DVD Review - Geography Club (Special Features)

I'm not a person who calls for sequels, even for movies that I absolutely love, but this adaptation of Brent Hartinger's novel was so well done, as I wrote in my review last year, that I would insist on another. Given that Hartinger crafted the Russel Middlebrook series with several books, it wouldn't be difficult. Yet, the film is perfect as is and if it were left alone to be this generation's Breakfast Club, that would fine as well. Either way, this film is interesting, charming and delightful.

The disc from Breaking Glass Pictures contains the usual behind-the-scenes, short documentary, as well as two commentary tracks. The director, writer and producer speak on one track, and three of the main actors speak on the other, including Cameron Deane Stewart, Andrew Caldwell and Ally Maki. All three are funny and you'll learn of the three of them, which is compared to both Will Smith and Fabio.

Of the main actors, Stewart who plays Russel Middlebrook and Justin Deeley who plays his love interest Kevin Land, got their roles because they did what no other actor was willing to do in audition. Along with this, a lot of other interesting tidbits about the other actors are exposed. My favorite has to be about what Scott Bakula did on set to play Deeley's father. This might be just because I have a soft spot for Bakula ever since I first fell in love with his TV show Quantum Leap.

Nevertheless, stories from director Gary Entin and his brother and screenwriter Edmund Entin are fun. The fact that they look boyishly young didn't help when they were confused for extras. Yet, the filmmaking twins explain why football is better cinema to translate than baseball. They also talk about gay family members who inspired a scene in the film, as well as how their film references not only Taylor Swift but also Nicholas Sparks and the musical Grease (1978).

The only gripe about the DVD is that the Entins call for a blooper reel on their commentary track, but none such exists on the disc. Other than that, I'm glad to revisit this movie again and again on home video.

Five Stars out of Five.
Rated PG-13 for thematic material and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 20 mins.