A Lot Like Love—Buena Vista

Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3

It’s too bad this movie tries so hard that it squelches any opportunity for the genuinely great chemistry between Amanda Peet (Emily) and Ashton Kutcher (Oliver) to really get off the ground. But, then again, that’s what you expected, wasn’t it?

Visually, the 1.85:1 anamorphic picture looks pretty good. Check out chapter 8, where the details in the dust-covered hood of Emily’s beat-up station wagon are super-sharp. And the icky fluorescent lighting of the gas-station scene is perfect: Amanda Peet’s skin looks positively green under the fluorescent light—just as it should.

On the audio side, there’s not a whole lot to recommend about this Dolby Digital 5.1 disc. But the dialogue sounds distinct and clear, and the poppy soundtrack comes through fine.

Extras are fairly extensive: The blooper reel gives you a great idea of how good this pair of comedic actors can be together (even if this doesn’t really come through in the scenes that made the cut). The deleted scenes once again show why scenes in movies get deleted in the first place (although the "What type am I?" scene is pretty funny). I could have done without the music video and commentary from the director and producers, though.

In all, this is an entertaining disc that’s worth the rental fee at the video store.

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