100 Girls (DVD)

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Originally slated to appear in theatres, "100 Girls" went straight to home video despite appearing in some theatres outside of the United States. Bowing first on video has earned the film some measure of prestige. Recently, Video Business Magazine held the 2001 Video Premiere Awards, and "100 Girls" received nominations for Best Live-Action Video Premiere Movie, Best Actress--Emmanuelle Chriqui, Best Film Editing--Kevin D. Ross, and Best Original Score--Kevin Bassinson. Guess what? "100 Girls" won Best Live-Action Video Premiere Movie and Best Film Editing. Not bad, not bad at all.

Video:
The 1.85:1 non-anamorphic widescreen video image generally impressed me because it is a very good-looking non-anamorphic presentation. (Of course, the film is barely a year old, so one would expect it to look better than a movie made in the 1930s!) Very minor instances of specks and dust occur, but there moments of grain, especially during candlelit scenes and sequences taking place with a high degree of contrast between strong primary colors. Everything looks stable and clear, though the image never looks as three-dimensional as, say, "Star Wars--Episode 1" or "Final Fantasy."

Audio:
Contrary to what the back cover art claims, "100 Girls" arrives on DVD with a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround English track, not a full 5.1 mix. For some reason, the volume level on this DVD sounds lower than usual, even when compared to other 2.0 surround tracks. The soundstage limits itself to the front speakers, providing almost nothing for the rear speakers to do. Though the subwoofer kicks in when the music starts pumping, it´s only amounts to a token appearance from the low end. After turning up the volume knob a bit, the dialogue seems to have been mixed well with the rest of the audio elements. A competent, if uninspired, sound presentation.

English, Spanish, and French subtitles, along with English closed captions, support the audio.

Extras:
Unsurprisingly for a film that did not enjoy a theatrical run States-side, the "100 Girls" DVD comes with almost no extras. There is a "trailer" for the main feature that I doubt ever played anywhere due to its VERY explicit nature, and clicking on the Lions Gate logo provides access to two other trailers.

No insert or mini-booklet was provided, though the chapter listings are printed on the back cover art.

Film Value:
The snob in me thought that I would end up hating "100 Girls," just as I thought that I would hate "American Pie." However, "100 Girls" won me over with its sheer chutzpah--its willingness to fling itself from the roof with its outrageously frank sex talk will win either your admiration or your ire. I found myself laughing harder than during any movie since "Shrek" (a good seven months ago). On the strength of its ability to make me laugh and have a good, silly time, "100 Girls" earns my recommendation. The film isn´t "Annie Hall," but it´s worth a viewing.

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