Meet Dave Blu-ray delivers great video and audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
A massive fireball from space hits New York's Central Park and an ordinary man emerges
unscathed. The man turns out to be a spaceship operated by 100 human-looking aliens who
are one-quarter inch tall and seeking a way to save their planet; complications ensue when
their captain falls in love with an Earth woman who's always picked losers for previous
romances.
It seems they are a more complex species than we imagined.
Meet Dave features comedian Eddie Murphy (Norbit) in dual roles,
again. This time, however, he is not covered in layers of make-up and body suits, here relying on
his skills as an actor and comedian instead of over-the-top visual gags to earn laughs from
audiences.
Meet Dave is not Murphy's best comedy, but it
proves he still has a few laughs left in him. This is a harmless, family-friendly picture that isn't all
that good in the grand scheme of things, but its idea is sufficiently original, the acting acceptable,
the laughs fairly regular, and the theme passable, making for a decent 90 minute experience.
Don't try this at home.
A man-shaped starship from the planet Nil crash lands on Earth, crewed by tiny, English-speaking
humanoids. They have come to Earth to drain its oceans and collect the salt from the water to
keep
their planet alive, and they are none-too-concerned that such a development would be
catastrophic to the planet and her billions of inhabitants. To collect the salt they need a powerful
orb
which has crash-landed ahead of them, through a young boy's window, to be precise. He is Josh
(Austin Lynd Myers), who lives with his mother, a widow and amateur artist named Gina
(Elizabeth Banks, The 40-Year-Old
Virgin). As fate would have it, Gina hits Starship Dave with her car and the pair quickly
become friends despite Dave's (or Dave Ming-Chang, to be more precise) awkward, alien ways.
Dave quickly discovers that her son is the
keeper of the orb, and he sets out to find Josh, whom he also befriends. As the crew of
Starship Dave become infatuated with human culture, the ship's captain must choose to
complete the mission or continue the budding relationship with Gina, all the while dealing with a
burgeoning love interest from one of his own crew, Number Three (Gabrielle Union), and staying
one step ahead of a zealous police officer hot on his trail (Scott Caan).
Eddie Murphy delivers a surprisingly suitable performance in Meet Dave. His antics early
in
the film come across as lighthearted fun, and they rarely cross over into ridiculous territory. His
dual roles are often played wonderfully; he is both a serious but somewhat goofy captain of a
man-shaped vessel and is also that same life-sized vessel trying to come off as a normal human
individual. Both
characters Murphy portrays must come to understand and embrace the human condition, each
with comic results as the mind (the tiny Murphy) is often disconnected from the body (the
life-sized Murphy) when interaction with other beings is required, resulting in some genuine
laughs
stemming from both comical dialogue and physical humor. The remainder of the cast is about
as expected for a film of this sort. Each of the primaries are competent but don't perform to any
sort of high level. They get the job done, playing in support of Murphy, and allowing the veteran
to bear the load of the film. Marc Blucas of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame is the best of the
supporting cast in a minor role.
There are some very funny moments in the film, such as when the crew of the Starship Dave try
to fine-tune the vessel's voice at the right pitch for proper dialogue and human interaction. Also
funny are Dave's various attempts throughout the film to understand culture and mannerisms,
earning laughs from a broad array of the most mundane tasks gone awry, such as the purpose of
and accepted response to a basic
handshake, how to correctly wear a shirt, or repeating "Welcome to Old Navy!" as an accepted
form of personal greeting. The film earns plenty of laugh-out-loud
moments, but there are still other problems that keep Meet Dave from being a top-flight
comedy. The movie's dramatic moments don't work out so well, particularly the budding
romance scenes between Starship Dave and Gina and tiny Dave and Number Three. Almost any
plot device outside the gags feels forced, be they the romance, the police investigation of the
crash site, or even the crux of the story, Starship Dave's crew's mission of collecting salt for their
dying
home world. Also problematic are a few of the visual effects, a surprise to be sure considering the
film's semi-big budget. There are a few moments the film could have done without, like the
numerous shots inside Starship Dave's mouth or his version of a personal ATM machine. All in
all, Meet Dave works and should entertain audiences capable of taking the film at face
value and not going in expecting the next great Comedy or Science Fiction masterpiece.
20th Century Fox brings Meet Dave to Blu-ray in a quality 1.85:1-framed, 1080p transfer.
The picture looks somewhat warm with a reddish tint to flesh tones and a red/orange/golden hue to
much of the image. Oftentimes, the transfer sports fantastic attention to fine detail and offers
plenty of depth, making for what is usually a very film-like transfer. The many exterior New York
shots in particular feature some realistic textures and intricate detail that brings the image to life.
The transfer also features many bright, alluring colors. Not all is well, however. Many shots look
washed out with muted colors and a slightly soft look. Blacks are hit or miss, but are more often
better than they are worse. Flesh tones vary from the red tint mentioned earlier to natural in
appearance, with seemingly little to no correlation to shot location or lighting. The transfer looks
better far more often than not, but it lacks in a few places. Meet Dave features a strong,
but not reference-grade, high definition transfer.
Meet Dave crashes onto Blu-ray with a high powered DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack.
This track features plenty of activity, including bass that rattles the floorboards in many scenes and
places the viewer in the middle of the action. Listeners will also find great sound effects that may
be heard all around the stage, many offering fantastic precision, clarity, and attention to detail.
There is plenty of surround activity as well, both in support of the fronts and through the inclusion
of discrete effects that seem to always create a full sense of 360-degree realistic atmosphere. A
scene in chapter seven featuring Starship Dave listening to headphones with disastrous results
inside the ship due to the prodigious amounts of bass makes for a rather interesting sonic moment.
The bass is a bit muddied and unclear, but it's supposed to be in this instance and taken in the
context of the scene. The scenes in the Havana restaurant in chapter 19 feature lively, realistic
music and atmosphere that plays with pitch-perfect precision throughout the soundstage. Dialogue
is crisp and natural in delivery. Meet Dave does not always feature a nonstop audio assault
as many segments of the movie remain focused across the front three speakers, but this is a
well-above average and lively track considering the film's comedy roots.
20th Century Fox brings Meet Dave to Blu-ray with a few supplements. The disc features
three Fox Movie Channel Presents... features. The first is Life After Film School With
Director Brian Robbins (480p, 28:58). This piece features the film's director being interviewed
by three students. Making a Scene (480p, 9:54) looks at the creation of one of the film's
most effects-heavy and important scenes. World Premiere (480p, 4:35) features interview
clips with the cast and crew on the red carpet. Moving along, viewers will find The Making of
'Meet Dave' (1080i, 22:29). This is a rather standard making-of piece that looks at the origins
of the film, the appeal of the script, features plenty of back-patting amongst the cast and crew, the
making of some of the effects shots, and more. The piece is intercut with plenty of
behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the film. Next up is Cast and Crew Profiles
(1080i), an interactive piece that allows viewers to learn more about the Starship's crew. Rounding
out the special features is a gag reel (1080i, 2:42), four deleted scenes (1080i, 2:24), and an
alternate ending (1080i, 0:47).
Meet Dave is harmless fun. A classic or even just a good picture it is not, but passable
entertainment it most certainly is. Eddie Murphy turns in above average performances in his dual
roles. The
film offers plenty of laughs in the form of a number of sketches that serve as the heart of the film,
everything else playing second fiddle to Starship Dave's attempts to fit into modern culture. Film
snobs need not apply, but anyone in search of an easygoing, somewhat different, family-friendly
comedy can do worse. 20th Century Fox brings this box office disappointment to Blu-ray as a very
average package. The disc features quality video and audio presentations but only a few
supplemental
features. Considering the disc's current $40 MSRP, Meet Dave is probably best enjoyed as a
rental for family movie night.
Fox Home Entertainment has announced they are bringing the Eddie Murphy film 'Meet Dave' to Blu-ray on November 25th, day-and-date with the DVD release. Coming on a BD-25, video will be presented in 1.85:1 1080p AVC accompanied by a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sou ...
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