My Dead Friend Zoe Blu Ray Review (Universal)

My Dead Friend Zoe is a 2024 drama co-written, produced, and directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes (Meals Ready to Eat, Sam, Ellen, Merit x Zoe, It Matters, and Wrongful Termination) for his directorial full length debut. It was co-written by A.J. Bermudez (Blood, Sweat, and Lies, A Moment of your Time, Off Prospect, and Nightingale). It was executive produced by Travis Kelce (New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce). It grossed $1,265,163 worldwide at the box office. Merit (played by: Sonequa Martin-Green from Star Trek: Discovery, The Walking Dead, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Good Wife, and Once Upon a Time) is a U.S. Army veteran who is at odds with her family thanks to the presence of Zoe (played by: Natalie Morales from Parks and Recreation, Grey’s Anatomy, Battle of the Sexes, Harley Quinn, The Little Things, and Santa Clarita Diet), her dead best friend from the Army. Despite the persistence of her VA group counselor Dr. Cole (played by: Morgan Freeman from The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, Batman franchise, Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven, Glory, and Outbreak) plus the tough love of her mother Kris (played by: Gloria Reuben from E.R., Mr. Robot, City on a Hill, The Flash, and Timecop). Merit’s cozy-dysfunctional friendship with Zoe keeps the duo insulated from the entire world. That is until Merit’s estranged grandfather Dale (played by: Ed Harris from A Beautiful Mind, The Truman Show, A History of Violence, Creepshow, State of Grace, Just Cause, and The Firm) begins to lose his way and is in need of the one thing he refuses from anyone…help!!!!! I don’t understand why My Dead Friend Zoe has been labeled a comedy or even a dark comedy for the most part because it honestly barely has any actual humor in it. That’s a big reason why it’s kinda has been misunderstood and disappointing to a whole audience that was expecting that type of production here. It’s really a drama that deals with PTSD. This is going to hit former veterans hard, it’s a reflection of what they go through after serving your country and facing war. It’s all about it’s aftermath so it’s not really that action packed from the flashbacks from those days either. This is a straight up character study and it’s a real look at mental health. It takes it’s sweet time for it’s character development but it’s worth the wait. Sonequa Martin-Green has mainly been a television star over the years but she’s gets a shot in a leading role as Merit in a full length feature. She’s amazing as the haunted veteran that’s trying to get back to her life. She still thinks her deceased best friend is around and she continues to interact with her despite being the only one that can see her. Natalie Morales is excellent as Zoe, she’s the best friend that Merit lost but she’s still around for her friend somehow. It’s a touching and powerful performance that makes the audience wish they could do that with someone from their past. Their chemistry together is what really drives My Dead Friend Zoe. The underrated Gloria Reuben is the concerned mother Kris. She just wants to help out her daughter after all that she’s been through. Legends Morgan Freeman as Dr. Cole and Ed Harris as Dale add their experience to this sad drama. Both of these roles are there for Merit even if she doesn’t realize it. Morgan is the one trying to get her to deal with all her grief and issues with their group. Former veteran Harris is the grumpy grandfather that’s has dementia and he desperately needs some help but he won’t ask for it. These are premium supporting roles, both of these actors made My Dead Friend Zoe way better than it probably should be. The rest of the cast includes Utkarsh Ambudkar (Free Guy), James Bane (NCIS: Los Angeles), Assia Lau’ren (Mile 19), Thom Tran (CSI: NY), Alicia Borja (Mojave Diamonds), Zeke Alton (S.W.A.T.), Richard Milanesi (Middlehood), Rich Paul (Most Horrible Things), John-Peter Cruz (The Nomad), Anja Akstin (The Walking Dead), Marcia Lynn Anthony (Jack Ryan), and Del Lewis (Grimm). It’s inspired by a true story. My Dead Friend Zoe can be very sad and depressing but it’s well made and it has a legit message to it. It’s an emotional journey through the eyes of a person that’s really struggling with their current reality. My Dead Friend Zoe is good, it just got marketed wrong and it’s much different than how it was originally teased. If you go into without any expectations then you will definitely enjoy it much more. It’s a solid drama with high quality acting. Give it a shot, it’s one of the better female led features from the year!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Universal Pictures! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer looks fantastic on home video. It goes through so different locations and production design set ups so there’s a nice variety here when it comes to it’s visuals. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on the disc. Some of the flashbacks have the biggest impact here when it comes to the audio. It’s more of a drama than anything so it’s not really that type of movie. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the trauma is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has almost 3 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” that includes Bird Feeder and Goodwill. It has the almost 15 minute “A Veteran’s Story: The Journey of MDFZ”. It has interviews with the cast and crew. It’s based on the real story from producer, writer, and director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes. He made films while serving. His crew got Stop-Lossed so he was forced back into the army after he entered film school so he dropped it to finish his tour. They chat about the story, performances, and characters.It comes with a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!!