• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
• Resolution: 1080p/24 (23.976Hz)
• Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit), Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
• Subtitles Color: White
• Region: A (Region-Locked)
• Rating: PG-13
• Run Time: 110 Mins.
• Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Blu-ray Release Date: June 12, 2012
• List Price: $39.99

–

Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:1.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]

Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures

(All TheaterByte screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG at 100% quality setting and are meant as a general representation of the content. They do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)

–

The Film

[Rating:1.5/5]

At this point in Tyler Perry’s career we are pretty certain what to expect when we see a new movie coming down the pipeline. Whether it is one of his numerous Madea vehicles or a more dramatic piece to allow him to stretch his artistic chops, we know we’re in for melodrama and at least 90-minutes of being bludgeoned over the head with over-the-top performances, tear-jerking moments, and characters in one unbearable circumstance after the next.

After For Colored Girls‘ intolerable pretentiousness, Perry rolls back the drama somewhat for Good Deeds, but still stays to true to form. Since we already know that Perry doesn’t believe he can offer a drama without an excruciating level of family dysfunction in every scene minus any sort of irony or artistic restraint, Good Deeds is rife with the requisite amount for both of its protagonists.

Wesley Deeds, (Perry), a well-to-do, successful businessman who has been groomed from childhood to run his late father’s successful software company, The Deeds Corporation, is “stuck” engaged to a beautiful woman (Gabrielle Union), but in a boring relationship and a career he doesn’t really want. Furthermore, we he has his alcoholic brother, Walter (Brian White in a far too over-the-top portrayal), to deal with at every turn, practically sabotaging the company’s business and jealous of his position as CEO of the family business.

Thandie Newton plays Lindsey, a Deeds Coporation cleaning woman with a six-year-old daughter who is struggling to make ends meet. She has lost her apartment because she can’t pay the rent and is now living out of her minivan and the company storage closet. Perry, in his usual manner, has to let us know in almost every scene, about Lindsey’s economic struggles and the disparity between she and Wesley. The two meet as Lindsey begins working the late night shift at the Deeds Corporation and Wesley gets wrapped up in her life, causing him to call into question his own circumstances. The not so surprising love affair begins and Wesley slowly begins changing his predictable lifestyle as he begins to help the down-and-out Lindsey.

Burdened by a heavy-handed script written by Perry that leaves nothing to the imagination and, in typical Perry fashion, relies too heavily on melodrama, musical cut-scenes, and people with pained looks on their faces rather than anything imaginative, Good Deeds offers nothing out of the ordinary. It it is a run-of-the-mill drama that is also ruined at every turn by Perry’s obsessive need to tidy up all the loose ends in his dramas, something that just doesn’t happen in real life.

Video Quality

[Rating:4.5/5]

Good Deeds was captured in high definition on the Arri Alexa at 2.5K resolution. Remarkably, the image has a natural, almost film-like quality to it and what little video noise is present takes on a more organic look of grain that it does the harsh appearance of anything electronic. Contrast is good with rather deep dark tones, nicely nuanced shadow extension, and a good sense of brightness in the well lit moments.

Audio Quality

[Rating:4/5]

The audio is provided in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) lossless encodement that is mainly front-heavy and dialogue-driven, but does offer a good balance of atmospherics in the surround channels when need be and opens up nicely with low frequencies and more active panning in the rears during nightclub scenes and moments when the Harley-Davidsons are roaring across the screen.

Supplemental Materials

[Rating:2/5]

There aren’t many supplements here, but the disc does offer two typically self-congratulatory “making of” type featurettes that offer interviews with the cast and crew.

The supplements:

• Motherly Love (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:09:49) – The actors discuss the film’s dysfunctional family drama and the role of Phylicia Rashad as the film’s matriarch.
• Two Worlds Collide (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 00:07:45) – A discussion of the film’s two protagonists features the actors and crew.
• Digital Copy

The Definitive Word

Overall:

[Rating:3/5]

Sadly, Tyler Perry fans will probably eat this stuff up; the man seems to have a dedicated following. Personally, I think he needs to take some time off and reevaluate his dramatic skills. Good Deeds is another in a long line of bland Tyler Perry dramas.

Additional Screen Captures

[amazon-product align=”center”]B005LAIH22[/amazon-product]

Purchase Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

–

[amazon-product]B005LAIH22[/amazon-product]

Purchase Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds on Blu-ray at CD Universe

Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com

Overall
[Rating:3/5]
The Film
[Rating:1.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]

–