Girls Night! 4 Films Collector's Set (Echo Bridge) DVD Review
By Paul Rudoff on Oct. 23, 2023 at 3:00 PM in Home Video
Echo Bridge Home Entertainment is a company that releases budget-priced DVDs and Blu-rays. Originally known as Platinum Disc Corporation, Echo Bridge started with releases featuring public domain films and television programs, before moving on to licensed materials. From 2011 to 2014, Echo Bridge held the rights to a large selection of the Miramax library. In 2013, Echo Bridge released two of those films onto the cramped multi-film single-disc release titled Girls Night! 4 Films Collector's Set.
I bought this DVD in my local Rite Aid pharmacy's Going Out of Business sale for $0.75, which was 75% off the original price of $2.99. This DVD has been sitting on the store shelf for the past 10 years because no one in their right mind would have paid even three bucks for a single disc that has FOUR movies crammed onto it, which doesn't even come in a case! Yes, the cheapskates at Echo Bridge released this in a flat paperboard sleeve.
I'll will go through the films in the order they are presented on the disc, which is different than the order they are listed on the "case". The synopsis for each film is exactly what is written on the back cover. Furthermore, the years and runtimes listed on the back are wrong, so I will give the correct information. Movie titles are linked to their IMDb pages. Finally, the individual cover images horribly misrepresent three of the films, as I will also note.
Map of the Human Heart (1992) (109 minutes) (16:9 widescreen)
When a half-Eskimo boy leaves his arctic home to seek medical attention in Canada, he meets a half-Indian girl to whom he is forever linked. Their star-crossed relationship becomes a grand romantic adventure spanning decades and great distances.
The scenes with the kids (Robert Joamie and Annie Galipeau) are cute, but the rest bored me to sleep. The whole story seems implausible, and subtitles for the Eskimo language would have been nice. The cover photo of the kids wearing bunny ears is from a deleted scene, which is not available on this disc. (There are no extras for any of the films). The adults (Jason Scott Lee and Anne Parillaud) that the two children grow up to be are who should have been featured on the cover image, with them looking lovingly at each other. This movie is a love story of two people who met as children; it is not a "children's film" as the cover would imply.
If you really want a copy of this film, buy the original Buena Vista/Miramax DVD (NOT the one that says "Miramax Classics" at the top, which is also from Echo Bridge), which has subtitles for the non-English languages and includes four deleted scenes, including the "Bunny Ears" scene from the cover photo. (To be fair, even Buena Vista used the bunny ears photo on their cover, so it isn't only Echo Bridge that misleads customers. Icon Entertainment's Blu-ray features the proper cover image.)
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT - The scenes with the young Avik and Albertine in the Christian hospital/school playfully falling in love with each other. Specially, a pair of scenes in which Avik gleefully tells a nun the English that he's learned, which is followed by a playful fight between him and Albertine. Someone get this girl a Hardcore Championship belt!
Crash Course (aka A Mother's Fight for Justice) (2001) (TV movie) (92 minutes) (4:3 fullscreen)
After college Honors student Andrew is left partially paralyzed in a drunk driving accident, he and his family begin the long process of recovery and forgiveness.
The horrible cover photo implies that this is a country romance film. It is not. That couple with romance in their eyes is a mother and a son! Also, it's a flipped image, as his head scar is on his right side. The movie is actually a really good Lifetime TV movie about a college student named Andrew Stone (Eric Lively) who suffers brain damage from a car accident and his family's struggles in the aftermath. His mother Terry, portrayed by Family Ties alum Meredith Baxter, is on a crusade to bring rich spoiled brat Garry Curtis Gordon (Landy Cannon), who caused the accident, to justice, especially after she learns that he has continued to drive drunk and cause more accidents. Eric would rather that he go unpunished, not even concerned about getting money from Garry's rich family to cover his own mounting hospital bills. I gotta side with mom on this.
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT - Eric rides home by himself on a train, during which some "Jock" (K. Trevor Wilson) randomly slaps his protective helmet. Eric approaches the Jock (whom I will henceforth call the "bully") to find out why he did that, and gives him a scientific explanation as to why he needs to wear the helmet. I really don't know why he didn't just simply say, "I need to wear this helmet because I had brain surgery due to a car accident." I guess Eric wanted to show off his intelligence for the bully, who showed remorse on his face, but never uttered the words, "I'm sorry". When the movie cuts back to the train scene, a woman with a pastry cart is walking down the aisle. I've never seen such a thing in my life, but maybe this is a special train. Eric buys a muffin from her for himself, and another one for the bully. I should note that Eric's muffin was sealed in plastic while the bully's muffin was not. The bully accepts the muffin and the two men exchange looks of approval, though again, we never see the bully actually apologize to Eric. Still, I say this scene is the highlight of the film because it completely went against all expectations I had for how the scene would play out.
Marvin's Room (1996) (98 minutes) (16:9 widescreen)
Seventeen years ago, fiercely independent Lee (Meryl Streep) left home...and left behind her kindhearted sister Bessie (Diane Keaton), to care for their father, Marvin (Hume Cronyn). But now Lee is returning with her teenage sons, Hank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Charlie (Hal Scardino).
Primarily a family drama, but the dialogue is quite witty, so you're bound to chuckle a few times. The strong cast that brings that dialogue to life includes Streep, Keaton, DiCaprio, Robert De Niro (as the humorous Dr. Wally); and in small roles Margo Martindale and Cynthia Nixon. Grandma Ruth is played by Gwen Verdon, the sexy Lola from Damn Yankees (1958). Hume Cronyn is wasted as the titular Marvin, a character who has zero relevance to the plot. Him and his room - in which very little of the movie actually takes place - could have been written out of the film and nothing would have changed. Maybe the original stage play took place in his room, as a one-room set would have been ideal for the stage, but then the title of the movie should have been change when it was decided to go outside into other locations; including one scene that takes place at Walt Disney World in Florida.
The cover image most definitely doesn't convey what this story is about. It's not about three smiling, happy people in the clouds; who may be dead looking down from Heaven. Also, four people silhouetted walking on the beach doesn't happen in the film.
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT - Dan Hedeya as Bob, Dr. Wally's new receptionist, steals every scene he's in. Here is one example. Apparently in 1996 in Florida it was okay to smoke in a doctor's office.
The Battle for Mary Kay (aka Hell on Heels) (2002) (TV movie) (94 minutes) (4:3 fullscreen)
In a Golden Globe nominated role, Shirley MacLaine stars as cosmetics mogul Mary Kay Ash in this inspiring true story of one woman's courage to chase the American Dream - and make it a reality.
This CBS television movie is a fun little satire that doesn't get started until the halfway mark. Despite what the synopsis says, it's not the story of how Mary Kay founded the business, though it does tend to feel like a Mary Kay Cosmetics commercial most of the time. The movie is about two companies - Mary Kay Cosmetics lead by Mary Kay Ash (Shirley MacLaine), and Beauti Control lead by Jinger Heath (Parker Posey) - battling it out for customers. The only other notable in the movie is Shannen Doherty, who portrays Mary Kay salesperson Lexi Wilcox.
MOVIE HIGHLIGHT - Parker Posey steals every scene she's in, with the highlight being her little song and dance routine in the company boardroom.
In addition to the 4-Film 1-Disc DVD, Echo Bridge also released Girls Night! as an 8-Film 2-Disc DVD set (undoubtedly, the first disc is the same one used in the 4-film release). I assume that the 8-film release comes in a real plastic case, which makes it the preferable of the two, but you're still getting four films crammed onto one disc!
All four of these movies have been released on DVD separately, either by Echo Bridge, or by someone better. A quick bit of research tells me that these would be the better releases to buy for each film:
• Map of the Human Heart - Buena Vista/Miramax DVD (NO "Miramax Classics" on top front), or Region-Free Icon Entertainment Australian Blu-ray (might not have the DVD's four deleted scenes).
• Crash Course - Starlight Signature Series DVD (Starlight Video), Echo Bridge DVD (if you really love that incestuous cover art).
• Marvin's Room - Paramount Blu-ray, Lionsgate Blu-ray, Echo Bridge Blu-ray (EB includes "Two Little Sisters - The Making of Marvin's Room", not sure if the other two releases have it), Echo Bridge DVD, Buena Vista/Miramax DVD (might be 4:3 Letterbox).
• The Battle for Mary Kay - Echo Bridge DVD, Platinum Disc DVD.
Even the releases by Echo Bridge would be preferable since it's one movie per disc, so the quality would be much better than one where the movie shares a disc with three other movies.
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