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MOVIE INFO

Director:
David E. Talbert
Cast:
Paula Patton, Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Boris Kodjoe, Trey Songz, Jill Scott, Adam Brody, Jenifer Lewis
Writing Credits:
David E. Talbert (and based on the novel entitled "Baggage Claim")

Tagline: Synopsis:
Paula Patton leads a hilarious cast in this first-class comedy that'll keep you laughing and make your heart soar! Flight attendant Montana Moore (Patton) is smart, sexy and sick of being single. She's determined to get engaged before her younger sister's wedding, leaving just 30 days to make her connection. Fortunately, her co-worker crew has cooked up a high-flying scheme for Montana to "accidentally" bump into all her ex-boyfriends, leading to hilarious encounters as she attempts to land the perfect guy!

Box Office:
Budget
$8.5 million.
Opening Weekend
$9.031 million on 2027 screens.
Domestic Gross
$21.549 million.

MPAA:
Rated PG-13

DVD DETAILS
Presentation:
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio:
English DTS-HD MA 5.1
English Descriptive Audio 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
French DTS 5.1
Subtitles:
English
Spanish
Closed-captioned
Supplements Subtitles:
None

Runtime: 96 min.
Price: $39.99
Release Date: 2/4/2014

Bonus:
• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director David E. Talbert
• Deleted Scenes
• “Behind the Scenes with the Director” Featurette
• Four Promotional Featurettes
• Trailer
• Sneak Peeks
• DVD Copy


PURCHASE @ AMAZON.COM

EQUIPMENT
Panasonic TC-P60VT60 60-Inch 1080p 600Hz 3D Smart Plasma HDTV; Sony STR-DG1200 7.1 Channel Receiver; Panasonic DMP-BD60K Blu-Ray Player using HDMI outputs; Michael Green Revolution Cinema 6i Speakers (all five); Kenwood 1050SW 150-watt Subwoofer.

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Baggage Claim [Blu-Ray] (2013)

Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (February 14, 2014)

Flight attendants appear in quite a few films, but they rarely act as the lead characters. If pressed to name a movie truly about flight attendants, I can come up with 2003’s View from the Top - and then I draw a blank. Sure, 1980’s Airplane! uses a flight attendant in a prominent role, but one couldn’t say the film is about a flight attendant.

2013’s Baggage Claim expands this tiny genre, as it focuses on Montana Moore (Paula Patton), a veteran flight attendant who meets many men but can’t find “Mr. Right”. She comes close with Chicago businessman Graham Jackson (Boris Kodjoe) but when it turns out he’s married, that ends another promising relationship.

When her younger sister Sheree (Lauren London) gets engaged, Montana feels internal pressure to land a husband of her own – and in a hurry, as she’s determined to bring a fiancé to Sheree’s wedding in 30 days.

Montana’s colleagues Gail (Jill Scott) and Sam (Adam Brody) encourage her to focus on men she already knows. They scheme to make sure Montana works flights with a mix of ex-boyfriends and hope that she can reconnect with at least one of them.

At its core, Claim comes with a decent premise. Granted, it’s awfully old-fashioned and feels more 1950s than 2010s, but at least it gives the “I need a husband” notion a twist with Montana’s high-flying pursuit of a beau.

Thus ends the compliments I’ll dole out for Claim - mostly. Not everything about it seems dire, as at least it boasts a good cast. In particular, Patton shows a light charm that helps make her shallow role more endearing, and her co-stars – plopped in even more one-dimensional parts – also occasionally display glimmers of life.

Unfortunately, they’re stuck in a movie that feels like a retread of a sitcom. Claim hopes we’ll feel so enchanted by the movie’s premise and its lead actor’s talents that we’ll not notice its inherent lack of narrative. The film offers one loosely connected vignette after another, none of which come across as especially enjoyable.

Claim also seems as predictable as predictable can be. While I don’t want to throw out any potential spoilers, it seems clear about five minutes into the movie the man with whom Montana will find herself. Everything else comes across like a diversion as we await the inevitable.

And a slow-paced diversion at that. Claim takes forever to get to its basic premise, as the prologue with Graham lasts much longer than it should. A much quicker examination of that failed relationship would make more sense and allow us to get to the point at a more appropriate pace.

If Claim delivered some fun along the way, I might not mind all of the movie’s flaws so much, but it’s too much of a mess. Even at 96 minutes, it feels too long, and it lacks any real charm. Romantic comedy fans deserve better than this warmed-over mush.


The Blu-ray Grades: Picture B+/ Audio B-/ Bonus B-

Baggage Claim appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The image looked pretty solid.

Sharpness mostly looked positive. A little softness occasionally affected wide shots, but those instances occurred infrequently. Instead, the movie usually seemed accurate and well-defined. I noticed no issues with shimmering or jaggies, and edge haloes failed to appear. Print flaws also failed to mar the presentation.

Claim went with an amber-influenced palette typical of the romantic comedy genre. This wasn’t an overwhelming tint, though, and the image showed a good array of hues that seemed warm and full. Blacks were dark and deep, while shadows demonstrated nice smoothness. This was a satisfying image.

As for the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Claim, it showed scope typical of the rom-com field. This meant a limited soundscape without much to make it stand out from the crowd. The airplane/airport shots added a bit of immersiveness, as did a few other exteriors, but those instances remained fairly infrequent. Most of the flick came with a lot of ambience and not much else.

Audio quality seemed good. Speech was distinctive and natural, without edginess or other issues. Music seemed warm and lush, while effects showed nice clarity and accuracy. Again, nothing about the mix impressed, but it suited the story.

When we move to extras, we launch with an audio commentary from writer/director David E. Talbert. He provides a running, screen-specific look at adapting his own novel and story/character areas, cast and performances, sets and locations, music, costumes, cinematography and production design, editing, influences, and some other issues.

From start to finish, Talbert presents a likeable, engaging personality. He covers a solid array of topics and does so in a winning manner. Those factors allow the commentary to move briskly and deliver an enjoyable look at the film.

Three Deleted Scenes fill a total of nine minutes, five seconds. We find “Five Kinds of Men”, “Longer Cooking Scene” and “Race to the Airport”. “Men” offers the same footage found in the final flick but with alternate narration, while “Cooking” offers a minor extension to a sequence between Montana and William; it also places the segment in a different part of the movie. Finally, “Race” simply uses score instead of a Jackson Five song; otherwise it remains the same. None of them seem particularly interesting.

We can view these scenes with or without commentary from Talbert. He tells us a little about the segments and why they were changed. He doesn’t say much for “Men” and “Race” but offers somewhat stronger notes for “Cooking”.

Behind the Scenes with the Director goes for two minutes, 35 seconds. It offers a quick “fly on the wall” look at the production, as we see Talbert give direction to the actors. Despite its brevity, it gives us a fun glimpse of the shoot. Optional commentary from Talbert helps spell out what we see.

Four Promotional Featurettes come next. We see “Fly Girls” (4:37), “Wing Men” (4:30), “The Story” (4:21) and “Interview with the Cast” (4:37). Across these, we hear from Talbert, executive producer Lynn Sisson-Talbert, and actors Paula Patton, Jill Scott, Lauren London, Jenifer Lewis, Tia Mowry, Christina Milian, Boris Kodjoe, Trey Songz, Djimon Hounsou, Adam Brody, Derek Luke, Terrence J, Lala Anthony, Affion Crockett, Terrence Jenkins and Taye Diggs.

The pieces cover story and characters as well as cast and performances. Very little movie-making info appears in any of these, so expect a lot of fluff and happy talk.

The disc opens with ads for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Enough Said, 12 Years a Slave and Romeo and Juliet. We also get the movie’s trailer.

A second disc delivers a DVD copy of Baggage Claim. It includes the commentary, three of the promotional featurettes, the trailer and the “Sneak Peeks”.

While not totally without charm, Baggage Claim flops much more than it succeeds. It moves slowly and lacks real entertainment value. The Blu-ray delivers very good picture as well as generally positive audio and decent bonus features highlighted by an enjoyable commentary. Claim winds up as a forgettable romantic comedy.

Viewer Film Ratings: 1 Stars Number of Votes: 1
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