Baggage Claim Blu-ray Review

     Format: AC-3, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen

Language: English (DTS 5.1)

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Dubbed: English, French, Spanish

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Number of discs: 1

Rated: PG-13

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: February 4, 2014

Run Time: 97 minutes

 

        I appreciate that romantic comedies are often built upon clichés and derivative narratives that offer up flaccid fantasies for the undiscerning idealistic consumer. Baggage Claim, however, builds so much of the storyline upon a shallow materialistic mentality that it is entertainment specifically directed at superficial personalities that find more attraction in a male’s bank account than any element of romance. Even though the protagonist inevitably makes the morally admirable choice by the end of the film, her ugly choices leading to that obvious end result are difficult to forgive.

 

        Paula Patton leads the wasted ensemble cast as Montana Moore, a single flight attendant who sees an opportunity to use her job to dig up ex-boyfriends from her past. Using her access to flight schedules, Montana manages to find a way onto each flight that her former lovers are on. Her plan is to find one of the discarded boyfriends from her past as an acceptable life partner, all in time for her sister’s wedding. Apparently the only thing they needed in order to be successful was to dump Montana, because each of men from her past are now extremely well-off. Money is seen as the main desirable quality each of the different men have. At the same time we are given a very obvious hint to the end of the film when a lifelong plutonic friend and next-door-neighbor (Derek Luke) is introduced into the plot.

 

        There are glaring issues with the narrative written and directed by David E. Talbert, and it lies in the unrealistic relationships within the film. None of the relationships have backstory which is believable, from the original relationships with all the ex-boyfriend extreme personalities to the lifelong friendship which has never once been romantic. It feel as though the narrative exists in a bubble, but the thought of romantic attraction between two friends lying dormant for decades is a leap that even the most cliché of genres could not force me to make.

 

        The Blu-ray combo pack release includes a DVD and digital copy of the film, along with a handful of special features. Along with a filmmaker’s commentary track and a behind-the-scenes featurette, there are also three promotional features and a few deleted scenes.   

       

Entertainment Value: 5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 3.5/10

Historical Significance: 0/10

Disc Features: 6.5/10