The filmmakers couldn't decide whether to be funny, poignant, real, or over-the-top.
Then there are the scenes with Danny's therapist, though he seems so well adjusted that he doesn't need one. We're supposed to believe that Dr. Evans (Jane Seymour) can't keep from taking her clothes off in front of Danny. A he-can't-see-me fetish, or, as the filmmakers seem to want us to believe, is Danny SO good-looking that like "Good Luck Chuck" everybody wants to sleep with him. Well, that's another case of mixed signals that this film sends, because not everyone is in a hurry to sleep with Danny.
But perhaps the biggest misstep comes when director James Keach can't seem to decide what to do with the medical-miracle material near the end of the film's second act. When something funny and sweet turns into a full-blown soaper, you just want to shake somebody. Same with sections that are just plain tedious.
That's too bad, because Pine, Thomas, and Jay are perfectly engaging when the script allows them to interact without melodrama or cliché, and the concept itself seemed full of potential. Dee Macaluso, Frank Gerrish, and Amelia Paggastis are wonderful as Danny's parents and sister, while Pooch Hall doesn't have much to work with as the I-can-be-best-friends-with-a-blind-guy pal. And the rest of the characters are shallow caricatures. It's that kind of inconsistency that ultimately makes this film only so-so, when you get the sense it could have been so much better.
Video:
The picture is presented in 1.78.1 widescreen, which fills out the 16x9 monitor. Like the film itself, it's just good enough to pass, with a slight graininess throughout and some blurring around the edges of things at times. Colors are decent, though.
Audio:
The audio is probably more than this film needed, since it's all talk: an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, with an English for the Visually Impaired option (can't tell how many tracks) and subtitles in English (CC), French, and Spanish.
Extras:
Surprisingly, there are 16 deleted scenes, one of which is an alternate ending and another finishes a gag that was set up but dropped. When the brothers are at a health club, a gay power-lifter tries to make "eye contact" with Danny and the brothers say they're going to take a shower. Then there's an abrupt cut to another scene. Huh? my wife and I said to each other. Well, this scene shows the punch line, and demonstrates yet another way this film comes up short.
The only other bonus features are a trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette that's really a pre-release promo.
Bottom Line:
It's not as raunchy as you might be led to believe, it doesn't have as much culture clash as advertised, and the romance doesn't unfold as naturally as you'd expect. But brace yourself when the melodrama hits. Though there are things to praise, in the end "Blind Dating" is disappointing because the filmmakers couldn't decide whether to be funny, poignant, real, or over-the-top.
But perhaps the biggest misstep comes when director James Keach can't seem to decide what to do with the medical-miracle material near the end of the film's second act. When something funny and sweet turns into a full-blown soaper, you just want to shake somebody. Same with sections that are just plain tedious.
That's too bad, because Pine, Thomas, and Jay are perfectly engaging when the script allows them to interact without melodrama or cliché, and the concept itself seemed full of potential. Dee Macaluso, Frank Gerrish, and Amelia Paggastis are wonderful as Danny's parents and sister, while Pooch Hall doesn't have much to work with as the I-can-be-best-friends-with-a-blind-guy pal. And the rest of the characters are shallow caricatures. It's that kind of inconsistency that ultimately makes this film only so-so, when you get the sense it could have been so much better.
Video:
The picture is presented in 1.78.1 widescreen, which fills out the 16x9 monitor. Like the film itself, it's just good enough to pass, with a slight graininess throughout and some blurring around the edges of things at times. Colors are decent, though.
Audio:
The audio is probably more than this film needed, since it's all talk: an English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, with an English for the Visually Impaired option (can't tell how many tracks) and subtitles in English (CC), French, and Spanish.
Extras:
Surprisingly, there are 16 deleted scenes, one of which is an alternate ending and another finishes a gag that was set up but dropped. When the brothers are at a health club, a gay power-lifter tries to make "eye contact" with Danny and the brothers say they're going to take a shower. Then there's an abrupt cut to another scene. Huh? my wife and I said to each other. Well, this scene shows the punch line, and demonstrates yet another way this film comes up short.
The only other bonus features are a trailer and a behind-the-scenes featurette that's really a pre-release promo.
Bottom Line:
It's not as raunchy as you might be led to believe, it doesn't have as much culture clash as advertised, and the romance doesn't unfold as naturally as you'd expect. But brace yourself when the melodrama hits. Though there are things to praise, in the end "Blind Dating" is disappointing because the filmmakers couldn't decide whether to be funny, poignant, real, or over-the-top.
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