"Felicity: Senior Year"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Keri Russell as FELICITY PORTER Scott Speedman as BEN COVINGTON Tangi Miller as ELENA Greg Grunberg as SEAN BLUMBERG Amanda Foreman as MEGHAN ROTUNDI Ian Gomez as JAVIER Scott Foley as NOEL CRANE Rated TV-PG Studio: Touchstone Television Created by: J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves Back to DVD Review Home |
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There has been one thing I have been dreading more than anything in the last several months: “Felicity Season 4.”
Last year, I did my penance - enough to get a dozen souls out of purgatory - by watching the complete third season... all 760 minutes of it. But now, as I stare at the six-disc set that is “Felicity: Senior Year,” I shudder. We’re talking an additional three hours more of Felicity in this set: 971 minutes total to be exact.
It makes me question the very existence of God. How is it possible that a benevolent and loving creator would allow 211 more minutes into the fourth season? Was it just to inflict pain and suffering upon me? Is there no mercy in this world?
Judging from my caustic reaction to “Felicity: Season 3,” it would be a veritable impossibility for me to actually like this extended senior year. Maybe if all the characters were killed in a tragic blimp accident and every shred of their lives were engulfed in a New York City block fire, replacing the cast with the Swedish Bikini Team, chased by Dracula and the Wolf Man.
Ahhhhh... one can only hope.
So, knowing that I’m going to enjoy “Felicity: Season 4” about as much as I would a simultaneous spinal tap/barium enema, I’m decided to take a different approach to this review. To spare you the pain of almost a thousand minutes of Felicity, I planned to provide a random journal of my thoughts throughout the season.
Sadly, I only got through episode four. (If you’re interested in reading this messy “Felicity” blog, visit my web site at www.7mpictures.com/inside/reviews/felicity4blog.htm.) The pain was just too great, and I had to occupy my time with other chores, like doing the dishes, trimming the dog and gathering up the trash. I’d better be careful. What if my wife likes the fact that I occupy myself with chores during “Felicity.” I hope she doesn’t go out and buy me Seasons 1 and 2 now that spring cleaning time is upon us.
Ultimately, I suffered through seventeen episodes, trying to keep my mind off the endless break-ups between the various characters. The angst began not even five minutes into the new season. Everyone’s whining about the year ending and them not being able to see each other again. Felicity cheats on Ben. They break up. Neither can stay without a date for more than 24 hours, so they’re hopping into bed with other people. Every scene begins with the following dialogue: “Hey.” “Hey.” “Can I talk to you for a second?” Yup, it’s the same old “Felicity.”
The only saving grace in the show is Greg Grunberg’s idiot savant character of Sean Blumberg and his Wicca wife Meghan (Amanda Foreman). They have plenty of angst themselves, but at least they’re funny about it.
The DVD contains three episode commentaries. Grunberg joins Ian Gomez give the best one, reminiscent but unfortunately not up to the level of Grunberg and Amanda Foreman’s hilarious commentary for one of the Season 3 episodes.
There are some additional behind-the-scenes features, including some deleted scenes from the final episode that explain one confusing plot point that left “Felicity” fans reeling. Another featurette has the cast and crew looking back on the end of the series, and the final one features J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Garner, Matt Reeves and Keri Russell in a Q&A at the Museum of Television & Radio.
But, back to those extra 211 minutes. It turns out that God is merciful after all. While I searched the house for unused Vicodin and hydrocodone medication to take away the excruciating pain of the show, I suddenly found myself intrigued with the last five episodes. It appears that the WB ordered 17 episodes, and then added an extra five to the list after they were putting together the final graduation show. J.J. Abrams shows his knack for creativity by sending the show out with a bang with a wild twist you would never expect for this all-too-grounded-in-reality television show.
I’m not going to spoil anything, but it is almost worth watching the show to see these last five episodes...
...almost.
Specifications: Dolby Digital. Full frame (1.33:1). English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
