Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

The Review at a Glance: ( max score: 5 )

Film:

Extras:

Audio/Video total rating:

( Max score: 100 )

89

Studio and Year: Columbia Pictures 2011
MPAA Rating: R
Feature running time: 97 minutes
Genre: Comedy


Disc Format: BD-50
Encoding: AVC (MPEG-4)
Video Aspect: 1.85:1
Resolution: 1080p/24


Audio Format(s): English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Starring: Nick Swardson, Stephen Dorff, Edward Herrmann, Don Johnson, Kevin Nealon, Christina Ricci
Directed by: Tom Brady
Music by: Ludwig Goransson
Written By: Michael Diliberti & Matthew Sullivan
Region Code: A,B,C

Blu-ray Disc release Date: January 17, 2011

Film Synopsis:

Bucky is a small town grocery bagger, going nowhere in life until he discovers that his conservative parents were once adult film stars! Armed with the belief that he has found his destiny, Bucky packs up and heads out to LA, hoping to follow in his parents footsteps.

My Take:

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star is a terrible flick, but like the old adage "there is no accounting for taste", and there were times I laughed pretty hard to this dumb and juvenile attempt at comedy. The flick is one big sperm and small penis joke and the plot is a standard comedy road map. We follow Bucky Larson, played by Nick Swardson (Reno 911) as he travels from Iowa to Hollywood to follow in his parents (Edward Hermann and Miriam Flynn) footsteps when he finds out they were 70s porn stars Rosie Bush and Jim Spraysium.

Bucky is a total loser with a huge set of buck teeth and a midwest accent to make the cast of Fargo jealous. Once out in L.A. the movie is saved by its supporting cast as Bucky finds unlikely love with Kathy (Christianna Ricci), a rival porn star in Dick Shadow (Stephen Dorff), a friend in porn director Miles Deep (Don Johnson) and an insane roommate played by Kevin Nealon. We find out that it is pretty hard (pun intended) to become a porn star when you are hung like an ant, until Miles Deep sees the use in porn that makes the average male look good to their woman as opposed to inferior.

Nick Swardson is not someone I still can see as a leading man, and the only way he succeeded at any level here was with the support of the good cast and his costume of ridiculous buck teeth and a dutchboy haircut. The first half of the movie had some really funny bits, but by the midway point the laughs were hard to come by as redundant buckteeth and small penis jokes can only take you so far. When the movie tries to be heartfelt or dramatic it total falls flat and those are the key elements to help a passable comedy become a really good comedy. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star is a one trick pony that can appeal to the immature in us, but will be hated by the movie fan in us. After hearing how bad it was, I was surprised by how many laughs the first half did have, but I suspect I am in the minority here. It really isn't as abysmal as critics have made it out to be and sometimes immature and stupid humor is what the filmmakers were going for and just what the doctor ordered (Grandma's Boy anyone?).

Parental Guide:

Rated R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity and some violence.

AUDIO/VIDEO - By The Numbers:
REFERENCE = 92-100 / EXCELLENT = 83-91 / GOOD = 74-82 / AVERAGE = 65-73 / BELOW AVERAGE = under 65

**My audio/video ratings are based upon a comparative made against other high definition media/blu-ray disc.**

Audio: 86

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Video: 92

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Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star comes to Blu-ray Disc from Sony Home Entertainment featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 25.6 mbps and DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Sound that has an average bitrate of 2.8 mbps.

I know, I know, this is the make or break aspect of such a classic film. Well I am glad to report that Sony yet again delivers in spades as both Audio and Video were fantastic. There are no compression issues, black levels are superb and the transfer has a three dimensional nice depth to it with fine details that are apparent on every frame. Colors were a bit warm with a yellowish hue over the image, but this was intentional and the colors are still vivid and pop off the screen. The DTS-HA MA track works very well, showcasing the dialogue and soundtrack very well. The sound mix is spot on and the use of surrounds and never overbearing, with some light atmospherics. A very good track that is a nice compliment to the great caliber of video here.

Bonus Features:

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• (HD) Laughter Is Contagious
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• (HD) Behind The Teeth
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• (HD) Gary: Tough Customer
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• (HD) Bucky Sparkles
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• (HD) Trailers: Jack and Jill, 30 Minutes or Less, A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, Attack The Block
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• BD Live enabled

Final Thoughts:

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star is a terrible flick, but there were times I laughed pretty hard to this dumb and juvenile comedy. I found it to be a bit better than the terrible word of mouth made it seem as it really isn't as abysmal as critics have made it out to be, and sometimes immature and stupid humor is just what the doctor ordered. The supporting cast really did save the movie and the reference video quality helped make the time more passable. If interested I recommend a rental, but wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Lee Weber
AVS Forum Blu-ray Reviews




Reference Review System:


JVC DLA-RS45 3D 1080p 3D High Definition Front Projector
Screen Innovations Solar HD 1.3 120" 2.40:1 CinemaScope Screen
Denon AVR 4311 Pre/Pro
Sunfire Theater Grand 7201 Amplifier
Sony PS3 Slim Blu-ray Player (HDMI Audio/Video)
MK Sound S-150MKII LCR
MK Sound S-150T Tripole Surrounds
MK Sound MX-350MKII Subwoofer

Ya I was generous, but I did laugh more than expected.

Did you see it? I laughed a whole bunch.

So there is a wait list for films to burn in hell?
And I am glad Bucky Larson had such a profound impact on you!