{"id":23084,"date":"2021-07-05T17:51:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T00:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=23084"},"modified":"2021-07-05T17:51:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-06T00:51:54","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-mr-jealousy-1997","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=23084","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: MR. JEALOUSY (1997)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This Blu-ray title from MVD Visual is currently available\nfor purchases at most retail outlets. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/director Noah Baumbach made a big splash with his 1995\ndebut feature, Kicking and Screaming<\/em>. Despite its buzz and success on\nthe indie circuit, one can safely say that the noted filmmaker still hadn\u2019t found\nhis footing just yet. He has made a name for himself with a string of critically\nacclaimed, Oscar-nominated titles like Marriage Story<\/em>, Mistress America<\/em>,\nWhile We\u2019re Young<\/em>, Frances Ha<\/em> and The Squid and the Whale<\/em>.\nWhile many of those projects will be very familiar to readers, there were a few\nmovies in between that haven\u2019t seen as much attention and are ripe for rediscovery\nand reappraisal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these features is Mr. Jealousy<\/em>, the second feature\nfrom Baumbach. While reasonably well received, this comedy underperformed at\nthe box office and hasn\u2019t received a lot of attention in recent years.\nThankfully, MVD Visual have picked up the rights and are now giving the film it\u2019s\nBlu-ray debut. Like many early efforts from noted auteurs, the figure behind\nthe lens is clearly still finding his voice and isn\u2019t firing on all cylinders.\nStill, there\u2019s plenty to enjoy in this sweet effort, which has many memorable\nlines and chuckle-worthy moments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is narrated by Lester Grimm (Eric Stoltz), a young\nNew York writer in something of a rut. He\u2019s experiencing a creative block and\nfalling into routines, also noting his loneliness and problems with woman that date\nback to childhood. After witnessing a girl that he had a crush on kiss another\nboy, Lester has developed a subtly jealous and distrusting personality. He\u2019s certainly\nnot mean or cruel, but he does obsess over the ex-boyfriends of his romantic\npartners, finding himself following people and unintentionally destroying how\nown relationships. When he meets free-spirited Ramona Ray (Annabella Sciorra), Lester\nfeels happy and contented. However, he soon learns that one of her exes is a famous\nnovelist named Dashiell Frank (Chris Eigeman). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Concerned that Ramona might dump him for Dashiell given the\nfact that he is far more famous and successful, the protagonist develops an ill-advised\nplan. In order to learn more, he tails the ex and joins the prominent novelist\u2019s\ngroup therapy meetings, hosted by Dr. Howard Poke (Peter Bogdanovich). Lester\nuses the name of his best friend Vince (Carlos Jacott) as well as his pal\u2019s\npersonal issues as his cover story. But as time passes, things get significantly\nmore complicated. The lead struggles to keep his various lies straight during\nhis elaborate investigation. He also ends up spending less time with Ramona,\ncausing friction in the relationship and, in the process, becomes friendly with\nDashiell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Naturally, this isn\u2019t a big budget flick and the emphasis is\non the humorous conversations between the various eccentric characters. The material\ncertainly has a Woody Allen-esque feel, with a charismatic but deeply flawed\nprotagonist who ends up essentially responsible for creating all of his own\nproblems. While the movie is subdued and is rarely side-splittingly funny, this\nis an enjoyable concept for a rom-com with plenty of tension as more and more awkward\nsituations arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flashbacks to pervious issues in Lester\u2019s love life are\namusingly handled and the movie gets plenty of comedic mileage out of the group\ntherapy meetings. Considering that Lester is pretending to be his own best\nfriend Vince, it is funny to hear the attendee get defensive when others critique\nthe behavior of his \u201dbest friend\u201d. More issues arise when the real Vince, an\nanxious figure about to be married, begins to seek out the group\u2019s professional\nadvice about his own life. And naturally, things get entertaining when characters\naccidentally interact. Vince is eventually invited into the group himself. In\norder to keep up the ruse, he is forced into creating a different and not-very-convincing\nnew personality for the meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the performers are excellent and their authenticity\nhelps sell some of the more exaggerated devices being utilized. Stoltz has a\ntough job given some of his behavior, but his narration and genial manner help viewers\nto understand the insecurity brimming within (some of which he isn\u2019t even aware\nof). And the movie gets laughs from the rationalizations and attempted explanations\nfor his irrational acts. The rest of the performers are engaging and there are\neven memorable supporting turns from Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Bridget Fonda.\nIt\u2019s also fun to see The Last Picture Show<\/em> director Peter Bogdanovich take\non his first acting role (he would later become a regular on The Sopranos<\/em>\nand play a similar character).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie isn\u2019t likely to be regarded as a classic, but one\ncan see definite elements in this film that would become more defined and focused\nin later works. It is fairly safe to say that while imperfect and clearly made\nquickly and on-the-fly, there is plenty of sharp dialogue and entertaining material\nto enjoy. The image quality looks like a significant upgrade over previous DVD\nand VHS releases, which should help this Blu-ray of Mr. Jealousy<\/em> earn\nplenty of new fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides the film itself, there is also a 41-minute documentary\ncalled Revisiting Mr. Jealousy<\/em>. It features interviews with producer Joel\nCastelberg, as well as cast members Brian Kerwin and Peter Bogdanovich. Interview\nfootage with Baumbach himself is also included, in which he discusses the movie\nand notes some of the issues he had with his own work at the time. It\u2019s an\ninteresting and informative piece. The producer goes into great detail about how\nthey secured the nearly $2 million dollar budget to make the movie and how they\nchose the notable locations. There are some great casting stories, particularly\nregarding how difficult it was to get an actress to agree to play Ramona.\nBelieve it or not, Jennifer Aniston was initially cast and ready to co-star,\nbut her agents weren\u2019t enthused about the indie film and ultimately forced her\nto back out of the part. The same situation occurred weeks later with Jennifer\nLopez. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many of the cast were already friendly and knew each other and\nthat\u2019s how several other performers with connections to found themselves in the\nfilm. All involved enjoyed the experience and had a great time making the\nmovie. There\u2019s also some discussion about Baumbach\u2019s follow-up project, Highball<\/em>,\nand how it was made. Apparently, the producer and cast managed to secure $200,000\nto shoot this improvised comedy about a party with much of the same cast and crew\nimmediately after wrapping production. Castelberg laments that despite Mr. Jealousy<\/em>\nbeing the much stronger movie, Highball <\/em>ended up getting more attention and\nmaking more money for the distributor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Baumbach isn\u2019t entirely thrilled with this period in\nhis career and suggests the project forced him into focusing his skills and finding\nout what he wanted to say as a moviemaker, there is still plenty to enjoy about\nMr. Jealousy<\/em>. In the end, it\u2019s a fascinating look into the development\nof a major artist and the movie itself is far more entertaining than the early movies\nof many major talents. Those who appreciate Noah Baumbach\u2019s work are well-advised\nto pick up this Blu-ray.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blu-ray title from MVD Visual is currently available for purchases at most retail outlets. Writer\/director Noah Baumbach made a big splash with his 1995 debut feature, Kicking and Screaming. Despite its buzz and success on the indie circuit, one can safely say that the noted filmmaker still hadn\u2019t found his footing just yet. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":23086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[132,1502,2958,3523,3915,4298,4660,7034,9774,9789,13212,14351,14352,14976,15963,17302,17321],"class_list":["post-23084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-132","tag-annabella-sciorra","tag-blasts-from-the-past-mr-jealousy-review","tag-bridget-fonda","tag-carlos-jacott","tag-chris-eigeman","tag-comedy","tag-eric-stoltz","tag-independent","tag-indie-film","tag-marianne-jean-baptiste","tag-mr-jealousy","tag-mr-jealousy-blu-ray-review","tag-noah-baumbach","tag-peter-bogdanovich","tag-rom-com","tag-romantic-comedy"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}