The Boost Blu Ray Review (MGM)

The Boost is a 1988 drama produced and directed by Harold Becker (Malice, Sea of Love, Mercury Rising, Domestic Disturbance, City Hall, and Taps). It’s based on the novel from Ben Stein (Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed). It was written by Darryl Ponicsan (Last Flag Flying, School Ties, Taps, The Last Detail, and Random Hearts). Lenny Brown (played by: James Woods from Casino, The Getaway, Vampires, Videodrome, Cat’s Eye, Once Upon a Time in America, Any Given Sunday, and Best Seller) is a slick hustler that deals in real-estate. He’s looking to strike it rich after always working hard to be on top of the game when it comes to the business. He is married to the beautiful Linda (played by: Sean Young from Blade Runner, Dune, No Way Out, Stripes, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Fatal Instinct, and Wall Street), she’s an amateur dancer. The two start struggling financially after risks don’t pan out. Lenny gets a new job opportunity from Max Sherman (played by: Steven Hill from Law and Order) that takes them to California. Lenny goes a little too far with his financials and he becomes even broker than before. His friend Joel Miller (played by: John Kapelos from The Breakfast Club, The Shape of Water, The Umbrella Academy, Sixteen Candles, Vibes, The Shadow, and Class) introduces him to cocaine for a boost after all his problems. Lenny and Linda both become addicted to it which ends up making their lives much worse. Linda sobers up after a tragedy but Lenny can’t control himself anymore. Can he save his life and marriage? or Will the drugs continue to ruin everything???? This was a first time watch for me. I remember seeing it in video stores back in the day but I never checked it out before. From the title, I always expected something a little different from this one. James Woods and Sean Young both killed it in The Boost. It’s easily some of their strongest performances in their career. This couple goes through hell in The Boost. They start from struggling to being successful to being completely broke all in a short amount of time. Honestly, James Woods is never bad in anything. He’s desperate as Lenny Brown. Sean Young as Linda Brown is beyond loyal to her husband despite dealing with lots of his bullshit. She always supports whatever he does. He tries so much trying to get rich quick. Their chemistry is very strong and explosive in The Boost. It has a decent supporting cast that includes John Kapelos, Steven Hill, John Rothman (Ghostbusters), Grace Zabriskie (Twin Peaks), Marc Poppel (Christine), and John Philbin (The Return of the Living Dead). The Boost is a cautionary tale of what happens when addiction takes over your life. This 80’s drama gets really dark towards the end. It’s much better than I thought it would be, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from MGM! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is the same exact restoration from the 2016 Olive Films home video release. It’s a major improvement over the older DVD and VHS versions from back in the day. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the disc. The audio is honestly pretty good here. All of the dialogue is crisp, the drama are elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. This is a bare bones release. Don’t let the artwork fool you, this is a pro pressed home video release and it’s not a BD-R. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!