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(About Our Ads) DVD REVIEW FOR "THE PARENT TRAP" (1998) (Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid) (PG) Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 128 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1) English French English Dolby Digital 5.1 1 PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW VIDEO: (A-) The picture quality of this disc suffers from what we'll call a Jekyll and Hyde syndrome. At times -- and particularly in the brightly lit outdoor scenes -- the sharpness and detail are literally astounding and the color depth is extremely good. At other times, however, a noticeable pixelation problem is quite evident, particularly in shots featuring views of the sky, solid-colored walls, etc... and in many of the indoor shots. While it's not horrible, it certainly looks bad when compared to some of the incredibly sharp outdoor shots. In addition, some film artifacts (scratches and blips) are present, most noticeably early in the film. AUDIO: (A) Featuring a fun and lively score from the likes of "Love" (Nat King Cole), "Here Comes the Sun" (a remake of the Beatles song) and the swinging "In the Mood," the disc's audio -- while not exactly of demonstration caliber -- always sounds great. EXTRAS: Scene selection/Jump to any scene. Theatrical trailer. COMMENTS: Pretty much faithful to the original and often beloved 1961 film of the same name that starred Hayley Mills in the dual sister roles along with Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara, this remake essentially follows the same plot (with newly named characters and locales) and even clocks in at nearly the same, but still quite overlong, running length of a little more than two hours. That said, it's not a great film by any means, but it still comes across as an enjoyable enough, although lightweight diversion that should at least partially please nearly everyone who sees it. Even so, the odds are that the fans of the original will like it more than the kids of today who may find the proceedings either too quaint (if they're older) or too restless (if they're younger). Aside from the preposterous notion that serves as the story's catalyst -- of two parents splitting a set of identical twins at birth with each taking one and never even trying to contact the other for more than a decade -- the plot is serviceable but nothing outstanding. Nonetheless, the writing/directing/producing team of Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer (the "Father of the Bride" movies, "Private Benjamin") have included enough funny, charming, and occasionally heartfelt moments to please all but the most hardened of cynics. It's nice to see a pro-family movie, especially one where the kids obviously love and praise their parents and wish for them to be one big, happy family. Most kids should easily get that message beyond all of the hijinks and kid-oriented material that occur, but the film's length of a little more than two hours might prove restless, especially for younger ones. Likewise, adults may find themselves wishing the film were at least a half hour shorter, as the film tends to get a bit tedious particularly as the proceedings draw to a close. Even so, you can't help but like this charming little film that feels like a throwback to those pictures the Disney studios used to make (when compared to the more hyped up recent remakes of their other live action pictures). While way too long and lacking in originality or surprises, the winning performances and overall charm the film easily exudes makes it a worthwhile antidote for moviegoers looking for a decent family film. The film gets a bad grade, however, in the supplemental materials category with its theatrical trailer being the sole inclusion of such material.