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Dom Robinson reviews
Planet Distribution
- Cert:
- Cat.no: PDVD 1528
- Running time: 96 minutes
- Year: 1999
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 20
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround)
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: None
- Fullscreen: 4:3
- 16:9-enhanced: No
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: DVD 5
- Price: £19.99
- Extras : Scene index
Director :
- Paul Chart
(American Perfekt)
Producers :
- Irvin Kershner, Andrew Schuth, Dawn Handler and John Thompson
Screenplay :
- Paul Chart
Music :
- Simon Boswell
Cast:
- Sandra: Amanda Plummer
Jake: Robert Forster
Santini: David Thewlis
Alice: Fairuza Balk
Frank: Paul Sorvino
Shirley: Joanna Gleason
American Perfektis a road movie that delivers more than the initial promise and is a film I don’t wantto say to much about plot-wise so as not to spoil the surprises and twists.
The film begins with Sandra (Amanda Plummer, in her usual kooky role) driving throughthe desert to get to Pear Blossom to meet up with her sister Alice (Fairuza Balk) andthen they’ll drive together up to Utah. However, her car is hit by another which runs heroff the road and bursts her tyre. She’s helped out by the next passer-by, Jake (RobertForster), a doctor who takes chances depending on the result of a coin toss – almostto the point of being ‘Two-Face’ obsessive – and a man to whom there’s much more than meetsthe eye and certainly not one you should ride in a car with.
When they run out of petrol in his car they have to flag another one down -it’s the car driven by Santini (David Thewlis), a con-artist and the man who wreckedSandra’s car in the first place. Reluctantly they accept a lift to the nearest motel withhim.
Alice doesn’t really appear until over halfway through the film, despite having top-billingon the box and American Perfekt reunites her with herThe Island of Dr Moreauco-star Thewlis. Paul Sorvino shows up as the local sheriff and Joanna Gleasonplays a drunk barfly named Shirley.
“I think I lost my watch down there”.Despite being framed for cinema presentation originally, here we have anopen-matte fullscreen version, which is a shame but doesn’t look bad at all.The average bitrate is a steady 5.53Mb/s.
The sound is fine most of the time, with a few dialogue pieces sounding a bitmuffled, but a few nice surround moments balance that out.
Extras : Chapters :There’s a good number of chapters – 20 over 96 minutes. Languages & Subtitles :
English language, but no subtitles.
Menu :
The menu is static and silent, with the basic options to start the film or select a scene.
“I didn’t get it at Tescos, okay?”To go into more depth would stop you finding out for yourself what happens, but it’scertainly a road trip worth taking with competent direction, even if the ending is lacking.However, given the price and lack of extras, it’s one to make a very good rental, rather thana substandard purchase.
Given the 15-certificate, it’s certainly not for anyone under that age as there’ssome choice language and one or two gory 18-cert-type moments.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
0OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.