects that error, offering up some deleted scenes and theatrical trailers.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 31:31): A whopping 27 alternate and deleted scenes are included.
Trailers (1080p; 4:22): The US theatrical trailer (which feels more like a teaser in that it includes very few scenes from the actual movie) and international trailer are included.
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem a 4K digital copy. As of the date of this review, Movies Anywhere offered the movie in 4K HDR10 with Dolby 5.1, Vudu in 4K Dolby Vision and Atmos, Apple TV in 4k Dolby Vision and Dolby 5.1, and Prime Video in HD and Dolby 5.1. None of the retailers included any special features.
Overall: 3.5/5
Fans of the film will likely want to pick this up if they are 4K capable for the improved transfer and special features.
So I Married An Axe Murderer – 30th Anniversary Ed…
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Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.
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