The doldrums of summer continue on the home video beat—July and August are traditionally the horse latitudes of DVD and digital distribution. This week’s most high-profile release is AMERICAN REUNION, the latest installment of the sex and bathroom humor franchise that I’ve been studiously avoiding for 13 years. I tried to make time to watch Reunion this week, but things just kept coming up. Like napping and staring at the wall.
American Reunion is actually the eighth movie in the series, if you count the direct-to-DVD spinoffs (and I do). These are the kinds of titles that give direct-to-DVD a bad name. Which is too bad. Plenty of good films go direct to DVD, or sometimes indirect to DVD, as is the case with the week’s other significant release.
Director Kenneth Lonergan’s MARGARET, starring Anna Paquin and Matt Damon, was originally scheduled for a theatrical run in 2007. The film was intended to be Lonergan’s follow-up to his critically acclaimed drama You Can Count On Me, starring Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo. Unfortunately, creative differences led to lawsuits, which led to the film sitting on shelves in various states of completion for five years.
Margaret has been technically released to home video this week, but thanks to a rather arcane exclusivity deal, it’s only available via Amazon for now. They sure are making this thing hard to get to. Look for a review here next week.
Meanwhile, this week brings some good news on the digital front. Mike Nichols’ classic 1967 film THE GRADUATE has been made available for on-demand viewing through various digital platforms for the first time. Check with your cable or digital provider. (It’s also available via online streaming with Netflix’ “Watch Instantly” service.)
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