Just Friends Blu Ray Review (Warner Archive Collection)

Just Friends is a 2005 comedy directed by Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions franchise, Suits, Furry Vengeance, Pretty Little Liars, and The Sweetest Thing). It was written by Adam Davis (Brain Games, Brainchild, Spring Break Lawyer, and Gardener of Eden). It was produced by Chris Bender (Hysteria, A History of Violence, The Butterfly Effect franchise, I Am Number Four, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Rings, Horrible Bosses, Ride Along, We’re the Millers, The Hangover franchise, Vacation, and Under the Silver Lake). It grossed $51,024,243 worldwide at the box office!!!! In high school, Chris Brander (played by: Ryan Reynolds from the Deadpool franchise, Green Lantern, Blade: Trinity, IF, The Voices, Waiting, Van Wilder, Adventureland, and Smokin’ Aces) was a extremely shy, nerdy, and overweight teen with a crush on the beautiful Jamie Palamino (played by: Amy Smart from the Crank franchise, Rat Race, Road Trip, The Butterfly Effect, Strangeland, and Varsity Blues). Jamie only thought of the good guy Chris as “just a friend” and nothing else besides that. Ten years later, Chris has changed so much since those early days. He now is a suave, fit and very successful music executive visiting home for the holidays. He’s looking for a little payback for his traumatic past. Love has other plans for him as he attempts to woo Jamie once again. At the same time, he’s trying to distract the dizzy pop-diva client Samantha James (played by: Anna Faris from Observe and Report, Mom, Scary Movie franchise, May, The Hot Chick, Waiting, Take Me Home Tonight, and Lost in Translation) he has in town. He has to go up against a rival suitor Dusty Dinkleman (played by: Chris Klein from the American Pie franchise, We Were Soldiers, Election, The Flash, Rollerball, and Here on Earth). Chris quickly finds out that romancing Jamie hasn’t gotten any easier even after his successful life!!!! Just Friends is so much better than it should be. This is hilarious, there’s so many crazy situations here. The script deals with a socially awkward guy who’s in love with his gorgeous best friend. He pours his heart to her and he gets put in the friend zone. After that, he moves away from his hometown and he makes something out of his life. After plane problems for a work trip, he’s forced to go back for a few days and it brings up some triggering memories. Ryan Reynolds as Chris Brander is excellent in this. He’s feeling like a whole new person until he goes back to his old hometown. Everything goes back to what it was and he ends up making much worse after trying so hard. Amy Smart is perfect as Jamie Palamino, she always had bad taste in her earlier relationships. She’s been through a lot since those popular days and she’s feels different now. The chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart is so awkward in the best possible ways which causes so many issues. Anna Faris as Samantha James is the spoiled pop star that’s always used to getting her way until now. She’s selfish and she doesn’t notice how she really acts after getting fame. Chris Klein as Dusty Dinkleman is great in this. He’s the weird nerd that grew up to be something completely opposite of his school days. He seems like a good guy but he hides everything really well when he’s competing with Chris for Jamie’s attention. It’s a unique role for him because he usually doesn’t play characters like this. The supporting cast includes Christopher Marquette (Freddy vs. Jason), Julie Hagerty (Airplane franchise), Stephen Root (Office Space), Robin Dunne (The Big Hit), Fred Ewanuick (Corner Gas), Amy Matysio (Another WolfCop), Ashley Scott (Birds of Prey), and Ty Olsson (The Planet of the Apes franchise). Christopher Marquette really stands out as Chris’s perverted younger brother Mike. He’s a scene stealer for his smaller role. Just Friends has an interesting soundtrack and it adds to it’s unique vibe. It mixes a few sub-genres like romantic comedy and holiday for this plus it has a good message when it’s all done. There’s nothing wrong with just being yourself. It actually has a good amount of loud out loud moments and it’s generally funny. I’ve always enjoyed this one and I feel like it just gets better with each revisit. It’s a blast, very entertaining, and it goes by pretty fast. It took a long time but it’s finally upgraded to HD on home video in the states, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the Warner Archive Collection! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is a very solid upgrade compared to it’s previous older DVD in 2006. Just Friends was originally released on blu ray in Canada in 2010 and this is slightly better than that one despite it not being a brand new restoration here. I still think there’s potential for a even better visual experience later on for a possible 4K but this is definitely better than anything in the past. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. This is mainly dialogue driven and aiming for the laughs so don’t expect some crazy explosive loud audio here but the fun soundtrack does really shine in that department. All of the dialogue is crisp, the disasters are elevated, and the music has a huge boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Good news, all of the archive extras have been carried over here from the previous home video release. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Roger Kumble, Adam Davis, Chris Bender, Jake Weiner, Richard Brener and Cale Boyter. They all mainly joke around and just have fun together revisiting the comedy. There’s some personal stories and inside information every once in awhile but it’s more of a silly session between the group. It has the almost an hour “Behind the Scenes Featurettes” broken into 11 different segments which includes “The Transformation”, “A Director’s Guide to Comedy”, “Developing Just Friends”, “The Reshoots”, “It’s Friggin’ Cold”, “A Writer’s Journey”, “A Disaster in the Making”, “Tales From the Friend Zone”, “The Body Shake”, “The Cheer”, and “Red Bulb Records”. This is really cool inside look into the production with these short behind the scenes from a variety of moments from Just Friends. It has 6 “Deleted / Alternate Scenes” which includes “Red Bulb Records”, “Day Date”, “The Cheer”, “Christmas Eve”, “Christmas”, and an “Alternate Ending” that are a total of a little over 12 minutes. It has optional commentary with Roger Kumble, Adam Davis, and Chris Bender. It has a few different music videos which has the almost 3 minute “Jamie Smiles” and the almost 2 minute “Samantha James”. It has an almost 3 minute “Gag Reel”. It has the “Theatrical Trailer” for Just Friends. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!