Oct 232020
 

Friendsgiving sort of excels thanks to Malin Akerman and Kat Dennings surrounded by a nice supporting cast. Didn’t think the script did this ensemble a whole lot of favors, but I did chuckle few times at least.

 

 

Friendsgiving
(2020)


Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Lionsgate | R – 96 min. – $21.99 | October 27, 2020

Date Published: 10/22/2020 | Author: The Movieman


MOVIE INFO:
Director: Nicol Paone
Writer(s): Nicol Paone (written by)
Cast: Malin Akerman, Kat Dennings, Jack Donnelly, Aisha Tyler, Jane Seymour, Deon Cole, Ryan Hansen, Chelsea Peretti, Christine Taylor, Wanda Sykes, Margaret Cho


DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurette, Gag Reel
Slip Cover: No
Digital Copy: No
Formats Included: Blu-ray
Number of Discs: 1


Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Disc Size: 24.14 GB
Total Bitrate: 28.37 Mbps
Codecs: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A, B, C (untested)


Lionsgate provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.


THE MOVIE — 2¾/5


Plot Synopsis: Abby (KAT DENNINGS) is looking forward to a laid-back Thanksgiving with her best friend, Molly (MALIN AKERMAN). But the friends’ plans for a quiet turkey dinner go up in smoke when they’re joined by Molly’s new boyfriend and her flamboyant mother (JANE SEYMOUR). Throw in some party crashers including Molly’s old flame, a wannabe shaman, and a trio of Fairy Gay Mothers (WANDA SYKES, MARGARET CHO and FORTUNE FEINSTER), and it’s a recipe for a chaotic holiday no one will ever forget – even if they wanted to!

Quick Hit Review: Certainly won’t be some future Thanksgiving classic, but Friendsgiving has its moments, albeit uneven at times, thanks to a fun core cast consisting of Malin Akerman, whom I’ve been a fan of from Children’s Hospital, Kat Dennings, mostly due to her sardonic sense of humor of characters she tends to play and Aisha Tyler, mainly her love of geekdom and DC comics. The material isn’t anything special and doesn’t break much new ground in terms of the ensemble comedy-drama, however it’s probably worthy of a rental.

 

SPECIAL FEATURES – /5


This release comes with a slip cover and a Digital HD redemption code. Features aren’t exactly plentiful but there is an Audio Commentary with writer/director Nicol Paone and producer/actress Malin Akerman, Making Friendsgiving: Serving Up Insanity (13:26) behind-the-scenes featurette and a Gag Reel (4:35).

 

VIDEO – 4¼/5


Lionsgate releases Friendsgiving onto Blu-ray, presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This being a comedy at its core, and a film taking place mostly in one location, the picture is bright and cheerful throughout with detail being sharp and well defined.

AUDIO – 3¾/5


The movie comes accompanied with a effective, for the genre, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track providing for clear dialogue coming from the center channel with some minimally usage of the front and rear channels for ambient noises and a generic score.

 

OVERALL – 2¾/5


All in all, Friendsgiving sort of excels thanks to Malin Akerman and Kat Dennings surrounded by a nice supporting cast. Didn’t think the script did this ensemble a whole lot of favors, but I did chuckle few times at least, so that’s something.

 

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