Parent Trap, The (DVD)

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As an added tribute to the older film, which also included the evil fiancée, Meredith's mother in the new picture is played by the same actress, Joanna Barnes, who played the evil fiancée in the old picture. It's a small part, but it's obviously perfect casting.

Also in the new film is a minor subplot involving the mother's butler, Martin (Simon Kunz), and the father's housekeeper, Chessy (Lisa Ann Walter). It's cute but goes almost nowhere. The person who gets rather shortchanged in the new version is the grandfather, the mother's father (Ronnie Stevens). In the original he was played by Charles Ruggles, and he had what seemed like a lot more screen time.

Anyway, the 1998 movie is a sweet new version of the story, despite its still being a tad overlong and opening with a sequence that almost had me heading for the door. The summer camp escapades involve a series of pranks and practical jokes that are so far-fetched, so ridiculous, so impossible, that they set a tone that makes one think the whole picture might be the same. But it's not. Once the twins discover their true identity, the film becomes a real crowd-pleaser. I don't mind saying there were more than a few teary-eyed moments for me; and, yes, I mostly fell in love with the characters all over again.

Even if you've seen and enjoyed the original "Parent Trap," this 1998 update should make you happy all over again. It's part of that "pairs" business I mentioned earlier.

Video:
The colors are quite good in this anamorphic widescreen transfer that preserves most of the film's 1.85:1 theatrical-release aspect ratio. Facial tones can be a trifle dark at times, but mostly the hues are natural and bright, appropriate to a lighthearted, family picture. There is some small degree of grain, however, and while detail is fine, it is sometimes a bit soft, too. Object delineation is average for a DVD transfer, and a few moiré effects show up on occasion.

Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is as ordinary as the picture. There is nothing obviously wrong with it, though, and it serves its purpose well. It just isn't spectacular in any way, nor should it be. The front-channel stereo spread is generous; the frequency and dynamic ranges are modest; and there is only a touch of rear-channel musical ambiance enhancement directed toward the surrounds. Voices are almost always firmly anchored in the center channel.

Extras:
This Special "Double Trouble" Edition includes a short but rewarding group of bonus items. The first is an audio commentary worth listening to by director/screenwriter Nancy Meyers, producer/screenwriter Charles Shyer, and director of photography Dean Cundey. It's Mr. Cundey who is the most famous of this trio, his work including such classics as "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," "Back to the Future," "Jurassic Park," and "Apollo 13"; yet it is he who is conspicuously absent from the keep-case announcement of special features. I assure you he's on the commentary and contributes to what is an above-average and unusually serious look at a film that might easily have been fluffed over by its filmmakers.

Next is a new, eighteen-minute featurette, "Updating a Classic," mostly a promotional on the making of "The Parent Trap" but still fairly interesting. That is followed by a second featurette, four minutes long, called "Accent on Fun," which gives us a glimpse of the dialect coaching in the film. Then there is an eight-minute featurette, "How Hallie Became Annie," that shows us the special effects that went into the creation of the double images; followed by a two-minute deleted scene, "Meeting the Queen," with optional commentary. The extras conclude with a typically measly number of scene selections from Disney--fourteen; plus English and French spoken languages; and French subtitles, with English captions for the hearing impaired.

Parting Thoughts:
OK, now I ask you: How does a girl raised all her life in downtown London learn to ride a horse so well? Riding to hounds, presumably? It's one of the many questions you don't want to ask while watching "The Parent Trap." The new movie, like its forerunner, is a preposterous and hopelessly sentimental romantic adventure that must be taken with several grains of salt. Of course, it's not the way things are; it's the way we'd like them to be, with more "Happily ever afters" than you can shake a twin at. I liked the movie a lot.

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