Made is the story of a struggling bodyguard (and boxer and physical laborer) who is trying to make a life for his stripper girlfriend, and her daughter. He is given an opportunity in low level organized crime. But he is a loyal sort, so he demands that his best friend is included in this, as well. Quickly, they get over their heads, traveling from Los Angeles to New York and back again. Long nights of drinking, narrowly avoiding serious damage lead them to deeper bonds of friendship and truths that they may not want to know. Vacillating between comedy and crime drama, first-time director Jon Favreau takes the helm with his Swingers compatriot, Vince Vaughn.
Packaging
Lionsgate’s steelbook has a beautiful painted look to it, especially on the slipcover (pictured above). Given some plot points in the movie, having a painted style to the artwork not only lets it stand apart from other discs, but also connects thematically. Great attention to detail was given and the enclosed steelbook itself is everything that you would expect from a major label. It looks sleek, and will definitely sit well on any collector’s shelf.
Video
I am always surprised, given the date of the film, how pristine these discs can look. The film, released in 4K, has been shown in Widescreen (2.40:1) in Dolby Vision®. There are no noticeable issues and, for fans of the film, this is basically as good as the quality can get. Especially given how many scenes are at night, in the dark, the clarity is impressive. As the film moves into sequences of all night (and all day) drinking, this transfer picks up small intricacies from Favreau, as a director, that were definitely not as noticeable before.
Audio
The same goes for the audio presented here. The audio is in English Dolby Atmos® and the sound quality is excellent. This is extra important in this film as there are numerous scenes involving multiple speakers and the soundtrack and sound design is particularly impressive. The music, especially, helps set the scene, especially as they travel from coast to coast. The music in the clubs is never unbearably loud, and it is easy to hear and understand the dialogue, so the sound mix is perfectly on point.
Special Features
This package is pretty chock-full when it comes to special features.
- Audio Commentary with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn – This is the crown jewel of the product. Listening to these two watch the movie and talk about the making of it is endlessly entertaining. As they were relatively new to the field when this was recorded, it is interesting to hear the struggles they had with schedules and budgets. But it never gets too dreary, as their friendship and the fun they had shine through easily.
- Making the Music of Made – This is a short, but interesting behind-the-scenes piece. Given that none of the people involved in the music were seasoned professionals, it is a great look back at independent film and how it worked at the time.
- Getting it Made – This is the best of the behind-the-scenes features. This, regardless of budget, was clearly not an easy film to get (sorry) made. Getting to see the ins and outs is a real treat for film fans.
- Deleted and Alternate Scenes – Deleted scenes are always a tough one. There is some great stuff sprinkled in here, but a lot of them, you can understand why they were cut. As a bonus, listening to this with commentary definitely gives a better understanding of why choices were made.
- Outtakes – There is nothing better than a great outtake reel. I do wish this had been edited a little tighter, as there are only so many times you can watch Favreau struggle to not laugh at his buddy’s schtick before it gets a bit tedious. However, hearing the annoyance in Peter Falk’s voice makes it worth it.
General Thoughts
Made may best be known as the follow-up to Swingers, the ultimate indie darling of the Mid-1990s. Given that this film also features the same two actors (Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn), this was hoping to attract the same audience. It proved impossible not to compare the two, which has been to its detriment. While Swingers caught the zeitgeist of the moment, Made is a small scale crime drama, with comedy sprinkled throughout. Those expectations, especially with Vaughn playing his trademark motormouth character type, are definitely a hindrance. Both leads are deeply watchable and, even when they make terrible choices, it is hard not to root for them. It is a film very much of its time, with a fair amount of jokes not landing simply because they are dated. However, as indicated by Favreau repeatedly, they do manage a good job of balancing comedic and dramatic tones, not a small feat at all.
Collection Fit
So, who, exactly is this for? For those of us who were around for the independent film boom in the 1990s, Made is actually quite important! After the success of Swingers, and some individual struggles for the two leads, it was really fun to see them back together. The only drawback was “it’s not as good as Swingers.” But given some distance, this is a really cool artifact of the time. It has also never looked or sounded better! Lionsgate did a tremendous job with this one!
Grade – B+
Note: Images presented in this review are not necessarily reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray. Grades are indicative of the physical media release and not the film itself.
Disclaimer: Lionsgate Films have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
