Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham, Kristine DeBell
MPAA Rating: PG
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: Jun 12, 2012
Running Time: 92 minutes
Blu-ray: 3 out of 5 stars
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Who doesn’t love Bill Murray, especially in his early days. “Meatballs” is his first film and introduced us to his zany personality. It is one of the best summer camp films ever made in fact, along with “Wet Hot American Summer”, which I am sure it influenced. The film still holds up after all these years and is funny and entertaining. It is not a film I would necessarily rush out to buy on Blu-ray but for the low price, it is worth the purchase.
Bill Murray stars as Tripper, the over-the-top trainer of a motley crew of camp counselors. Though Tripper is just barely more mature than the kids he’s is paid to look after. Even though Tripper is a bit of a screw-up he proves to still have a heart of gold and takes a special interest in camper Rudy. It will surely be a summer that they will never forget.
The Blu-ray presentation is decent but nothing to write home about. The 1080p transfer looks good for a comedy from 1979 and is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The audio has a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which isn’t amazing but worth for the antics in the film. The special features are lacking a bit with only including an audio track with Director Ivan Reitman and Co-Writer and Co-Producer Dan Goldberg. It is fun and informative still but those looking for more will be disappointed.