MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD)
Release Date: January 3, 2016
Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
THE RATINGS
The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★½
Special Features - ★ ★½ ✰ ✰
Overall - ★ ★ ★ ★ ✰
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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
The hallways are overcrowded, the teachers are rude, and the rules are completely overbearing. What's a middle school cartoonist to do?
Reviewed by Gavin King
Nobody likes school. Well, at least kids don't. Seven long, dull, boring hours of this, this, this, that, that, that, yadda, yadda, yadda. Plus, nobody likes the revolting cafeteria food. Yuck! Go ahead, cook the so-called "tater-tots" under a 60 watt light bulb. Barf. It's what "Wimpy Kid" Greg Heffley had to deal with in 2010's book-to-screen adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, pushing his frustrated self through bullies, the boys' restroom, and his English class' claustrophobic The Wizard of Oz play. Now, Heffley is getting a facelift for a new generation of middle schoolers with cartoonist Rafe Khatchadorian in the film of James Patterson's popular book, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, and he's going through similar issues that poor Greg had to stomach. Much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid's movie adaptation, Middle School is tons of fun throughout, certainly a bit overemphasized for effect but taking us viewers on a wildly amusing ride through Rafe's middle school life and what it's like to live that life in his shoes and his general point of view.
Rafe Khatchadorian (Griffin Gluck) is a plucky transfer student who loves to spend most of his time drawing monsters, aliens, UFO's, or other geeky concoctions in his notebook full of unique sketches. After just being suspended from one middle school, his mother (Lauren Graham) then moves him to another local educational institution: Hills Village Middle School. He seems confident enough but then runs into the authority-savvy principal of the school, Principal Dwight (Andy Daly). He tells Rafe that now he's under his school's roof, Rafe must follow all of his rules, including (but not limited to) no talking, no bathroom breaks, no outside food, and no lotiering. He's immediately angered at Dwight for his strictness on the rules and lack of abundant creativity. One day, while the school has a student council assembly, Rafe gets caught doodling in his notebook. He ends up in Principal Dwight's office soon after and gets his notebook confiscated and destroyed by Dwight and the school custodian, Gus. Now completely fed up with Dwight's nonsense, Rafe hatches a plan to get revenge on Dwight by breaking every single rule in the school's heavily-enfored code of conduct, with a little help from his friend Leo (Thomas Barbusca) and his new crush, Jeanne (Isabela Moner) and release what's called Operation: Rules Aren't For Everyone.
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life benefits largely from the performances of its great cast. Griffin Gluck plays Rafe Khatchadorian with a likable facade as well as an appreciable anarchic wit that sets a great caliber for the movie's overall tone that it's intentionally going for. Thomas Barbusca and Isabela Moner play Rafe's companions fairly well too, as do his mom played by Lauren Graham and her snobbish boyfriend Carl played by The Lorax's Rob Riggle. However, the real standout is Andy Daly as Principal Dwight. He's predictably overreactive in his role but he compliments that overreactive nature in such a hilarious and enjoyable way that's completely cinchy to overlook his (possibly intentional?) flaws in storytelling. "I'm a hip cat from wayback, you better believe it," Dwight claims. "But it does not belong in this school!" Such subtle yet effective overestimations in his performance make him a memorably hysterical - if menacingly villainous - character in the movie.
Exaggeration is the game of Middle School, and it's handled surprisingly well under the roof of its otherworldly proportions. The film takes a number of middle school-esque situations and intentionally stretches them to what many students in a nutshell believe they really are; for example, Principal Dwight. He's portrayed as a bit of stereotype in the film not in a bad way but rather as a hyperbole of the exact thoughts of kids who go to middle school generally think about their principals. He even possesses a Hills Village Middle School rule book that contains all of the school's heavily-enforced regulations, full of rules of all kind, such as the ones mentioned earlier in the film's synopsis as well as the rule Rafe's caught in trouble with involving his sketchbook which reads "Any material deemed inappropiate will be destroyed". Such rules are appreciably enforced in the film for exaggerated effect such as when the vice principal Stricker (played by Retta, by the way) asks a standing-still-in-the-hallway Rafe "Is your name David? Were you carved by Michaelangelo?" Rafe responds with a no, with Stricker responding that he's violating the No Loitering rule and that he should be on his way.
Despite all of this intentionally appreciable exaggeration, there's a likable anarchic wit and even heart to Middle School. Even behind all of his anarchic personaily, Rafe's noticably got a heart in the film, one who has a soft spot for creativity and thinking outside the box when it comes to the way schools across the country - particularly his - should teach their students. There's a great message in the film that tells kids to color outside the lines and expand their imagination to their greatest abilities that - while it may not leap off as intended - is patently obvious in terms of execution and the way younger viewers in the audience will percieve it. The film has a number of animation sequences in which Rafe's unique drawn creations come to life, and those scenes are wonderfully inventive with animation styles that are reminiscent of even more modern Cartoon Network-like shows such as Teen Titans GO! or perhaps even Regular Show in a sense.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE Blu-ray - Video Quality
In a word? Gorgeous. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life features a wonderful 1080p, 2.39:1-framed video presentation that's bursting with fabulous colors and impressive details. Simply put, I have no complaints. Colors impress right from the get-go. Bright greens outside the Hills Village school, the blues and oranges of a crowded Dave and Buster's, and the multicolored splashes of water that take place during Rafe's prank are just a few examples of what makes Middle School a showcase for lively, buoyant hues in its finest form. The digitally-shot source allows for a great deal of details to come into play. The usual face pores (especially on Rob Riggle and Andy Daly), a bubbly vat of acid, or the fur on the Khatchadorian's pug... I could ramble on and on about the standout details here, but it would get boring. Black levels are nicely deep and inky, and whites stun as well. The image sees a few extremely mild bouts of very lightly hazy shots but they're so infrequent and the rest of the image so stunning that it's not worth bouncing down a point in score. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life won't win awards for best cinematography or anything of that matter, but the film's original soruce photography translates incredibly well to Blu-ray, resulting in an image that shines in high-defintion all the way.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE Blu-ray - Audio Quality
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack doesn't disappoint, either. The track is fully capable of taking whatever it throws its way and presenting it with strong immersion and phenomenal clarity. The film implements a number of popular modern songs that are firmly presented in the front channels as well as a gentle but positive occasional surround element that gives the film's soundtrack that extra pizzazz effect. There's a surprising amount of sound effects in the movie that offer some peculiar heft, such as the sound when the "Countdown to BLAAR" text appears on screen, and at the beginning of the film when Rafe's come-to-life cartoon creature blasts its laser gun onto Rafe's side table. Bass also shines a bit on this track too, most notably when Principal Dwight parks his car blasting "You Can't Touch This" on BLAAR day. Ambience envelops the viewer from the couch to the film's environments, particularly the middle school's hallways where we can hear footsteps, lockers opening and closing, and student chatter in the fronts and the surrounds. Finally, general dialogue is predictably clear and always intelligible with slick prioritization and master crispness. Middle School may not scream "exceptional sound design", but it handles its somewhat subtle sound roots surprisngly well.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE Blu-ray - Special Features
- That Middle School Life looks at Rafe and the characters of Middle School and the actors/actresses that play them, as well as the middle school itself and Rafe's unique drawings coming to life in animations.
- Middle School = The Worst / Making Movies = The Best takes a look at the fun on the set of Middle School and what the actors/actresses did in their free time.
- The Wedgie Wheel The film's cast talks about the kind of wedgies they would invent.
- YOLO: Behind Operation Rafe peeks at the main pranks Rafe pulls on Hills Village Middle School, such as the Post-it and Ball Pit pranks.
- Gag Reel "I've got to take a sh*t."
- Deleted Scenes include the following (you can play all if you wish): Stricker Hallway, Lunchroom, Bear Refrigerator, and Rafe Thanks Gus.
MIDDLE SCHOOL: THE WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life is a lot of fun. Sure it may not boast the best storytelling or originality, but the film is so appreciative of its hyperbole and exaggeration that it's easy to overcome the film for its zany antics, inspired cast performances, and surprisingly sweet heart. It's a proud adaptation of James Patterson's beloved books and one that I'm not too surprised to hear it could be starting a trilogy (Mr. Patterson himself announced back in October that a sequel to the film was in process). Youngsters who have read the books will love it, soon-to-be-middle-schoolers will thoroughly enjoy it as a sort-of guide to the middle grades, and it won't hurt adults to stick along for the ride, either. Lionsgate's Blu-ray delivers excellent video and audio. Fair amount of supplements are included. Recommended.
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