‘Raging Midlife’ Blu-ray Review
Stars: Emily Sweet, Joseph Aviel, Brian Sutherland, Lucy Paschall, Greg James, Walter Koenig, Eddie Griffin, Paula Abdul, Danielle Vasinova, Darielle Mason | Written by Rob Taylor, Nic Costa | Directed by Rob Taylor
Growing up most of us watched wrestling. It is like watching superheroes in real life, but some never grow out of the squared circle awesomeness. That is why films like No Hold Barred, Body Slam and The Wrestler, the 1974 edition and the 2008 edition are so popular. In 2000, WCW lent many of their wrestlers to the film Ready to Rumble. That film was a buddy comedy about hardcore wrestling fans. Fast forward 25 years later and co-writer and director Rob Taylor brings the world his wrestling buddy comedy, Raging Midlife.
Mark and Alex embark on a journey to retrieve a cherished tank top worn by their idol, iconic 80s wrestler “Raging Abraham Lincoln,” after they are outbid by a grieving daughter, Tyler, determined to fulfill her late father’s wish to be torched in the shirt. As romance sparks between Alex and Tyler, Alex must choose between the love of his life and the ultimate piece of wrestling memorabilia.
Ready to Rumble was always a guilty pleasure film for me. Going into Raging Midlife I was hoping for that kind of film. And while it had its times and there were great performances by especially by Motch O. Man, the world’s #1 Randy Savage impersonator, but the character he played of “Raging Abe”, a Macho Man type Abe Lincoln, just seems too strange! There are wonderful appearances by legends Walter Koenig (Star Trek), Eddie Griffin (Malcom and Eddie) and Paula Abdul (L.A. Story) and Rob Taylor brings a really wonderful ’80s feel to this film. Whereas Ready To Rumble is rated PG-13 and is somewhat family-friendly, Raging Midlife is not. There is so much adult content and profanity; for me, it took away from the enjoyment factor.
Raging Midlife has been transferred to Blu-ray in 1080p and is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The audio track is an English 5.1 Surround Sound. There are also English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. The film looks and sounds good. The picture is crisp and clean, and the 80s style colour palette really pops. The picture is really nice. Now this could easily be a bare bones release, but I am glad to say it is not! There are some really great bonus features. Take a look at what is included:
Special Features:
- Director’s Commentary
- Deleted Scenes
- Premiere Q & A
- Trailer
- Photo Gallery
Though the bonus content on this Blu-ray release really does increase the collectability of this release for physical media fans, one of the big downsides of this release is that it is a made-on-demand disc. I am not a fan of these. I prefer the pressed disc as they have a much longer shelf life. Raging Midlife is unapologetically absurd. I suppose some film fans would revel in the absurdity of this release. Me? I found it a bit too absurd and thus turned to just vulgar and sophomoric.
**½ 2.5/5
If Raging Midlife seems like a film that is up your alley, by all means, check it out. And if you want to see it in really good quality, I do suggest this HD release on Blu-ray.
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