SKI PATROL (1990)
Label: MVD Rewind Collection (#45)
Region Code: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Rich Correll
Cast: Ray Walston, Roger Rose, T.K. Carter, Martin Mull, Corbin Timbrook, Leslie Jordan, Paul Feig, Stephen Hytner, George Lopez, Deborah Rose, Tess Foltyn, Sean Gregory Sullivan, Yvette Nipar
The main members of the Ski Patrol are the defacto leader by Jerry (Roger Rose, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives) with his easy-going Steve Gutenberg charms, Iceman (T.K. Carter, John Carpenter’s The Thing) who offers karaoke fun and celebrity impressions, explosives expert Martinez (comedian George Lopez) and goofball Ski Patrol hopeful Stanley (future big-time director Paul Feig, Three O'Clock High). What we get is basically a PG version of the ragtag group of cool-kids vs the nefarious snobs set on the snow-covered ski slopes with the cool kids having to save Pops' ski resort from the dastardly land developer. It's pretty stale stuff, even in 1990, but if you're a fan of that formula this delivers the pre-packaged goods in a way that is inoffensively fun.
What the film lacks in R-rated crudity and nudity it sort of makes up for with 80's styled hijinks and goofy slapstick fun with a supporting cast that also features Stephen Hytner ("Kenny Bania" from Seinfeld), Deborah Rose (The Boneyard) as forest service Inspector Edna Crabitz, Tess Foltynas (The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them) as a sexy foreign exchange member of the ski patrol, Sean Gregory Sullivan (Class of 1999) as the a weirdo with multiple personalities named Suicide who lives by the credo "taste death, live life", Yvette Nipar (Doctor Mordid) as Jerry's wholesome love-interest Ellen, and the late Leslie Jordan (TV's Will & Grace) as the pint-sized ski patrol manager Murray.
Audio/Video: Ski Patrol (1990) debuts on Blu-ray from the MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). It's a solid looking Blu-ray with a thin-layer of film grain, looking sharp and detailed with good color-saturation. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, dialogue is clean and well-balanced, the songs sung by T.K. Carter and some tasty screaming guitar tracks on the soundtrack by the Steve Morse Band (Morse went on to play for rockers Deep Purple for two decades) sound terrific in uncompressed PCM. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring a pair of vintage movie poster illustration, plus the first-pressing copies include a Limited Edition Slipcover featuring the faux shelf-wear and VHS rental stickers on it. . Inside there's a Collectible Mini-Poster featuring one of the artworks. Sadly the only extra is a theatrical trailer for the film. It's my understanding that MVD did attempt to get some extras for this release and they did not pan out, too bad.
Dancing in the Street
What the film lacks in R-rated crudity and nudity it sort of makes up for with 80's styled hijinks and goofy slapstick fun with a supporting cast that also features Stephen Hytner ("Kenny Bania" from Seinfeld), Deborah Rose (The Boneyard) as forest service Inspector Edna Crabitz, Tess Foltynas (The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them) as a sexy foreign exchange member of the ski patrol, Sean Gregory Sullivan (Class of 1999) as the a weirdo with multiple personalities named Suicide who lives by the credo "taste death, live life", Yvette Nipar (Doctor Mordid) as Jerry's wholesome love-interest Ellen, and the late Leslie Jordan (TV's Will & Grace) as the pint-sized ski patrol manager Murray.
The best stuff here for me is Paul Feig's dance-talent revelation, a corny musical performance of with Feig and Carter performing "Dancing in the Street" at a talent show, and an on-going gag involving members of the Ski Patrol making the diminutive Murray think he's growing due to some growth pills that they give him. We also get, not one- but two (too many), Rodney Dangerfield impressions from both George Lopez and T.K. Carter. The comedy is pretty dated and a lot of it falls on it's face looking at now as an adult, but I loved it when it aired on cable TV in the 90's. We get some semi-impressive snowboarding and downhill skiing, but there's zero nudity (just some implied sex), and it's PG-rated, so it's not ripe with lewd humor either, but for a harmless PG-rated ski comedy it's fun stuff. If you're a fan of ski comedies, the Police Academy series, and stuff like Meatballs, Up the Creek, and Joysticks there's some fun to be had here.
Audio/Video: Ski Patrol (1990) debuts on Blu-ray from the MVD Rewind Collection in 1080p HD widescreen (1.85:1). It's a solid looking Blu-ray with a thin-layer of film grain, looking sharp and detailed with good color-saturation. Audio comes by way of English PCM 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, dialogue is clean and well-balanced, the songs sung by T.K. Carter and some tasty screaming guitar tracks on the soundtrack by the Steve Morse Band (Morse went on to play for rockers Deep Purple for two decades) sound terrific in uncompressed PCM. The single-disc release arrives in a clear keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork featuring a pair of vintage movie poster illustration, plus the first-pressing copies include a Limited Edition Slipcover featuring the faux shelf-wear and VHS rental stickers on it. . Inside there's a Collectible Mini-Poster featuring one of the artworks. Sadly the only extra is a theatrical trailer for the film. It's my understanding that MVD did attempt to get some extras for this release and they did not pan out, too bad.
Special Features:
-Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
-Collectible Mini Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
-Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible Sleeve of Artwork
-Collectible Mini Poster
- Limited Edition Slipcover (First Pressing Only)
Screenshots from the MVD Rewind Collection Blu-ray:
