My Girl [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Howard Zieff

Cast: Dan Aykroyd, Macaulay Culkin, Anna Chlumsky

Release Date: February 25, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7/10

Synopsis:

A coming-of-age comedy starring Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky, MY GIRL is an irresistible story of first love and loss. Chlumsky makes an extraordinary acting debut as Vada Sultenfuss, a precocious 11-year-old tomboy obsessed with death. Dan Aykroyd is her widowed father, the town mortician, and Jamie Lee Curtis is the cosmetician he employs. Macaulay Culkin, in an endearing performance, is Thomas J., the boy next door who idolizes Vada. Their summer adventures — from first kiss to last farewell — introduce Vada to the world of adolescence. The perfect film for parents to share with their children, MY GIRL is a motion picture to cherish.

‘My Girl’ tells the heartfelt story of unique 11-year old Vada Sultenfuss who lives with her father in the family funeral parlor and is perhaps too intrigued with death as a whole. Spending her summer looking for something to do and palling around with her best friend Thomas J., the film chronicles Vada’s steps to adolescence as she must tackle everything from her widowed father’s interest in the new cosmetician to her first kiss, a difficult loss and just about everything else that accompanies growing up. Amid the ups and downs, one thing is certain; it’s a summer that Vada will never forget.

‘My Girl’ is directed by Howard Zieff from a screenplay written by Laurice Elehwny and Zieff does a solid job guiding along the emotional and touching coming of age story. The film’s cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Macaulay Culkin and Anna Chlumsky, with nearly all offering fully competent and solid performances in each of their respective roles, although Chlumsky often steals the show in her film debut, providing an outstanding and unforgettable performance as Vada.

‘My Girl’ was first released theatrically in late 1991 and it still delivers a moving, unforgettable and beloved gem of a film more than thirty years after its initial release. I can still remember seeing this one in theaters (curiously I was roughly the same age as the film’s characters when it was released) and becoming immediately invested in Vada’s world and all of the heart, humor and heartbreak that accompanies her coming of age tale.

It’s a fantastic film that has everything you could ask for in such a tale and benefits tremendously from an immensely talented cast led by newcomer (at the time of course) Anna Chlumsky who still awes in her remarkable performance which pulls you into her world and keeps the emotions coming throughout as you can’t help but feel for and relate to her. If you’ve never had the pleasure of ‘My Girl’ but enjoy a well-made coming of age story that doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to realism, then I can’t urge you strongly enough to make a point of giving this one a chance because it really is something truly special that you won’t likely forget anytime soon after.

‘My Girl’ comes home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and offers a pretty spectacular new Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 which was scanned from the original camera negative and with the HDR grade approved by cinematographer Paul Elliott. The new presentation brings the beloved family classic home looking better than ever and the new UHD presentation is complemented by a multichannel DTS-HD MA soundtrack and a few previously released extras which were also available on Sony’s Blu-ray debut of the movie released back in 2015. It’s a notable and worthy upgrade for the iconic tale that keeps true to its filmic source and for any longtime fans of this one that have been awaiting a 4K upgrade this UHD debut should not disappoint and is recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘My Girl’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, scanned from the original camera negative, with the HDR grade approved by cinematographer Paul Elliott and presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks pretty wonderful and offers a sharp, clean and beautifully detailed presentation from start to finish that showcases its filmic appearance with a nice grain structure and never suffers from any noteworthy issues to be uncovered throughout. Detail is spectacular on nearly everything within from character faces and clothing to the indoor settings and outdoor backgrounds, and the Dolby Vision HDR often complements much of it by offering more accurate and lifelike coloring on bits of clothing and nature, while black levels are rich, deep and absent of any problems. Overall, this is a great Ultra High Definition presentation that provides a rewarding upgrade that should excite fellow fans of this beloved film.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack does its job well and provides a clean, crisp and occasionally fairly immersive audio presentation throughout. It utilizes all five available channels in order to send music, nature effects, some crowd chatter and other various tidbits throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate, while ensuring that all dialogue and audio content is sharp and clean, never allowing any simultaneously occurring audio elements to negatively impact or contradict one another. Overall, this is a solid 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack that holds up well without any issues throughout and shouldn’t disappoint.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘My Girl’ features a handful of previously released extras ported over from Sony’s 2015 Blu-ray release. Included is an ‘Audio Commentary with Writer Laurice Elehwany’, in addition to a pair of ‘A Day on Set’ Featurettes: ‘First Kiss’ (running approximately 1 minute in length) and ‘Bingo’ (running approximately 3 minutes). Also included are the ‘Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette’ (approximately 6 minutes) and the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (2 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from a previously released Blu-Ray disc and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7/10

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‘My Girl’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘My Girl’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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