While most movies about weddings stink, I thought 2012’s Save the Date sounded worth a look. Its themes and cast offered enough intrigue to entice me to view it.

Sarah (Lizzy Caplan) and Kevin (Geoffrey Arend) move in together, though she seems reluctant to do so. An independent sort, she fears the changes that come with co-habitation.

In the face of an already spooked Sarah, Kevin pushes his luck and proposes to her in a brutally public manner. As expected, Sarah freaks and rejects the proposal – and Kevin, too, as she breaks up with him. Their brief co-habitation ends and they go their separate ways.

Planning for her own wedding to Kevin’s bandmate/pal Andrew (Martin Starr), Sarah’s sister Beth (Alison Brie) tries to push her back toward her ex-boyfriend. She resists, though.

While Kevin goes on tour with his band and sulks, Sarah moves on and engages in a rebound relationship. She meets Jonathan (Mark Webber) through her job at a bookstore and they quickly become hot and heavy. We follow Sarah’s path to see who – if anyone – she’ll commit to in the end.

The bigger question: will we care? Speaking for myself, nope – I felt completely unattached to the film’s personalities and wouldn’t have minded if a bomb dropped on any or all of them.

Maybe this is just the generation gap speaking, but 56-year-old me finds it tough to connect to the film’s 20-something characters. Actually, that’s a guess on the ages for the roles, as the actors tend to be in their 30s, but the characters give off a mid-20s vibe.

Whether they’re supposed to be mid s, late 20s, early 30s or some other age, each and every participant in Date fails to become likable. They’re all just so damned self-involved that I find it awfully tough to give two hoots about their lives or what happens to them.

Perhaps the film offers a realistic depiction of people in these age brackets/circumstances. Maybe late 20-somethings like Sarah, Kevin and the like are all narcissistic to the point of insufferability.

I hope not, though perhaps that’s true – and perhaps it’s always been true for folks in that age range. Whether or not Date offers an accurate take on People of a Certain Age, it doesn’t make for enjoyable viewing.

To get through a character-oriented film, it helps to maintain some affection for and interest in those characters, but the incessant self-involvement of these people makes them unlikable. We don’t empathize, we don’t sympathize – we just want them to stop their never-ending navel-gazing.

But they don’t, and the relentless narcissism drags down Date. A character-drama with crummy characters doesn’t have much potential, and nothing in the story adds much intrigue.

As I mentioned, we’re supposed to wonder what Sarah will eventually do, but we don’t wonder because we don’t care. Both of her suitors seem unappealing, so why worry about which she’ll choose?

I don’t fault any of the actors for this, as they’re fine in their roles. Heck, the fact the characters are so irritating probably says the performers did their jobs well.

I suspect they replicated the parts as written and gave the characters just the sense of self-involvement they’re supposed to have. I do wonder in what universe average-looking-at-best guys like Starr, Arend and Webber can nab mega-babes like Caplan and Brie, though.

I just can’t find any meat here. The film offers no real substance and gives us no revelations about modern relationships. It just presents one narcissist after another, none of whom seem to comprehend just how essentially and obnoxiously flawed they are.

Save the Date appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though not stellar, this became a largely positive presentation.

For the most part, sharpness looked nice. At times, wider shots tended to be a little soft, but those examples weren’t terribly intrusive. Most of the film appeared accurate and concise.

No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes remained absent. Source flaws also failed to create problems.

In terms of colors, Date opted for a subdued palette. Hues took on a semi-brownish tone, though a few more dynamic hues emerged. The tones didn’t dazzle, but they worked for the story.

Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows showed good delineation. Overall, this was a pleasing image.

I thought that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Date seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.

Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better, though, like those on the streets or in bars. However, most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.

Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility.

Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion. Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed positive dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.

How did the Blu-ray compare to the DVD version? The lossless audio felt a bit warmer than the DVD’s lossy track.

Visuals brought the usual format-based improvement, as the Blu-ray showed superior delineation as well as better colors and blacks. This never became a showpiece, but the BD acted as the more appealing option.

The Blu-ray reproduces the DVD’s extras, and we get an audio commentary from writer/director Michael Mohan. He offers a running, screen-specific look at the project’s origins and development, story/character subjects, editing and cinematography, cast and performances, music, the title and opening credits, sets and locations, and a few other areas.

Mohan offers a likable and unassuming chat that covers the film well. He gives us a frank discussion that touches on the necessary areas in a positive manner. Heck, he even gets into a defense of his alleged foot fetish! This is a nice commentary that makes me wish I actually liked the film itself.

Three Deleted Scenes run a total of three minutes, 32 seconds. The first shows growing pains during Sarah and Kevin’s attempt to live together, while the other two give us more of Beth’s bridal shower.

Those last two don’t add anything useful, while the Sarah/Kevin one makes the lead character seem even less likable – if that’s possible.

We can watch the deleted scenes with or without commentary from Mohan. He tells us a little about the scenes and lets us know why they didn’t make the final cut. Mohan’s notes offer some useful material.

Under Outtakes, we find a one-minute, 56-second reel that displays a short batch of mistakes and levity. Don’t expect anything interesting.

Next comes a music video for “Accidents” by the One AM Radio. It’s a low-budget mix of movie clips and recording footage that doesn’t do much to entertain.

An unusual stillframe collection arrives via a Making of Mini-Comic. Created by artist/co-writer Jeffrey Brown, this tells us his perspective on the film’s creation via a series of cartoon panels. It’s an unusual behind the scenes piece – and kind of fun.

The disc opens with ads for Knife Fight, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Price Check, and On the Road. We also get a teaser and a trailer for Date.

Tedious and self-involved, Save the Date becomes a chore to watch. It focuses on a group of characters so unlikable that it becomes difficult to invest in their stories. The Blu-ray delivers generally good picture and audio along with a small but interesting set of bonus materials. Maybe others will get something from this effort, but it leaves me cold.

To rate this film, visit the original review of SAVE THE DATE