Review of Closer You Get, The

Introduction

The never-ending connection between the Irish and Americans is given a new twist in this film about a group of Irish lads looking for love.

An advert in a Miami newspaper is their hope of finding love, inviting American women over to their small Irish town.

The preparation is intense, working out, dieting and complete makeovers.

The womenfolk of the village don`t stand by idle though. They flirt with other men and eventually both groups of villagers begin to see each other in different ways.

Video

Framed at 1.85:1, this anamorphic image is stable, but flawed. There is an unacceptable level of noise in some scenes, which is not just of the small pixel variety either. There are cases of quite substantial marking of the image.

The picture is also quite dark. I though the TV may be playing up at first but after checking my normal reference disk I can safely say that this disk is dull. At times the definition of the backgrounds was extremely hard to make out.

Some scenes do benefit from this level of light though, such as the sea views under dramatic skies, but this should not entice the director to use that light level for everything, from outside to dimly lit pubs.

Audio

Again a disappointment I`m afraid. Billed as a 5.1 mix, there was very little use made of the of the effects soundstage. Areas where even soap operas now use the rear speakers regularly, such as pubs and party segments were devoid of action, relying solely on the centre speaker to provide the soundtrack.

The use of music was very up to date with recent chart hits included as well as some old favourites, both of which were blended into the film very well, but this cannot save a lacklustre performance from the audio area.

Features

Interactive menus, scene access.

Nothing else.

Oh.

Conclusion

I am always worried by films that bear the legend, `By the producers of....`. To me this strikes fear into the heart as it normally signifies that hey struck gold once but this is a stinker.

The Closer You Get is best described as a heart-warming comedy with high feel good factor, which in some quarters could be described as a chick flick.

I enjoyed it, although it certainly wasn`t the rip roaring laugh fest that some people have billed it as.

The cast of largely unknown actors, Niamh Cusack being an exception, who have mainly plied their trade in TV and lower budget movies perform well and give sterling performances, but they don`t shine. Maybe this is harsh, but their are so many small budget British films appearing nowadays that are pushing the industry forward the public are beginning to expect more.

An enjoyable film that is let down by a below par disc.