Earth Girls Are Easy appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Though it came with some positives, the image showed too many anomalies.
Sharpness became one of the inconsistent elements, as wide shots tended to seem on the soft side. Some light edge haloes became part of the issue and tended to give the film a bit of a “processed” look.
As did some grain reduction. While the film produced light grain at times, too much of the flick felt a bit scrubbed and unnatural.
No issues with jagged edges or shimmering materialized. In terms of print flaws, a handful of small specks cropped up but most of the film looked clean.
With a bright candy-colored palette, the colors of Easy became a highlight. The tones leaned slightly heavy at times but usually seemed vivid and bold.
Blacks appeared reasonably dense, while shadows offered reasonable clarity. Aspects of the image worked fine, but the edge haloes and grain reduction made this an inconsistent presentation.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD stereo soundtrack, it seemed satisfactory given its age and ambitions. Unsurprisingly, music used the channels best, as the score and songs spread across the speakers in a pleasing manner.
Effects also cropped up on the sides at times and showed moderate movement. Nothing about the stereo soundscape impressed, but it felt more than adequate.
Audio quality also showed its age but appeared satisfactory. Speech appeared fairly natural and concise, without notable edginess.
Music lacked great range but seemed moderately full, and effects displayed acceptable accuracy. Again, this never became an impressive mix, but it appeared satisfying for a comedy-musical from 1988.
We get a mix of extras here, and these open with an audio commentary from co-writer/actor Julie Brown. Along with moderator Mike Perez, she provides a running, screen-specific discussion of the movie’s origins and development, casting and performance, story and characters, sets and locations, music, other memories and the film’s legacy.
Brown offers her usual bubbly presence and she doesn’t “soft soap” her remarks, as she makes some criticisms of the way the process took place. This doesn’t mean she “dishes dirt” but she lets us know some good ins and outs across this largely compelling chat.
Featurettes follow, and The Musical Man goes for 20 minutes, one second. It provides an interview with director Julien Temple.
During “Man”, Temple covers his career as well as aspects of the film’s production and connected issues. Temple brings a slew of informative memories and makes this a quality chat.
More from Julie Brown shows up via the 20-minute, 10-second Candy Time. Here she chats about the film’s origins and development, casting, influences, music, the movie’s premiere, its release, and its afterlife.
Inevitably, Brown repeats some of the info from her commentary. Nonetheless, she adds enough new stories to ensure “Time” merits a look.
Views of the Valley spans 17 minutes, 39 seconds. It comes with notes from director of photography Oliver Stapleton and production designer Dennis Gassner.
During this reel, they examine – surprise! – the movie’s cinematography and its sets/locations/visual design. They provide a bunch of useful insights, even though it seems odd Stapleton claims the process utilized for weightless scenes couldn’t feature feet… while we see shots from those sequences that clearly depict feet.
Next comes Aliens in LA. This one lasts 11 minutes, 42 seconds and brings info from special makeup supervisor Robert Clark.
“LA” relates notes about Clark’s work on the film. Clark delivers a solid little overview.
Under Deleted Scenes & Outtakes, we find an eight minute, seven-second compilation. Only a few actual cut sequences arrive, with the longest a segment in which Valerie and Candy cruise around LA with the aliens.
It offers some entertainment, and we get multiple alternate takes needed to make a practical effect work. The other tend toward various trims and improv bits, so this becomes a decent collection.
Earth Girls Karaoke occupies 11 minutes, two seconds and shows the movie’s four musical moments along with lyrics displayed on screen. Someone might enjoy it, but I don’t.
After this we get seven minutes, 43 seconds of Behind the Scenes Footage that lets us observe aspects of the shoot along with some joking comments from Brown and actor Charles Rocket. Though brief, it comes with some interesting moments.
A Vintage Interview with Actor Charles Rocket lasts six minutes, 29 seconds and offers his thoughts about his audition, his take on his character and his work with the rest of the cast. Rocket offers fairly banal remarks.
We also locate a Vintage Premiere Night Promo that fills three minutes, 59 seconds and shows the movie’s opening. It brings some period charm.
A variety of ads ensue. We find two theatrical trailers, four TV spots and two radio spots.
The disc concludes with a Still Gallery (82 images) and a Storyboard Gallery (81 frames). Both add value.
When it hits on parody of its era, Earth Girls Are Easy generates some laughs. However, the rest of the film seems too spotty to become anything more than an occasional pleasure. The Blu-ray presents spotty visuals, acceptable audio and a long array of bonus materials. Expect a sporadically entertaining effort here.
