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Lavinia went to college, married a lawyer with political ambitions, Raymond Kingsley (Robin Thomas), and is raising two spoiled teenage daughters Hannah (Erika Christensen) and Ginger (Eva Amurri) in an affluent Phoenix suburb. She's apparently been hidden by the Groupie Protection Program. Suzette remains the free spirit, clinging to her youth, working as a bartender in a downtown Los Angeles rock club to flirt with musicians and patrons. Unfortunately, Suzette's rebel is laced with a generous helping of "I don't give a shit" and that gets her fired. Desperate, she decides to visit her old friend in Arizona to hit her up for some cash.

At a desert gas station, Suzette picks up a disgruntled author named Harry Plummer (Geoffrey Rush) who's very unhappy with his Phoenix bound bus. We learn that he's on a very peculiar mission, but since he has money and Suzette doesn't, they form an unlikely alliance of convenience. Harry couldn't possibly be more different than Suzette; he's quirky and compulsive and quite anal. Regardless, he will become a handy safety net.

Lavinia is so entrenched in her new life, so concerned with the political future of her husband, that her first reaction to Suzette's appearance at her doorstep is sheer horror. She's become a veritable Martha Stewart, a perfectionist who makes great demands on herself and her daughters. To expose her past - unknown to her family and polite Phoenix society - simply won't do. But there's something about SuzetteŻ that free spirit is contagious, and before this tale is done, Lavinia, Harry, Raymond, Hannah, and Ginger will be transformed. And I'd like to think that Suzette has grown up, perhaps just a little.

The cast - Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon in particular - are delightful. The sentimentality is nicely balanced with wit, and the viewer becomes invested in the protagonists finding enlightenment and happiness. But the plot asks us to accept the notion that forty-somethings reverting to teenage behavior is being true to one's self. Only an actress as bubbly and infectious as Goldie Hawn and an actress as talented as Susan Sarandon can sustain the viewers' interest; lesser personalities couldn't camouflage the film's weaknesses. As the credits rolled, I was left with the feeling that I'd prefer to embrace the cliche that the difference between a man and a boy is the size of his toys. Immature behavior isn't required.

Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film's theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. This is yet another fine transfer by DVCC for Fox. Edge halos are rarely visible; the only overt intrusion is in chapter 18 between 1:23:05 and 1:23:40 when Suzette and Lavinia are sitting in a roadside billboard. The billboard reads "got milk?" in black on white letters and the halos are clear, but elsewhere they are suppressed. We're left with admirable small object detail and fine textures. Color accuracy, based on flesh tones, is spot on. Bright splotches of color, like Suzette's wardrobe, are reproduced vividly and without either chroma noise or smearing. Shadow detail in nighttime scenes and in Suzette's dark apartment early in the film, is quite good. I noticed no compression artifacts.

A full screen transfer is included on a second side. It was clear from the vertical elongation of out-of-focus lights that anamorphic optics were used to shoot this widescreen film, so it came as no surprise that the full screen transfer is pan & scan. Director Bob Dolman used the entire widescreen frame as he composed many two-shots; this disc offers the opportunity for a great comparison, an example of how to miss half the movie - and miss much nonverbal acting - by manipulating the image to fit a 4:3 screen.

Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is quite good, but not outstanding. Surround effects are rare or subtle or both. Sound effects are secondary and merely provide sonic credibility to the onscreen activities. Trevor Rabin's score is dominated by rock source elements, so fidelity is difficult to judge. Deep bass is not an issue; this is not an action flick. The clever and sentimental dialog remains clear throughout.

The alternate languages of French and Spanish are presented in Dolby Surround 2.0. Optional subtitles are available in Spanish and English, for which Closed Captions are also included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

Director Bob Dolman may be heard in a pleasant and informative screen-specific audio commentary. This was his first directorial effort, and perhaps as a result, he is quite intent on describing the technicalities of the shoot rather than delve into plot details and character development. This comes as even more of a surprise considering that he also wrote the screenplay. Lest you think that his comments might be a tad dry, be assured that he laces his chatty monolog with enough anecdotes from the set to keep things interesting.

The location of the supplements is atypical; I'm used to the supplements being duplicated on both sides, but not here. On the full screen side, we find an HBO Special (13:57). This is strictly a fluff piece in which the principals describe the plot, the characters, and the interrelationships on the set. Pleasant enough, but not very informative. On the anamorphic side we find a blooper reel (5:34) in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Hawn's infectious giggle is irresistible, and even though many of the flubs aren't that funny, it was a pleasure to share her reactions. The film's 1.85:1 trailer (2:24) is also shown in non-anamorphic widescreen, as is a theatrical trailer for Bend It Like Beckham. The 98-minute feature is organized into twenty-two chapters.

DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?

No ROM extras have been included.

Parting Thoughts