Celeste and Jesse Forever (Blu-ray) (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Romantic Comedy	Audio Commentary-with Actors Rashida Jones & Andy Samberg Audio Commentary-with Lee Toland Krieger, Rashida Jones & Will McCormack Featurette-Making Of-The Making of Celeste and Jesse Forever (13:51) Featurette-On the Red Carpet: Premiere and Q&A (14:08) Outtakes-Chris Pine Outtakes (1:13) Deleted Scenes-Deleted Scenes (2:57)
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	92:15
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Lee Toland Krieger
Studio Distributor	Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.	Starring	Rashida Jones Andy Samberg Ari Graynor Eric Christian Olsen Rob Huebel Elijah Wood
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	Zach Cowie Sunny Levine

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 English Audio Commentary DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 English Audio Commentary DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.40:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes, and casual drug use
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     You simply have to love movie titles that have a sense of irony in them. Celeste & Jesse Forever doesn't even try to hide the fact that it is about two characters, Celeste and Jesse, of course, who are in the process of divorcing. So, what exactly is the 'forever' part of the movie the title is referring to? Well, it points to an idealistic situation which the film explores from beginning to end; namely, can a couple who split be friends afterwards?

     The basic synopsis of the film, taken from its website, is that Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, Celeste is the driven owner of her own media consulting firm, Jesse is once again unemployed and in no particular rush to do anything with his life. Celeste is convinced that divorcing Jesse is the right thing to do - she is on her way up, he is on his way nowhere, and if they do it now instead of later, they can remain supportive friends. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he is still in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realises she has been cavalier about their relationship, and her decision, which once seemed mature and progressive, now seems impulsive and selfish. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. While navigating the turbulent changes in their lives and in their hearts, these two learn that in order to truly love someone, you may have to let them go.

     The film's screenplay is based on the experiences of the two first-time screenwriters and actors, Rashida Jones (who plays Celeste) and Will McCormack (who plays Skillz, Jesse's pot dealer friend) who dated for three weeks in the late 1990s, realised they were better suited as friends, and eventually writing partners. They wrote the screenplay and revised it many times, seeking to present a romantic comedy about people with a broken heart. Can two people endure a real heartbreak? How devastating is it, how funny and will the world end? The film presents Celeste and Jesse growing through their painful experiences, and on that level, I found it intriguing.

     There are some other delicious ironies, apart from the title of the film, in the screenplay on offer here too. Rashida Jones has said that, "Celeste offers a twist on an archetype that movies love to scorn: the alpha woman. Celeste is the high-powered career driver and Jesse is the passive guy who won't grow up — all the makings of a cliché". However, even though Jesse is a slacker who wants children and Celeste is an ambitious career-driven woman who wants a father who shows commitment, once the break-up takes full swing, we see Jesse committing to a woman who is carrying his child, while Celeste is shown engaging in casual affairs, possibly to get over her situation (that the break-up will ultimately impact her platonic friendship with Jesse) which she doesn't anticipate.

     Ultimately, the main characters come to an understanding at the end of the film which I would concur with. The beauty of this film is that it refuses to follow standard Hollywood scenarios in plot and characterisation, mainly because a lot of what we see in Celeste & Jesse Forever is inspired by the writer's own real-life experiences.

Video

     Celeste & Jesse Forever was filmed on an independent budget, so the image transfer is not reference quality. Having said this, it's not filled with film artefacts either.

     The film is presented in 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 with a 2:40:1 aspect ratio.

     The film carries an average video transfer, not overly sharp, but not containing noise either.

     The colour timing is realistic-looking, no special effects are on offer here, nor are the main characters touched-up.

     In line with the realistic look of the film, there is a slight film grain present throughout.

     Subtitles are available in English for the hard of hearing.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     As is the case with the image transfer, the audio transfer is functional, without special sound effects, in line with the independent budget of the film.

     The main audio track is a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track in English.

     Dialogue is clear and synchronised.

     As the main soundtrack does not utilise special sound effects, songs are used to support the drama. This soundtrack is great, ranging from Lily Allen's Littlest Things in the first scene to (You) Got What I Need by Freddie Scott in the last. The soundtrack, paradoxically, has only been available recently and was not released at the time the film screened in cinemas in 2012.

     Surround channel usage is limited mainly to the front channels, there is some ambient sound in rear speakers at times but it doesn't feature much.

    The subwoofer is only used for the music soundtrack, otherwise it doesn't really feature in the main soundtrack either.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Audio Commentary with Actors Rashida Jones & Andy Samberg

     Actors Rashida Jones & Andy Samberg offer a casual commentary. They make humour of incidental moments in the film, but also offer insightful comments about the film production too.

Audio Commentary with Director Lee Toland Krieger and Screenwriters/Actors Rashida Jones and Will McCormack

     This commentary by the Director and Screenwriters is still very informal and friendly, as the trio obviously have a close professional relationship, but they discuss more about filming the movie, including screen-specific discussion of story and characters, alternate takes, music choices, photography and editing and budgetary restrictions. This commentary is, in my opinion, the better of the two.

The Making of Celeste and Jesse Forever (13:51)

     Rashida Jones, Lee Toland Krieger, producers Jennifer Todd and Lee Nelson, and actors Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, and Emma Roberts offer their insights, based on their real-life experiences, on the film.

On the Red Carpet: Premiere and Q&A (14:08)

     Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Andy Samberg, Lee Toland Krieger, and actors Ari Graynor and Chris Messina answer audience questions about the production’s evolution, casting and shoot. The information presented here also is discussed in the two audio commentaries.

Chris Pine Outtakes (1:13)

     Yes, believe it or not, Chris Pine from Star Trek makes an appearance here as an extra in one scene. You won't recognise him because of the beard and sunglasses!

Deleted Scenes (2:57): I Guess I'm Getting It, Can I Show You Something?, and Do Any of You Have Jobs?

     These three deleted scenes are really extended scenes cut for pacing reasons.

    The Region A United States Blu-ray contains an extra English subtitle, subtitling in French and subtitling for the two audio commentaries. The trailer is also included. Otherwise, the Region B Australian release is identical in specification.

     I must say I found Celeste & Jesse Forever intriguing, albeit, for me, the premise of a couple remaining friends after breaking-up is impractical (and implausible) in real-life. The ending of the film I thinks implies this conclusion. This is a respectable debut as screenwriters for Jones and McCormack and I for one look forward to future projects from the two. The extras on offer on this Blu-ray is excellent for a low-budget independent film.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall