Just One of the Guys Blu Ray Review (Sony)
Just One of the Guys is a 1985 teen comedy film directed by Lisa Gottlieb (Cadillac Ranch, Across the Moon, & Freddy’s Nightmares). It’s a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was written/produced by Dennis Feldman (Species franchise, The Golden Child, & Real Men) & Jeff Franklin (Full House, Fuller House, Summer School, & Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper). It was produced by Andrew Fogelson (The New Kids, Blue Thunder, Spring Break, & Wrong is Right). It made $11,528,900 at the box office worldwide.
Terri Griffith (played by: Joyce Hyser from Greedy, This Is Spinal Tap, Valley Girl, & Staying Alive) is an aspiring teenage journalist in Phoenix who feels that her teachers don’t take her articles seriously because of her good looks. After failing to get her dream job as a newspaper intern, she comes to the conclusion that it is because she is a girl. Terri decides to remedy the situation & enrolls at a rival high school. She gets help from her little brother Buddy (played by: Billy Jayne from Cujo, The Bad News Bears, Bloody Birthday, & Superstition) & her best friend Denise (played by: Toni Hudson from Young Doctors in Love, School Spirit, Prime Risk, & Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) to disguise herself as a boy. Along the way she meets Rick Morehouse (played by: Clayton Rohner from April Fool’s Day, Sometimes They Come Back… for More, The Human Centipede III , & I, Madman) who becomes her pet project. After helping him through an image makeover & encouraging him to start talking to girls, Terri starts to fall for him. She turns him from a nerd to a popular kid in no time. She has to do deal with bully Greg Tolan (played by: William Zabka from The Karate Kid franchise, Cobra Kai, National Lampoon’s European Vacation, & Back to School) & her real college boyfriend Kevin (played by: Leigh McCloskey from Inferno, Fraternity Vacation, Dallas, & General Hospital). She is pursued by Sandy (played by: Sherilyn Fenn from Twin Peaks, The Wraith, Zombie High, & Meridian) who wants to date the new guy at school. Rick finally gets his dream girl Deborah (played by: Deborah Goodrich from April Fool’s Day, Out on a Limb, Remote Control, & The Deliberate Stranger) & they are going to the senior prom together. Terri is now put in a rough spot since she helped create this situation. What will happen next????
Just One of the Guys is one of the best teen comedies from the 80’s & it really doesn’t get the love it deserves. It took a fresh concept for that sub-genre & ran with it. The script is great, it goes through all the struggles of high school from both perspectives. It has all kinds of funny & awkward moments that are memorable. Quotes & scenes that you won’t forget after viewing this. This one is pure 80’s & it brings you back to those times. Joyce Hyser is fantastic in her dual performance in Just One of the Guys. I loved how she handled both roles in this. Clayton Rohner was always under-rated & this is the biggest part that he ever got. His character Rick goes through just as many changes as Terri does in the film. William Zabka was one of the best villains in the 80’s, he played the guy that you loved to hate with ease. The rest of the supporting cast was really good which included Billy Jayne, Toni Hudson, Leigh McCloskey, Deborah Goodrich, Arye Gross (House II: The Second Story), John Apicella (Doctor Mordrid), & Stuart Charno (Friday the 13th Part 2). This feature still holds up after all these years. Yes, it pure 80’s but the story & message is still strong. The soundtrack is top notch & the replay value is great. I am glad that they finally released this under-rated comedy gem on blu ray because it deserves all the attention it can get. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation & special features from Sony Pictures! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is stunning especially for being an 80’s flick plus a catalog title. This is the best it’s ever looked anywhere & I’ve seen it on every format possible. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono, French: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, & Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on this release. The score & soundtrack sound amazing here. That main track always gets stuck in my head for days after watching this. The dialogue is crystal clear here. It has English SDH & French subtitles. For the 35th anniversary, they did a brand new audio commentary with the director & some of the cast. The “Audio Commentary” is with director Lisa Gottlieb, actors Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Toni Hudson, Arye Gross, & John Apicella. They chat about the locations, fashion, hair, the cast, music, characters, & everything else possible about the production. They tell plenty of stories about Just One of the Guys. They get really personal here & don’t hold back at all. They go over their favorite scenes plus mention stuff that was changed from the original script. They have a great time together & appreciate that it still holds up. They mention it’s very popular in certain communities & it was before it’s time. This track is worth picking up this newer release because it’s loaded with information about this teen comedy. It also has the “Theatrical Trailer”. It’s from Sony’s made on the demand limited run which highlights some of their older titles. It’s pro pressed so don’t worry about it being a BD-R or burned. This is a must own when it comes to 80’s comedies & it should be every collection. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
