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SHE'S OUT OF CONTROL

Review by Chastity Campbell

Starring: Tony Danza, Amy Dolenz, Cathering Hicks, Wallace Shawn
Director: Stan Dragoti
Video: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Surround
Studio: Columbia Tri-Star
Features: See Review
Release Date: April 13, 2004

Film **

She's out of control and on a rampage!  I think most parents of teenage daughters say this from the time their child hits 13, all the way up through 21!  This movie runs away with that old saying, and takes it to the extreme! 

Daddy's little girl is growing up faster than he had planned, thanks to some help by his current girlfriend!  Overnight it seems, his little girl takes a flying leap forward in bodily evolution! 

Katie is turning fifteen and she unhappy with just about everything in her life.  Her boyfriend is lame (then again, that would be a given considering they have been together since elementary school).  Her glasses make her look like E.T.'s third cousin twice removed due to ugliness, and the braces…oh my goodness, they have GOT TO GO!  

When her father Doug heads out of town to a radio convention, his girlfriend helps Katie go from geek to chic!  And when dad returns home it's wall to wall phone calls, because the guys have taken notice of Katie's milk shake, and they like her flavor! 

Doug tries his best to remain in control of the situation, but he soon discovers that keeping up with his teenage daughter is harder than it seems.  Along the way he makes those all important parenting mistakes, but then again if he doesn't make some mistakes now, he's in real trouble when Katie's little sister Bonnie hits the dating scene!

It's madness, and mayhem from start to finish, and you will laugh yourself silly. 

I love this movie, always have, and probably always will.  I even remember the moment that hooked me, it's when Katie descends down the stairs to greet her father, and we see that she has morphed from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan!  Right then and there I couldn't watch this movie enough.  Now I'm lucky enough to have it on DVD.

One of the things I noticed after not having seen this movie in quite a while was the fact that it felt so old.  The cars, the clothes, and the hairstyles really give away how old this movie is.  Aside from that, though, the movie was just like I remembered it!

Tony Danza is a funny guy in a serious body!   He's got this posture about him that screams “I should be wearing a three piece suit” at all times, yet his performances break that mold wide open and put him into a completely different category.   I loved him in Who's The Boss, and what do you know, in this movie he's desperately trying to be the boss! 

Amy Dolenz is your typical teenager—not happy with her looks, so she changes everything about herself only to realize that the person she was when she started never really left.  She just pushed her to the background until she had time to come to her senses.

I have to say there was nothing extremely outstanding about this DVD…however, it's fun, and there's nothing wrong with picking up a DVD based solely on the fact that it's fun to watch!

Video **

Video quality seemed to take the same route as the audio quality on this DVD…just plain average.

The 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen transfer was nice, but far from clean.  There was a lot dirt visible from the opening scene all the way through till the end.   The picture seemed fuzzy and grainy at times as well.  There was some softening around the edges that was more visible during daytime sequences than the nighttime settings.  

Overall, this DVD's video quality was nothing to write home about. 

Audio **

The audio quality on this DVD was just average.  The Dolby Digital Surround mix didn't really stand out at any point during the movie.  The audio overall wasn't bad, it just seemed very plain to me.   The levels were constant though, and there was good delineation between the background music bed, sound effects, and dialogue. 

Not the best audio quality I have ever heard, but not the worst either.

Features ½ *

A rather tame set of extra features, for a movie as out of control as this one!

Subtitle options in English, French, and Spanish along with Scene Selection are the only extras you get with this DVD.

Summary:

Despite the fact that this DVD's features were pretty tame, the movie itself was one wild and crazy ride from start to finish.   If you think you've got what it takes to tame this DVD, pick up a copy today!  Watch out though, it just might cause you to lose control…of your funny bone, that is!