Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stick with the Special Edition version!, February 8, 2006
Despite the unoriginal premise (the movie Big recast with a woman), 13 Going on 30 is a very entertaining movie and this is due in large part to its star, Jennifer Garner, who brings to her role loads of charm. This movie is the perfect vehicle for the actress because it allows her to break away from the action hero persona that she cultivated with the T.V. show Alias and Daredevil and prove that she can do a romantic comedy.
Garner, with her warm, disarming smile has a wholesome, girl-next-door quality that is quite endearing. She's beautiful but not in an unattainable way. She also has natural comedic ability, for example, in one scene, Jenna livens up her magazine's boring party with an impromptu dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," inspiring others to get up and dance as well. Garner also has a very expressive face that is perfect for the broad comedy of this movie. She is willing to take risks and make fun of herself. She is also willing to put herself out there and is not afraid to appear goofy and this only makes her that much more appealing.
13 Going On 30 is the victim of the dreaded double dip. If you already own the Special Edition version of the movie, the two new extras hardly warrant a re-purchase. Also, if you already own the previous edition you might want to hold onto it as the audio commentary by director Gary Winick and the commentary by producers Gina Matthews, Donna Arkoff-Roth, and Susan Arnold is not on this edition.
New to this edition is "Fashion Flashback: Into the 1980s" that features teen models gushing about how much they love the "retro" look of the `80s. It tells you what to look for and where to track down "authentic" clothes of that era.
"Making of a Teen Dream" takes us through the making of the movie in a fun, breezy way that is customary of most press kit type featurettes. The cast speak admiringly about each other in this self-congratulatory extra.
There is a "Bloopers" reel, a collection of blown lines and other assorted goofs that are quite cute.
Also included are two music videos, one for Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" and another for "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield that allows you to immerse yourself in pure `80s cheese.
The most enjoyable extra is "I Was A Teenage Geek." The cast talk about what they were like in the `80s. Everyone tells amusing stories of what they were doing in high school with photos of what they looked like at the time.
There is also an "Alternate Beginning and Ending" that features different actors playing Jenna and Matt when they were kids. The scene is about the same length as what is in the movie but is edited differently. We get more detail on Jenna's desire to be one of the popular girls. Thankfully, these were not used.
Finally, there are 15 deleted scenes with more footage of Jenna and Matt at the magazine party and so on. These scenes flesh out the relationships between the characters.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR..., August 22, 2004
This is an absolutely charming and delightful comedy with an excellent cast. Do not, however, see this film unless you are ready to suspend disbelief. After all, the premise of this film is that a distressed thirteen year old girl suddenly finds herself propelled into the future and into the body of her thirty year old self.
Jenna Rink is a typical teenager, a little gawky, a little insecure. She pals around with her uncool best friend, Matt Flamhaff, but, at the same time, is trying to make it into the cool six chicks clique at her school, a nasty little group of teenage hotties who use Jenna for what they can get from her. They agree to come to her thirteenth birthday party, if she will do a class report for their leader. She agrees.
Matt is the first guest to arrive, and he gives her a little, doll sized dream house that he has made for her, replete with magic dust. When the other guests arrive, they soon depart with the needed report in hand, after playing a very mean trick on Jenna and leaving her desolate. A set of circumstances causes the magic dust to fall upon Jenna, just as she makes a wish that finds hers transported into the future and into the body of her thirty year old self.
Jenna discovers that she now has every thing for which she had dreamed when she was thirteen. She also discovers how she has changed, and it is not a change for the better. She turns to Matt, whose friendship, she is shocked to find, has been lost somewhere along the way. Jenna then sets about putting to right what went wrong. Of course, there are any number of humorous incidents that arise out Jenna's current situation.
Jennifer Garner is sensational as a thirteen year old girl trapped in the body of a thirty year old woman. She infuses the role with just the right amount of innocence and joyous abandonment that teenagers often exude. Kittenish and coltish all at once, her charm is infectious. Mark Ruffalo is perfectly cast as the grown-up Matt. He exudes sensitivity and niceness, all rolled into one very compelling package. One cannot help but like both characters tremendously.
This is an entertaining film for those who enjoy light-hearted fantasy films. This film has been compared to the film, "Big", and while there are some similarities between the two, this film stands on its own two feet and deserves its own accolades. Deft direction by Gary Winnick and excellent performances by the entire cast make this film a comedic gem to be enjoyed by those who like a charmingly realized film.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, heartwarming and charming... the 2004 romantic comedy looks great on Blu-ray. Check it out!, January 19, 2009
When this film came out back in 2004, I felt it was a fantastic romantic comedy. Romantic, charming and enjoyable.
With two great performances by Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo, there were many things that made this film so enjoyable. From the beautiful locations the film was shot in New York, a funny but touching storyline but also that 80's style, may it be the clothing or the music of that time and with one of the most memorable dance scenes in a film with everyone jamming to Michael Jackson's "Thriller", "13 going on 30 is all out fun!
Here we are five years later and with two DVD releases, the popular romantic comedy will now be released on Blu-ray. So, I'm sure many of you who owned a previous version of the film on DVD maybe wondering, if this Blu-ray release is worth it? Read on!
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"13 going on 30 is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1). Video quality is clean and the film looks very good. But picture quality is not super colorful in terms of eye popping visuals but overall, this film looks even greater on Blu-ray. Personally, I think this is the test transfer we will probably see of this film for years to come. Also, with so much outdoor shots featuring both Garner and Ruffalo with their characters in different parts of New York City, Blu-ray definitely enhances the city compared to the DVD version.
As for the audio, audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD for English, French and Portuguese and 5.1 Dolby Digital for the other language tracks. The film is primarily dialogue and I don't recall hearing any uses of the rear channels for any outdoor ambiance for audio. The music definitely comes out clear and pronounced and livens up the room.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"13 going on 30 is literally packed with special features. Many of these were featured on the "Fun & Flirty Version" DVD but one featurette is exclusive to Blu-ray:
# Director's Commentary - This commentary features Director Gary Winick. Winick is one of those director's that you would love to hear his commentary because he expresses his true emotion of his feelings of the film, which parts of the film he would love to have reshot and really, getting good insight on the film. Especially the "Thriller" dance scene to the final ending.
# Producers Commentary - This commentary features Susan Arnold, Donna Arkoff Roth and Gina Matthews. Each of these three women giving their tidbits of the film, working with Director Gary Winick and working with the talent.
# Alternate Beginning and Alternate Ending - This was surprising because the characters that played Jenna and Matt were different actors and I am so glad this beginning and ending was not used in the final cut of the film.
# Deleted Scenes - A total of 18 deleted scenes featured.
# Blooper Reel - This is a fun blooper reel of the whole cast.
# The Making of a Teen Dream - This was the original featurette featured on the DVD versions. This was all about the making of the film and interviews with the director, producers and cast.
# Making of a Teen Dream: Another Take - This is exclusive to the Blu-ray and features more content such as Jennifer Garner actually having to do a slumber party with the 13-year-olds as part of her research for her character.
# I Was a Teenage Geek Featurette - This interview features the main actors and actresses of the film talking about their high school life with high school photos and all.
# 1980s "Fashion Flashback" Featurette - This is more or less a fashion flashback photoshoot and dressing up people with 80's fashion.
# Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" Music Video
# Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" Music Video
# Video Gallery - A photo montage from scenes in the film
The disc is also BD Live Enabled.
"13 going on 30 is just a fun romantic comedy that I have enjoyed countless times. Not because I'm a child of the 80's but I really enjoyed the charming performances by Garner and Ruffalo, the overall story, the music and the awesome shots of New York City. Everything came together for this film.
Although considered as a "date film' or a "Girl's Night Out" type of film, as a guy who enjoyed the film, you can't help be touched because of Ruffalo's portrayal of Matt. Guys get dumped or rejected by girls. That close bond you have with a female friend in high school or friends period, not always last through adulthood. And for Matty, you can literally sense the pain this guy goes through of having the girl he cared for (and eventually hurt him and abandoned him) in high school coming back to his life (especially when he's about to get married). So, there are many aspects that a guy can relate to in this film.
But was this film perfect? Not really. For music, by 1987, Michael Jackson's "Thriller", Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield", the Go-Go's "Head over Heels" and even Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" were old news and were released way before 1987. Music by that time was all about Bon Jovi, the Beastie Boys, Prince, The Jets and LL Cool J. But of course, people who didn't grow up during that time period probably wouldn't know that, so I guess it's not really important.
If you own the DVD, is it worth owning on Blu-ray? Of course, the Blu-ray version is featured in 1080p and the audio is featured in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. This is probably the best video and audio quality we will ever see of this film. But are there considerable difference from the DVD version. Not really. You're only getting one extra special feature on the Blu-ray versus the "Fun & Flirty version" on DVD. But if you don't own this film on DVD or if you have only the first version of the DVD, then this Blu-ray release is definitely worth it, especially if you enjoyed the film.
All in all, I enjoyed this film a lot. I enjoyed it back in 2004 and continue to enjoy it now even after watching it several times. "13 going on 30 is a romantic comedy that can be watched and enjoyed for many years to come. Definitely check it out!
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