Two If By Sea Blu-ray Review

Sandra Bullock Rom Com

Sandra Bullock and Denis Leary are mostly excellent together as a blue-collar couple on the run in Two If By Sea. The romantic comedy sees the pair hiding out with a valuable stolen painting in a posh Cape Cod town as they work out their relationship. The movie’s best moments are Bullock and Leary bouncing off each other, carrying the thin but mildly amusing premise.

There aren’t many belly laughs in the lackluster screenplay but Sandra Bullock’s charm makes Two If By Sea an interesting, if mildly flawed, movie. An enjoyable ride in spurts if you don’t take its shenanigans too seriously.

Despite being co-written by Denis Leary, Two If By Sea feels more like a vehicle for co-star Sandra Bullock. Hot off movies like Speed in the 90s, the star actress shines as a woman fed up by her two-bit thief of a boyfriend. The movie is right in her wheelhouse and amplifies her natural talents. Leary leans heavily into his working-class Irish shtick, a remnant of his early days as a stand-up comedian. It’s a caricature he would further develop into Tommy Gavin on Rescue Me.

Two If By Sea works best if you enjoy the comedy stylings of Denis Leary

Frank (Denis Leary) and his girlfriend Roz (Sandra Bullock) are lovers on the run. The opening scene has them bickering like any normal couple on a long road trip, until it’s revealed they are being chased by police. In terms of clever filmmaking it’s the comedy’s high point.

Frank has stolen a painting and his associate has arranged a meeting to fence it in a quaint New England resort town. Roz tags along for the ride, though she begins questioning if her relationship is worth all this trouble. An FBI agent (Yaphet Kotto) is on their tail who thinks Frank is some master art thief.

Impersonating local home owners away on vacation, trouble ensues for Frank and Roz in the cozy town. Their blue-collar attitudes are a far cry from the well-heeled sophisticates they meet. A distinguished local resident (Stephen Dillane) with class and sophistication, the complete opposite of Frank, takes interest in Roz. Roz has to decide if she truly loves Frank and can envision a married life with him.

Two If By Sea works best if you enjoy the comedy stylings of Denis Leary. He has a huge influence over the movie’s humor and tone, even if Sandra Bullock steals the show with her lovable character. There aren’t many R-rated romantic comedies, much less one starring an A-list actress. A lighthearted relationship comedy more than anything else, it is propelled by the easy back-and-forth banter between its talented stars.

Video

Definition and clarity fare quite well in this shockingly solid HD transfer from distributor Mill Creek. The video label licenses Two If By Sea from the Morgan Creek library, which sources inform me is currently controlled by Sony. Originally released on DVD over twenty years ago, the film-like 1.85:1 presentation at 1080P resolution represents a substantial increase in picture quality. Everything is improved and there are no dealbreakers evident in the transfer. The original film grain has been left intact.

The 1996 production’s film elements are in respectable condition with reasonable black levels and a consistently even contrast. It is not eye candy in the traditional sense but the lovely background scenery filmed in Nova Scotia has its moments.

The main feature runs 95 minutes on a BD-25. While Mill Creek’s compression efforts aren’t always the best, the satisfactory AVC encode on Two If By Sea doesn’t have any issues. Close-ups reveal excellent fine detail in the reasonably sharp presentation. While the transfer isn’t exactly from a 4K film scan, the largely unprocessed transfer exhibits proper saturation and warm flesh-tones. Unlike some other Mill Creek Blu-rays, technical issues aren’t a concern.

Audio

The same 5.1 surround mix found on Two If By Sea’s original DVD release is found here in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio. The largely dialogue-driven romcom has a rich musical score and a few songs to round out a pleasing sonic background.

There’s a touch of atmosphere and directionality, which helps expand the soundstage beyond the front channels. Crisp dialogue is nicely balanced with excellent musical fidelity. It’s not reference material by any stretch but provides a fine audio experience for the comedy.

Optional English SDH subtitles play in a white font.

Extras

The Morgan Creek property first made it out on DVD many years ago from Warner Bros. That DVD had a theatrical trailer, included here, and a seven-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, absent from this disc. The Blu-ray from Mill Creek is coded for Region A.

Two If By Sea Theatrical Trailer (01:59 in SD)

Full disclosure: This Blu-ray was provided to us for review. This has not affected the editorial process. For information on how we handle review material, please visit our about us page to learn more.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 52 full resolution, uncompressed HD screen shots grabbed directly from the Blu-ray: