| Excess Baggage | | Cast : | Alicia Silverstone, Benicio Del Toro | | Director : | Marco Brambilla | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Full Screen, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | August 29, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | June 01, 2004 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 09, 2005 | | Summary | A totally mismarketed, clever and well-written movie | Content
 | My younger sister and I used to mock this movie every time we saw it in the video store. Because of the TERRIBLE cover and the ridiculous marketing choices (the "crash course in kidnappings, car theft and other rituals of dating" tagline) we assumed it must be another brainless teenage comedy. What a huge mistake! When she finally rented it as a joke, and sat down and watched it, we were shocked. What a clever, funny, smart movie!
This is what my friends and I refer to as "an English Major Movie." It was script-driven, understated and real, lacking the usual "snappy comebacks" that make so many romantic comedies seem silly and forced. The romance between the two main characters feels authentic and realistic, and there is even that long-lost idea from films gone by, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Characters who you are not sure you like grow up and grow on you, and the teenage angst of Emily is perfectly countered with the common-sense centeredness of Vincent.
Not at all the kind of movie it seems to be, and definitely not for the teenage set. Adults, and especially English majors, will absolutely love this tightly woven and funny film. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 22, 2005 | | Summary | WARNING WARNING WARNING -- NOT Widescreen | Content
| Despite the earlier review here about the disc received from Amazon in Jan 2004 and despite the description of this item that says "Format: Fullscreen, Widescreen" the disc I recieved in July 2005 is Pan&Scan only. Yech!
I love the movie, but Pan & Scan is unacceptable. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 16, 2005 | | Summary | CUCKOO CRIME CAPER COUCHES CRAZY COOINGS | Content
| Pardon the liberal alliteration but what a clever little romantic comedy with an unsung starcast.
As implausible as the plot sounds -- a spoiled rich brat stages her own kidnapping for attention, has her car inadvertently stolen in the process, only to find herself falling in love with the thief -- it comes packaged in a taut script and some campy twists as bigger criminals weigh in on the faux pas.
I had written off Alicia Silverstone after Batman and Robin where she looked a size larger than her dresses but I couldn't have been more off-base. Her take on the confident, chain-smoking, punch drunk, black mascara-ed Emily is fantastic, as is, surprisingly, her sense of comic timing.
Some reviewers have been conservative with their alloted reviewer's stars on grounds that Ben Del Toro was 'inarticulate.' Well, he is as inarticulate as Robert DeNiro in Jackie Brown. Only, we're calling it understated subtlety these days. He hits just the right notes in portraying the goofball charm of a fundamentally gentlemanly car thief pitted against more convoluted criminals.
Between them, Silverstone and Del Toro barely sound like a quixotic matchup but under the hood of this stolen car is a riveting romantic comedy leaking like excess oil. Only, my lousy metaphor spells automotive problems, the film does not.
Take it for a spin, great bet for a fun weekend rental. Some good rock on the soundtrack too if you don't mind your guitars grungy. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 02, 2005 | | Summary | Looking for Love? | Content
| Benicio Del Toro is a magnet in this movie, a strong acting force drawing you into that deep, hypnotic voice until you're head over heels in love. There are a handful of male characters that I could easily spend the rest of my life with, and Vincent Roche is one of them. He's a guy that will make you laugh, that you can talk to about anything, that you'd feel safe with, and that you'll lust after as well. Benicio is a leading actor who is too often cast in only supporting roles. Lead the way Benicio! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 08, 2004 | | Summary | DVD Worse Than The Actual Film | Content
| ...and that's saying an earful. We all know Excess Baggage was a bad movie, case closed. THE THREE STARS ARE FOR BENICIO ALONE!!! No one else mattered to me. DVD could have given it new life if the manufacturers thought to give us more bang for our bucks. I HATE plain DVDs! Why do some movies have loads of special features while others are just the VHS version on a disk? There were no special features whatsoever on this DVD. There was only one version of the film...full screen. I don't mind full screen but I would have liked to have the choice of both like most DVDs. The scene selection part is stuck in dinosaur land. You could only go in one direction which meant you had to go through the entire movie to get to the scene you wanted. I wouldn't have bought this DVD if I wasn't so smitten with BDT. He's the only thing in this film worth watching because we all know Alicia Silverstone's never been front-screen material. |
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