Monday, January 1, 2024

HAIL CAESAR (1994) MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray Review)



HAIL CAESAR (1994) 

Label: MVD Rewind Collection
Region Code: Region-Free 
Rating: 
Duration: 97 Minutes 18 Seconds
Audio: English PCM 2.O Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1) 
Director: Anthony Michael Hall
Cast: Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Judd Nelson, Frank Gorshin, Nicholas Pryor, Bobbie Phillips

Hail Caesar (1994) is an offbeat vanity project directed by it's star Anthony Michael Hall (National Lampoon's Vacation), it would be the first and last film he ever directed. In it Hall plays Julius Caesar MacGruder, the lead singer/guitarist of the struggling three-piece rock group Hail Caesar with bass player Annie (Leslie Danon, Sometimes They Come Back... Again) and Russian drummer Wlad (Ilia Volok, Kolobos). Having just been expelled from college and no other prospects MacGruder vows to make the band his priority, but finds that hard to do with his commitment to his girlfriend Buffer (Bobbie Phillips, Showgirls), the high maintenance daughter of goofy arms dealer Bidwell (Nicholas Pryor, Damien: Omen II). Bidwell absolutes loathes Julius and offers him $100K to disappear from his daughters' life and never return. Instead of taking the money Julius makes a bet with the old man... that if he comes up with $100,000 in six months, Mr. Bidwell must let them be together, if not he's got to dump the daughter and be gone for good. 

In an effort to sabotage the bet Bidwell and his Reagan-youth sidekick Remora (Kane Picoy, TV's Beverly Hills, 90210) get him a job at a pencil eraser factory to keep and eye on him, eventually promoting him to plant manager when the former plant manager Dewitt (Frank Gorshin, The Riddler from TV's Batman) discovers a secret file named "Big Pink", causing Remora to off him, and then promoting the clueless Julius tot he position. 

This is such an odd and ill-conceived attempt at comedy, most of the jokes/gags fall flat, the acting is certainly heightened, and it just feels like reheated leftovers from a lower tier 80's comedy, sometime devolving into non-sequitur vignettes like when he gets thrown in jail after being framed for burning down the pencil eraser factory, where he is reunited with his Breakfast Club co-star Judd Nelson, the pair discussing JFK conspiracy theories while giving a Malcolm X speech to a black inmate (and yes he does adopt a vocal affectation for it), or a speech on the factory floor that channels both Jimmy Hoffa before heading straight into the "my little friend" from Scarface. It's all so weird, but not really funny, at least not in the intended way. It seems that Hall called in some favors to old friends, he even got Robert Downey Jr. (Weird Science), before his post-drug superstar comeback, to come in for a scene where MacGruder attempts to pitch his band's demo to a record exec played by Downey, only to find out he's from the mailroom. Another cameo comes by way of Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) as Julius' mailman who is constantly attacked by his humongous dog, and Downey's father Robert Downey Sr. (director of Putney Swope) shows up as Bidwell's butler. 

It's sort of so silly and off the wall that I was entertained, but it's no great shales for sure, ending with Julius falling face first into a fortune all his own, and one of those 'my true love was right there in front of me the whole time' endings. Notably, most of the songs the band plays are co-written and performed by Hall, which I thought was cool, even though the songs didn;t do anything for me. This is a movie I am pretty sure I have never heard of until this was announced, I had more or less loss track of Hall after Edward Scissorhands and don't remember him popping back up till his successful run on the TV adaptation of Stephen King's Dead Zone. I know he did quite a bit of stuff but looking at his filmography there's not one thing between Edward Scissorhands in 1990 and Halloween Kills in 2021 that I can tell you I saw aside from Freddy Got Fingered - and even then I don't actually recall Hall in it, sorry dude. There's no extras on this release, which makes me wonder if he'd wish we'd not remember him in this either?

Audio/Video: Hail Caesar (1988) gets a region-free Blu-ray from the MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen. There's no information about the HD master for this release but it looks like it's probably a dated master, with that said it's fine. Grain is intact but looks overly managed in spots, detail and clarity are modest, but colors fare well. Audio comes by way of uncompressed English PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, there are no issues with source related hiss or anything, dialogue is never hard to decipher and the soundtrack 

The only on-disc extras are a Theatrical Trailer for the film plus a selection of MVD Trailers - it seems no one wanted to look back on this one. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork, the same artwork is recycled for the Limited Edition (First Pressing Only) Slipcover which in standard MVD Rewind Collection fashion has a shelf worn VHS aesthetic with slightly a sun-bleached look about it with rental stickers. Both the wrap and slip are number (this being no. 54 of the MVD Rewind Collection) 

Special Features:
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:15)
- Optional English Subtitles
- Collectible Mini-Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
- Trailers: Hail Caesar (2:15), Men At Work (1:45), Joy Sticks (2:09), Delirious (2:20)

Sadly, Hail Caesar (1988) is no lost 90's comedy gem, it's a dud, but it's still an interesting curio with a surprisingly interesting cast that might appeal to the deep-diving comedy spelunkers out there. 
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