Second-Hand Wedding (2008)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Interviews-Character Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes Audio Commentary
Rating
Year Of Production	2008
Running Time	90:12 (Case: 94)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Paul Murphy
Studio Distributor	Gryphon Entertainment	Starring	Linda Niccol Nick Ward Vivien Bell Jimmy Best Nick Blake Charlie Bleakley Geraldine Brophy Jed Brophy Tina Cook Peter Doile Megan Edwards
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$19.95	Music	Plan 9

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     When I heard that this 2008 New Zealand comedy drama, Second Hand Wedding featured a main character called Jill who was obsessed by garage sales, I knew I had to see it. My mother, whose name is Jill, used to take us to garage sales constantly when I was a kid and also regularly held them herself. The similarities between her and the character in the film, Jill Rose (Geraldine Brophy) are a bit spooky really. Not only the garage sales but both are (or were in my mother's case) primary school teachers. The scene where Jill complains about 'bloody dealers' could have been written based on my mother.

     Anyway, the story here does not completely replicate my life, so I will focus on the film itself. In the film, Jill is married to the quiet and mechanically inclined Brian (who is also a collector of junk) and they have a daughter Cheryl. Jill and her friend Muffy attend garage sales every weekend and thoroughly enjoy finding bargains despite their run-ins with a local second hand dealer and other challengers for the best bargains. Over the past few years, Jill has been collecting items at garage sales and telling Cheryl how they can be used for her wedding (even though Cheryl is not even engaged). Cheryl, who has been getting more and more concerned about this, doesn't know how to handle the situation when her boyfriend Stew pops the question. She cannot bring herself to tell her mother about the engagement and, of course, more trouble is caused by this deception. Jill's other obsession, NZ easy listening singer John Rowles is also used to excellent effect in the film.

     This film was written by Nick Ward based on his own parents (his mother is also called Gill but spelt differently). It is a fun, low key, heart warming comedy drama set in a pretty part of New Zealand and featuring some quality acting. The director, Paul Murphy, was a key grip on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and this was his feature film directing debut. He has now directed another film written by Nick Ward, Love Birds.

     If you enjoy low key comedies this one is well worth your time.

Video

     The video quality is pretty good. The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is not the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. I would guess this is an open matter rather than a crop. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout although was affected by interlacing artefacts. The shadow detail was good. The colour is very good. There were no other artefacts.

     There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which were clear and easy to read. They did contain some spelling mistakes however.

     There is no obvious layer change during playback.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     The audio quality is very good. This disc contains an English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack encoded at 448 Kb/s. Weirdly, the case advertises a 2.0 track instead.

     Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to hear. The music by Plan 9 is playful and light, perfect for the film. The surround speakers were used for a variety of surround effects and music. The subwoofer was used for music support and some tension sounds.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     A good selection of interesting extras are included.

Menu

     The menu included music and minor motion.

Second Hand Stories - Meeting Gill & Brian (5:34)

     Interviews with the real people who the characters of the parents were based on. They are the writer's parents.

Making Second Hand Wedding (11:52)

     Interview with cast and crew about the development of the project, sourcing the mini, the casting, shooting and writing. Well worth a look.

Deleted Scenes (5:02)

     Mildly interesting, can be played with or without director's commentary.

Commentary - Director Paul Murphy & Writer Nick Ward

     A relaxed and friendly commentary which covers trivia, development, shooting issues and technical detail that is well explained for laymen. A quality commentary.

    This film is only available in Region 4 at this time.

     A fun, low key comedy drama about garage sales and weddings.

     The video quality is very good. The audio quality is very good. The extras are worthwhile.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall