Okay, it's not that bad. If you missed Sorority Boys during
its brief theatrical run earlier this year (as the vast majority of
the world did), it's easy to throw stones. This sucker looks like just
another blatant boner-fest with joke after joke about excrement and
sexual fluids. But Sorority Boys as a film - honestly, it is hard to
defend - is still better than it has any right to be for a gross-out
picture: Sure, all the elements of Farrelly Brothers and American Pie
cookie cutter exercises in exploitation are here, but it accomplishes
in quick flashes what most other lurid, funny-ha-ha picks rarely do -
it's actually kind of hilarious.
Of course, every time the film
hits the mark, the filmmakers swing and miss again by tenfold, but you
have to hand it to any movie that manages even just a few truly
bellyache-worthy moments.
My personal choice for best scene comes
when new-to-drag Harland Williams sits around with his new sorority
sisters trying to decide exactly what to say in order to keep his
gender a casual secret. His dumb-as-dirt poofy grin coupled with an
unbearably hideous outfit makes the scene, and even if the actual
written jokes aim for the lowest possible comedic denominator, if it
makes you laugh, it makes you laugh. The story is, of course,
inconsequential. Faced with expulsion, three frat brothers decide to
go undercover as sorority sisters to stay in school. And that's it.
But compared to one-off crap like Van Wilder or American Pie 2,
Sorority Boys stands as the Annie Hall of neo-funny-frat movies. No,
you won't turn off your DVD player saying to yourself, "Boy, that
was great!", but if you accept the concept of the guilty
pleasure, you shouldn't feel that by now all-too-familiar pang of
embarrassment (i.e., guilt that you actually liked this crap). I
suppose those two or three super-fans of Sorority Boys will have to
begin a long hunger strike to get Touchstone to release a special
edition of this one, but as a rental, it's a fine excuse to waste an
evening.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, like the flick this
ain't too bad. Colors are nice and punchy and the pristine print
doesn't disappoint. Blacks are strong if maybe a little too washed
out, and contrast is hurt by blown-out whites in various outdoor
shoots. But detail remains surprisingly crisp and there is very little
compression artifacting to be found. All in all, a fine transfer.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The 5.1 Digital
Surround mix here is a nice representation of the theatrical
"experience," and any issues I had with the soundtrack are
purely aesthetic. Music is, of course, mixed extraordinarily loud and
much of the dialogue thus hissy and sometimes hard to discern. But
what little sound design there in terms of envelopment is represented
nicely. Discrete use is relatively prominent, and the few low-bass
effects from the .1 LFE come off nice and full. Again, like the
transfer, not bad at all.
Also included are English subtitles
and Closed Captions. 
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
The supplements are slim. First up is the featurette Boys
Will Be Girls, a straightforward publicity piece that comes in
just under 10 minutes. It doesn't have a lot to say about anything in
particular, but this is Sorority Boys, not Shakespeare. The most
interesting find is the All the Angles multi-filmmaker points
of view extra. I've never seen this on a DVD before: The filmmakers
gave sunglasses with cameras to certain members of the cast and crew,
and via a nice interface, you can choose different perspectives and
take a peek at the filmmaking process. Very cool, and such a unique
extra on a movie like this is most welcome.
No other extras are
provided, only some Sneak Peeks but no actual trailer for Sorority
Boys.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the
disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
If you've actually seen Sorority
Boys, you know it could have been worse. It's not a spectacular comedy
and I doubt that five years down the line any of us will remember it
at all, but as a Friday night rental you won't be sorry. Its $29.95
list price is a bit steep for a purchase, but if you absolutely must
have any movie about cross-dressing fraternity brothers and their
endless search for the perfect party, you could do worse.
Top Sellers 
