Meatballs 4 Blu Ray Review (MVD Rewind Collection)

Meatballs 4 (aKa Summer Vacation and Meatballs 4: To the Rescue) is a 1992 comedy written and directed by Bob Logan (Repossessed, Up Your Alley, How to Get… Revenge, and Yard Sale). It was produced by Donald P. Borchers (Children of the Corn franchise, The Tomb, The Demolitionist, Leprechaun 2, Vamp, Angel, Fear No Evil, Crimes of Passion, and The Beastmaster). It follows 1979’s Meatballs, 1984’s Meatballs Part II, and 1986’s Meatballs III: Summer Job. When the wealthy and scheming Monica Shavetts (played by: Sarah Douglas from Superman franchise, Conan the Destroyer, Puppet Master III, Return of the Living Dead III, The Return of Swamp Thing, Mirror Mirror 2, and Beastmaster 2) intends to buy Camp Lakeview and turn it into a golf course. Owner Neil Peterson (played by: Jack Nance from Eraserhead, Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Dune, Wild at Heart, Ghoulies, and Colors) hires the young and ambitious Ricky Wade (played by: Corey Feldman from The Lost Boys franchise, The Goonies, Stand by Me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, and Gremlins) to help his struggling situation. Ricky has a bold idea that the summer camp’s waterskiing team to compete with Monica’s rival team from Camp Twin Oaks. The showdown will determine Camp Lakeview’s future, and the underhanded Monica will stop at nothing to win this war!!!! Meatballs 4 was originally written as it’s own stand alone teen comedy under the name Happy Campers. The producers took advantage of the popularity and name value of Meatballs, they decided to change it to Part 4. It doesn’t come close to the original classic but I honestly prefer this over both 2 and 3 when it comes to franchise. Director Bob Logan was no stranger to humor at the time so he was the right choice for this unexpected sequel. The script covers most of the cliche stuff in these types of movies but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. It all works to this early 90’s camp comedy. Lead actor Corey Feldman is the talented Ricky Wade. He’s an expert when it comes to summer camps and his presence always elevates the spot that he’s working at. He has a past with this particular location but he decides to come back after given a promising opportunity. Feldman was still a pretty big name at the time so he kept busy working on all kinds of stuff like this back in the day to capitalize on it. This the perfect type of project for him, he gave his typical performance in Meatballs 4 and it fits with the concept. Character actor Jack Nance gives the best performance here as Neil Peterson, the desperate owner of the once praised location for the summer. Business keeps going down and he’s lost all kinds of money over the last few years so he needs win before it’s done forever. Nance deserves so much respect for this role because he handled it like a professional. He unfortunately lost his wife to suicide while making this and he finished like a pro despite his shocking tragedy. Villain Sarah Douglas is always consistent as playing the unlikable role in most stuff. She’s been involved with so many sequels over the years and she’s always a great addition. She makes the audience root for the underdogs in this. The rest of the supporting cast includes J. Trevor Edmond (Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings), Bojesse Christopher (Point Break), Paige French (The George Carlin Show), Brad Grunberg (Revenge of the Nerds), John Mendoza (The Second Half), Bentley Mitchum (Sometimes They Come Back), Deborah Tucker (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead), Frank Walton (Tank Girl), Cristy Thom (Best of the Best II), Brian Christensen (Be Cool), Neriah Davis (The Bikini Carwash Company franchise), Kristi Ducati (The Bikini Carwash Company franchise), Lauren Hays (Alien Intruder), Miche Straube (Virtual Girl), Anna Lee Farr, and Jo Farkas (Good Burger). I don’t really understand all of the hate that Meatballs 4 gets. It’s much better than it’s reputation and it delivers everything that you would want from something like this. It’s loaded with beautiful women and they all basically get naked so it has some top notch nudity. It has a decent underdog story and there’s plenty of action during it. It only had a limited theatrical run but it’s still a step above direct to video. It has some hilarious one liners. It does it’s job of being entertaining and a fun experience. It actually has some decent replay value to it. I miss when most comedies were actually Rated R and not watered down to make an extra buck at the box office. I think it’s wild that 4 got a Blu Ray before 2 and 3 but that’s the boutique label world. You never know what’s going to be upgraded first these days. It’s currently streaming on Tubi, Roku, MGM+, and Prime Video if you are curious. Meatballs 4 is worth adding to the teen comedy collection and it goes with the others from the same time, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from the MVD Rewind Collection! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is definitely a solid upgrade compared to it’s previous 2007 DVD from MGM. There’s no additional information on the restoration and it kinda seems like an older one done for HD for it’s television showings. It’s still the best it’s looked so far and I am not sure it will ever get anything better than this so I am happy with it. It has an English: LPCM 2.0 track on the disc. It mainly shines during it’s big competition and it’s soundtrack for the audio. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the humor is elevated, and the music has a decent boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has a little over 55 minute “Interview” with writer and director Bob Logan. He goes over his career in the industry. He chats about his beginnings and writing for big comedians like Rodney Dangerfield and Garry Shandling back in the day. He was in a comedy team but he enjoyed writing more than performing. He wrote all kinds of material for cartoons and other TV projects before he started doing his own projects. He started directing his own work because he felt others didn’t do his humor justice. He had a great working relationship with actress Linda Blair. This leads to the development of his biggest feature Repossessed. He goes over how Meatballs 4 was put together. He had 9 days to do the script for it. It has all kinds of interesting stories and information about his work over the years. It has the “Theatrical Trailer” for Meatballs 4. It has a variety of MVD related “Trailers”. It comes with a retro rental slipcover, reversible artwork, and a mini poster. This home video release is an MVD Shop exclusive so make sure you pick up while it’s still available, CHECK IT OUT!!!!