Reno 911!: Miami (Unrated More Busted Than Ever Edition) DVD Review
Posted by Stephen DeAugustino on 10.04.2008
The men and woman of beige make their transition to disc, but was anything left behind?
Directed by: Robert Ben Garant Written by: Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
Starring: Robert Ben Garant - Deputy Travis Junior Niecy Nash - Deputy Raineesha Williams Mary Birdsong - Deputy Cherisha Kimball Kerri Kenney - Deputy Trudy Wiegel Wendi McLendon-Covey - Deputy Clementine Johnson Carlos Alazraqui - Deputy James Garcia Cedric Yarbrough - Deputy S. Jones Thomas Lennon - Lieutenant Jim Dangle Danny DeVito - District Attorney David Koechner - Sheriff of Aspen
DVD Release Date: June 19, 2007 Run Time: 84 minutes MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity, crude humor, language and drug use
A rather popular television show that has attracted a fairly large cult following since it’s premiere in mid 2003, Reno 911 was and still is one of Comedy Central’s biggest draws. Created by Robert Ben Garant (who is actually casted in the show as Deputy Travis Junior), the series follows a group of inept and awkwardly incapable police officers in Reno, Nevada. As a clear spoof on other police television shows, Reno 911 is shot with a short of “shaky cam” technique that resembles that of Cops, with the comedy being restrained to short 22 minute segments. In addition to the short episodes, Reno 911 is almost entirely done via improvisation, with very little script is used to direct the cast. The result is usually random humor, which adds to the already short plot in each episode. A clear combination for success, it wasn’t long before the series snagged a film deal with Twentieth Century-Fox. Opening on February 23, 2007, the movie grossed $10.4 million, placing it fourth at the box office. Playing for ten weeks, the film cashed out at $21, 659, 638 internationally. While receiving rough reviews from critics, many agree that fans of the television show will enjoy the humor presented in the film.
The Movie
As you can guess, the film begins in Reno in what seems like any other episode; the crew takes on a miniscule situation that ends up widely out of control, this time in the form of an escaped chicken. Cut ten minutes in, and the officers find out that they have received an invitation to the American Police Convention in Miami. A short bus ride later, the group arrives only to find out that there has been a mistake; there are not tickets available for any of the Reno officers. After a night in a local hotel, the officers discover that the entire convention has been poisoned by some kind of bio weapon, with every officer in the area being contaminated. This leaves Dangle and his band of misfits in charge of the city, and soon after, the hilarity ensues. Ultimately, the group of misfits manages to accidentally solve the case, save the day, and then somehow end up back in Reno.
When word of the film first broke, concerns arose that the short skit and improve humor of the show would fail to transition well to the major picture screen. Fans of the series need not fret; the film succeeds in the story department because of the rather large plot going on. Granted, this isn’t the next Departed, but the plot is a major step up from the smaller plots of the series. While not the most complex, it is more than enough to keep the comedy moving forward at all times in the film. The story actually makes an unexpected turn towards the end, which is enough on its own to draw a few laughs from the viewer.
Much like the series, the cast works great together here. You can still feel that witty, on your feet improvisation that was so common in the series despite the fact that many of the sequences are in fact scripted. As a matter of fact, I would even venture to say that the funniest parts of the film are by far the sharp one-liners that the cast throws out; the scripted sequences are chuckle worthy, but don’t seem as funny. When you match the two together, you’ll find that some of the more thought our humor outnumbers the unscripted flavor. This would hurt the comedy if it weren’t for another critical aspect of the film; the cameo appearances. Many of the shows older characters come back, such as Nick Swardson as Terry, and they all do an amazing job drawing in the laughs. What’s even better is the film brought in several big names to play active roles in the film, all of which do an amazing job.
Of course, you also have to remember that this is the first time the show has had a chance to take advantage of an environment void of censors, and of course, the generously do so. The television series always seemed a bit lacking with all of the “bleeps” plugged in, but now everything flows freely. Not only that, but some of the raw situational humor that had to be toned down for the television set has now been set loose on the big screen; One particular scene simply has almost every cast member masturbating at once, something that is funny simply because fans of the series have never scene this kind of humor before.
My only complaint? The writers and cast have done such a good job with transferring the comedy over from the television show to the film, that people who dislike the show will also naturally dislike the film. Not only that, but people who simply don’t watch the series may fail to see the humor when trying to follow all of the characters.
Film Rating: 7.8 out of 10
The Video
When you’re trying to mock the handheld film style of Cops, you’re video will not be of the best quality. The movie does an excellent job of mimicking its intended target, but as expected, it doesn’t look amazing. Despite that, the film transfers over well to the television screen; you can rest easy knowing not much is missing from the original product. The only thing I could notice was some problems in the darker sequences, but the discrepancy was small enough to where it hardly makes any difference.
Video Rating: 7 out of 10
The Audio
Essentially the same story as the video, the film sacrifices quality for its chosen style of shooting. Most of the audio is recorded with clip on and handheld mics, so anything coming out is already dimmed down because of that. However, rest assured, what you heard in the theater is adequately transferred over to the dvd.
Audio Rating: 7 out of 10
Special Features
Like most comedy DVDs, Reno 911 Miami has not shortage of extra material to claim a few extra laughs. The disc comes loaded with several deleted scenes and a blooper reel, which is more meaty than most; since the actors add so much of their own, random material to each take, the end product usually doesn’t come without some pretty wild off camera scenarios. Also wrapped up are a few Public Service Announcements which, as you can imagine, are fairly entertaining.
By far the best feature on the disc has to be the “Lost Version” that comes included within the special features. While not exactly a full feature length film, the Lost Version is a huge extra incentive to buy this copy. Basically showing different takes from several of the bigger scenes in the original movie, the Lost Version tends to be a bit “nuttier and naughtier”, as the back of the disc case exclaims. Another strong point is the addition of a digital copy. While the trend of transferring media to portable devices is still growing, being able to do so free can't be a bad thing here.
As expected, there is some commentary included. Creator Robert Ben Garant and writers Thomas Lennon and Kerri Kenney-Star chime in on not only the full feature movie, but also in the Lost Version. With all of this to take into consideration, the extras really add some value to the DVD.
Special Features Rating: 9 out of 10
The 411: Fans of the series, rejoice. The short skit, improvised humor that made the series so great has done a fine job replicating itself on the feature film screen, however newcomers and casual watchers may be turned off. The video and audio does an adequate job of recreating the same feel viewers caught in theaters, but really doesn't do much else. One of the discs strong points has to be the special features; plenty of commentary, extended scenes, bloopers, inclusion of a digital copy and lost version, and some other bonus material make this at least a must watch for anyone.
