Experimental film or not, Full Frontal was awful not because of the storyline, or the lack thereof, but it was downright dull and boring, a chore to get through. Steven Soderbergh wanted to do this movie as a counter product to the Hollywood system but while he flipped the bird to the studios, he also managed to do the same with audiences. I found nothing about the film or the characters engaging.
Full Frontal (2002)
Genre(s): Drama, Comedy
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment | R – 101 min. – $14.99 | May 7, 2013
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Writer(s): Coleman Hough (written by)
Cast: David Duchovny, Nicky Katt, Catherine Keener, Mary McCormack, David Hyde Pierce, Julia Roberts, Blair Underwood
Theatrical Release Date: August 2, 2002
DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Interviews, Alternate Cut w/ Commentary, Deleted Scenes
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: None
Disc Size: 45.8 GB
Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
THE MOVIE
Plot Outline: It’s a chaotic day for seven strangers (NICKY KATT, CATHERINE KEENER, MARY MCCORMACK, DAVID HYDE PIERCE, JULIA ROBERTS, BLAIR UNDERWOOD, ENRICO COLANTONI) from Hollywood who end up at the birthday party of a mutual friend (DAVID DUCHOVNY). Before the night is over, relationships are tested, hearts are broken and passions are renewed.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.75/5
Spy Cam (3:08; SD) is some footage from a spy cam as they filmed the movie.
Deleted Scenes 1 (8:21; SD) and Deleted Scenes 2 (9:01; D) contains more footage that, thankfully, failed to make the cut.
Cast Interviews (58:48; SD) contains an extensive amount of interviews with the cast in character by Soderbergh. It’s really nothing fascinating.
Alternate Edit with Commentary (1:40:49; SD) is the movie with a commentary by Steven Soderbergh and writer Coleman Hough. Although I hated the movie, this track is a fun listen as Soderbergh and Hough are engaging.
A Conversation with Steven Soderbergh (7:08; SD) contains some minor comments by the director explaining the project.
VIDEO – 2.0/5
Full Frontal is a prime example why not every movie needs to be released on Blu-ray. While it has been given a 1080p high-def transfer, the way most of the movie was shot, via handheld digital cameras (and not the good kind), the film looks splotchy and frankly unattractive only multiplied thanks to HD. The parts that were shot on 3mm looked pretty good (and I would rate about 3.75/5) but the rest is terrible as you’ll see in the screen capture gallery.
AUDIO – 3.0/5
The disc includes a pretty standard DTS-HD MA stereo track which is fine considering 99% of the movie is either dialogue or “deep in thought” character reflection moments. There’s not a whole lot to judge here but for the kind of movie this is, it’s satisfactory I suppose.
OVERALL – 2.0/5
Overall, experimental film or not, Full Frontal was awful not because of the storyline, or the lack thereof, but it was downright dull and boring, a chore to get through. Steven Soderbergh wanted to do this movie as a counter product to the Hollywood system but while he flipped the bird to the studios, he also managed to do the same with audiences. I found nothing about the film or the characters engaging. The Blu-ray at least does have some good features while the video and audio transfers aren’t anything amazing, with the former a shining example as to why not every movie needs to be released in HD.
Published: 05/05/2013