Excess Baggage Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)

Excess Baggage is a 1997 crime-comedy film directed by Marco Brambilla (Demolition Man & Dinotopia). It was written by Max D. Adams, Dick Clement (Tracey Takes On…, Vice Versa, Villain, Across the Universe, & The Bank Job), & Ian La Frenais (Porridge, Flushed Away, Lovejoy, & Catch me a Spy). It was produced by Alicia Silverstone (Braceface, Queen B, & The Pleasure of Your Presence), Bill Borden (Desperado, End of Days, Alien Nation, & Mission: Impossible III) & Casey Grant (Dreamcatcher, The Uninvited, Reindeer Games, & The 13th Warrior). It got delayed & it went through several re-shoots after bad test screenings. Silverstone was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress for this. The budget was $20 million & it grossed $14.5 million at the box office.

A spoiled young woman & desperate for attention from her millionaire father (played by: Jack Thompson from Man-Thing, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, & Broken Arrow). Emily Hope (played by: Alicia Silverstone from The Babysitter, The Crush, Clueless, & Blast from the Past) fakes her own abduction to shift his focus her way. The so-called kidnapping turns real when auto thief Vincent Roche (played by: Benicio Del Toro from Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, Sicario 1/2, Sin City, & The Usual Suspects) makes off with a car & discovers Emily, who had locked herself inside the trunk. As Vincent tries to figure out what to do with his unexpected guest, Emily begins to fall for the charming felon. Vincent asks his criminal friend Greg (played by: Harry Connick Jr. from Copycat, Basic, Independence Day, & The Iron Giant for help while the vicious Uncle Ray (played by: Christopher Walken from The Deer Hunter, King of New York, Suicide Kings, & The Prophecy franchise) tracks him down. Can he outlive this annoying girl & psychopath on his trail???

Excess Baggage was a darker take on the romantic comedy. Originally, it really wasn’t meant to be that type of film but it tested horrible so they completely changed it. The screenplay had a good balance of comedy & crime with some twists. I think this film is a little misunderstood & people were expecting something different from it when it first came out. Alicia Silverstone & Benicio Del Toro have good chemistry here. Alicia Silverstone delivered her typical rich girl brat role that she got type casted in during this time when she was really popular. She can be annoying at times but she knew how to play that type of character & she was decent. Benicio Del Toro had a different role than usual & he was great in Excess Baggage, he actually made Silverstone better than usual with his performance. Christopher Walken was the best thing about the entire production. He is one of the best villains around, he definitely made this film interesting. Plus it had a real solid supporting cast that included Jack Thompson, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Bowen (Kill Bill), Nicholas Turturro (NYPD Blue), Leland Orser (Se7en), & Sally Kirkland (Two Evil Eyes). It has a great soundtrack with lots of familiar songs. It’s a very fun & entertaining road movie, it’s worth checking out. I actually think it gets better after repeat viewings. RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek Entertainment! This 1080p (1.86:1) transfer is from an older master. It’s an upgrade from the previous DVD & VHS releases but don’t expect reference quality or anything like that here. It’s a road movie so it has all kinds of different locations here. The English: Dolby Digital 5.1 track is good. It’s not really the type of film that will make your speakers pound but I will say the music is the true highlight when it comes to the technical aspects of this release. The dialogue is crystal clear & there’s lots of that in Excess Baggage. It has English SDH subtitles. There’s no extras on the disc.This is the first time Excess Baggage has been released on blu ray in the states thanks to the great folks at Mill Creek Entertainment. It’s a part of their “I Love the 90s” line. It has an retro VHS slipcover plus different artwork underneath it. It’s the quality you would expect from an older catalog title but for the price it’s definitely worth adding to the collection. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!