THE MOVIE

This "romantic-comedy" or "chick flick" starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr, is about a young woman trying to battle her way through her chosen profession, as well as the opposite sex. Another film crafted directly out of the "How to make a chick-flick" book, which manages to skimp on not one formula. Predictable in every way, Picture Perfect is proof that director Glenn Gordon Caron probably could not re-invent the wheel.

This type of film is never going to appeal to the masses, but will always strike a chord with its target audience. This target audience consists of everyday "chicks", and guys that want to be with these "chicks". But Picture Perfect was never meant to be studied or analysed, and it was never meant to be compared to Citizen Kane. It's purely meant to be watched at the cinema (by "chicks" and their "dates"), enjoyed, and then hopefully remembered well enough to be bought on home video. That is where I come in.

If you're a fan of the genre, Picture Perfect is an above average effort. With three fairly big names (Aniston, Bacon and Mohr) in the starring roles, there's certainly enough appeal. The chemistry between Aniston and the two male leads is fairly sub-par though, which is what usually makes these films any good. Never reaching the levels that Julia Roberts, John Cusack or even Hugh Grant can reach within a romantic-comedy, the cast still manage to do an admirable job with the script. In my opinion, Notting Hill remains the best contemporary film in the genre, but Picture Perfect will still strike that chord with those interested.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

Picture Perfect is presented in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and is anamorphically enhanced. While the picture quality isn't quite perfect (pun intended), it still represents the film quite well. The print seems to be in a very good shape, resulting in quite a clear picture. Colours and black levels are pretty much spot on, and edge artefacts are kept minimal. Nothing really bad about the transfer, but it's just not perfect.

Audio:

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1, and is quite satisfactory. Being a mainly dialogue driven film, we don't really get much surround action other than support for music and ambience. The sub doesn't really get much of a work out either, but all audio is very clear, and there were no problems with audio sync. For the soundtrack the film provides, this audio mix is adequate, and never distracting.

THE EXTRAS

Theatrical trailer only.

SUMMARY

If you like romantic comedies, then give Picture Perfect a go. It is simply just "another chick flick" that doesn't try anything original, but still provides an hour and a half of light entertainment, that is sure to please fans of the genre. The DVD is adequate, and you'd be safe to buy this version, as I'm sure no Special Edition is planned.