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Home for Christmas
(1993)
Commentaries on this disc:
Commentary 1:
Director Jim Wynorski
Rating:6.0/10 (1 vote) [
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Reviewed by frankasu03 on March 31st, 2016
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A big "sports fan" of Wynorski's commentaries, as you might gather from my other reviews. Even his solo tracks are "chock-full" of information that most devotees of "B-Movies" can gobble up, on repeated listens. Sadly, Jim fails to deliver much of a track here. That's not to say there aren't interesting bits of trivia and production stories present. But, even fans of Love Hewitt (as she is billed in this feature) might expect more information about her early career. Wynorksi describes wanting to venture away from his usual stock in trade of "Sci-fi, Horror, and Sexploitation," to deliver a genuine family picture. Looking to cast a charming young lead to pair with Howard Hesseman, Jim looked to Hewitt, who captured his attention in a bit part on "Munchie." Further elaboration by the Director as to what led to her casting on "Munchie," or Jennifer Love's further thoughts on working with Jim on 'Home' would have been very insightful. Long stretches of silence abound, as Jim searches for information to deliver to the listener. Interesting location info is delivered, but with some extremely frustrating details redacted, or simply forgotten. An empty house found in Chatsworth, abandoned by the USA network, served the modestly-budgeted project well. But, Jim can't seem to recall that movie. "A USA Network Made for TV movie with an invasion of cats.." Cut to this reviewer binge-surfing the interwebs to find such a flick; no such luck on my quest. As a Hesseman fan, I did appreciate the nod to his TV work, and Jim helpfully points out the numerous "ad-libs" Howard performed. Repeated references to "It Happened One Night" occur (but with a Private Eye and his bounty, that sounds a little creepy in today's context). Get past those awkward asides, and fans of Wynorski's other films will notice the many bit players, like Lenny Juliano and Ace Mask, that appear in the film. It's a mixed bag: one moment you learn about a cantankerous, incontinent pig (who got a special post-credit), then Wynorski misses out on relating audio from "It's a Wonderful Life" to his other notorious sequel, "976-EVIL II." Perhaps my expectations were too high. After all, this is a solo commentary recorded right around the DVD's release back in the late '90s. "Home for Christmas" aka "Little Miss MIllions," was a pretty drastic departure for Wynorski, and Jim states it's his favorite film. You only wish his engagement with the commentary matched those of his other work. Perhaps the trademark Wynorski action, sleaze, shootouts, and monsters in those films helped liven up the proceeding commentary track. 6/10