DVD Review – Cheri
Cheri – DVD Review
Cheri is under the impression it’s a play with cameras watching it. Missing are the set changes in favor of editing to the next scene but the exchanges between the characters feel like they’re on stage rather than trying to emulate life on film. Director Stephen Frears brings it in terms of set design and production value, but something feels lost when it comes to the narrative and the acting. The film presents an interesting tale, and it wants to be great but it falls well below it’s goal.
Cheri stars Michelle Pfieffer and while she’s in full Catwoman mode, she gives one of her best performances in a good while. She gives Lea life, and plays her subtly as a woman fearing her latter days where her sex appeal has worn off. She’s takes things as they happen, and Pfieffer hits all the right notes. When she’s crying over the loss of her dear Cheri, it feels like raw, pure emotion she’s giving. She’s also believable as a sex icon and never comes off as awkward or out of place. Yes, it’s Catwoman-like but that’s the point of her character.
Too bad the rest of the cast isn’t up to snuff. Rupert Friend portrays the title character as someone who just stepped out of a My Chemical Romance concert. He’s too distant when he’s ignoring everyone in his life, which is what the character needs. However, when it comes to his interaction with Lea, Friend is too much like the child he’s trying to grow out of. When the end of his arc finally arrives, one wonders if he turned up MCR prior to it. The worst of the bunch though is Kathy Bates. She’s out of place as Cheri’s mother and her line delivery is way off. Bates seems to be talking at her fellow actors rather than to them.
Another negative factor is the film’s script which keeps the focus squarely on Lea and not enough on the supporting members. The supporting cast is supposed to be built around the lead, yet it feels no one has any sort of spark to Lea. Even when Lea and Cheri are engaged in scenes it can come off forced and stilted, carried only by it’s actors. Everyone else around her is uninteresting, and seem to show up and come out only when the script wants them to. The audience never gets to know them, and the film might be aware of this as they try to make them as obscure as possible. No matter, we never spend anytime getting to know them or their names and their gone just as quickly as most the men in Lea’s life. To be fair though, the set and production designs are stellar. This is a living, breathing France of the 1920s that’s colorful and lively. The costumes as well are very elegant and all of this is complemented by some stellar camera work from Darius Khondji.
If this review has seem uninterested, then I apologize but that’s how the film comes off. Cheri, save for its two leads, has uninteresting characters and somehow manages to marr a dull plot. Cheri aspires to be a great film and falls well short of that mark. Pfieffer dazzles, but the rest of the cast seems out of touch with their characters. Again, it has wonderful set design and costumes but like most summer blockbusters, it’s all for nothing if you don’t have a good characters and an interestingly told story.
4 out of 10
The Video
Cheri comes to us in a 2.35:1 widescreen presentation that I’d hoped would show off the incredible production design and colors better than it does. Unfortunately there’s a good amount of haze that gives the film a muted look. In a sense it’s rather fitting as the film itself doesn’t feel like an actual movie at all but it’d have been nice to have the best parts of it being displayed in the highest order. There are no other problems such as edge enhancement or artifacting, but this is still a disappointment.
6 out of 10
The Audio
Cheri gets a Dobly Digital 5.1 Surrond mix which is perfect for what it sets out to do. The film is dialogue heavy and this track exploits it beautifully. Words come in clear and crisp and the music booms in the background with pure excellence. Maybe not reference quality, but fans of the picture shouldn’t be let down with what Miramax has done here.
8 out of 10
Packaging and Extras
Cheri is packaged in a single amaray case and has the actual poster on the package. I commend Miramax for doing that as I wish more studios would do the same thing with their Blu-ray and DVD releases.
Two deleted scenes kick things off and neither really needed to be cut. Neither adds anything to the plot, which is expected of deleted scenes but these two total to 86 seconds. Whether or not there are more deleted scenes remains to be seen on a future release, but for now we’re dealt these two brief scenes.
Rounding out this thin package is a “Making of Cheri” featurette which runs around eight minutes and is genuinely interesting for the first half as various crew and cast talk about how the script came to be and cover casting, production design, and working with director Stephen Frears. The most interesting aspect comes when production designer Alan MacDonald comes on to talk about how he created the sets based on the characters lifestyles.
Overall, I can’t help but think there’s more material out there or that the bulk of the extras are being held off until a future Blu-ray release.
5 out of 10
Overall
Cheri failed to impress me, and that held true on a second viewing. In fact, I think I disliked it a little more as all the flaws I had with it where magnified and dug at me even more. Much like the women in Cheri, it’s gorgeous to look at but tedious to listen to. The DVD features some underwhelming video countered by some fine audio. The extras are still a let down, considering the deleted scenes should still be in the film. The featurette is almost worth it, if only to listen to Alan MacDonald. Bottom line, this is a rental at best even for fans of the film.
DVD Overall Rating – 6 out of 10
