Bosom Buddies: The First Season – DVD Review

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Available at Amazon.com

Creator:

Chris Thompson

Cast:

Tom Hanks ………. Kip Wilson a.k.a. “Buffy”
Peter Scolari ………. Henry Desmond a.k.a. “Hildegarde”
Donna Dixon ………. Sonny Lumet
Holland Taylor ………. Ruth Dunbar
Wendie Jo Sperber ………. Amy Cassidy
Telma Hopkins ………. Isabelle Hammond
Lucille Benson ………. Lilly Sinclair

The Show

Tom Hanks has become the highest-grossing leading male actor of all time. In total, the movies he has starred in have grossed over $3.3 billion in the United States and almost $6 billion worldwide. He is also one of only two men to win back-to-back Academy Awards for “Best Actor.” His first big “hit” film was Splash in 1984, but 4 years earlier he was on a TV show that really paved the way for his movie superstardom. That show was Bosom Buddies.

Bosom Buddies starred Tom Hanks and “that other guy,” Peter Scolari, as best friends and co-workers Kip and Henry. They worked at an advertising firm called Livingston, Gentry, & Mishkin, where Kip was a graphic artist and Henry was a copy writer. One day their apartment in New York City gets demolished with them inside of it. They have nowhere to live until their co-worker Amy (Wendie Jo Sperber) tells them about her apartment called the “Susan B. Anthony Hotel for Women.” The key words are “for women.” However, the rent is cheap so they do want any man would do. They dress up in drag and pretend to be women so they can live there. It doesn’t hurt that Kip falls in love with Amy’s roommate, Sonny, (Donna Dixon) and Henry could use the experience to write a great book.

Lets clear this up first. Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari look NOTHING like women when they are dressed as Buffy and Hildegarde. Amy is the only one who really knows their real identities on the show since she is in love with Henry, but how they could fool anyone is beyond me. Of course, this is a comedy so you are supposed to look past things that don’t make sense for the comedic value of it. Honestly though, there are few times when they are actually funny dressed up. In fact, they are more funny together when they are Kip and Henry. Fortunately, the producers saw this as the first season went along and the guys dressing in drag was seen less often.

What made the show work for the little time it was on the air was the cast. More importantly, the chemistry between Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. They really shined when working on the screen together. It’s easy to see from the very first episode that Tom Hanks was destined for bigger and better things. He steals almost every scene he is in. Scolari is good in his role and they are great together, but Tom easily outshines him, which is why Tom went on to become a movie star and Scolari went on to become known as “that other guy.” Besides the leading men, the women on the show are passable. The late Wendie Jo Sperber was at her best on this show. Donna Dixon is absolutely beautiful and is a good love interest for Kip. She fits her role nicely as does Holland Taylor as Kip and Henry’s boss, Ruth Dunbar.

There are a few negatives for this DVD release of the first season of Bosom Buddies though. The first one is the music, notably the theme music. It’s typical 80’s music, but there seems to be a debate about the theme song. Apparently, when the show first aired they used “My Life” by Billy Joel as the theme song. In this DVD release they use a song called “Shake Me Loose” performed by an unnamed woman. This has to be the most annoying theme song on the planet. Sure, the lyrics fit the show, but the song makes no sense at all. It’s a mess. They probably went with this theme song instead of the Billy Joel song because they couldn’t secure the rights to the song. Then again, the creator of the show, Chris Thompson, did write “Shake Me Loose” so maybe that’s the song he wanted to use all along. My advice is to skip over the opening credits after hearing it once. Although, it’s funny to see the 80’s style outfits these guys are wearing in the credits. The other main negative of the show is the lack of extras, but that’s coming up later.

It’s funny to think that dressing up in drag launched the career of Tom Hanks, but it’s true. Thankfully the times that he and Peter Scolari were not dressed up as women Tom Hank’s true talent was able to shine through. He was ready to breakout as a true comedic star. How he transitioned from a comedic star to a dramatic star is another story entirely, but if you want to see how Tom Hank’s career really begin, then Bosom Buddies is the show to watch.

Episodes:

Disc One:

Episode 1 – Pilot
Junior advertising men Kip Wilson and Henry Desmond spend the night at a women’s hotel, but they’ll have to disguise themselves as “Buffy” and “Hildegarde” if they want to live there.

Episode 2 – My Brother, My Sister, Myself
When Kip is discovered in the apartment without his Buffy disguise Lily Sinclair, the new manager of the hotel, decides to have the other residents vote on whether Buffy and Hildegarde are evicted or not.

Episode 3 – Loathe Thy Neighbor
A fight between Sonny and Amy sparks a fight between Kip and Henry and leads to a roommate swap.

Episode 4 – Macho Man
Henry decides to toughen up his image when another date insists she just wants to be friends.

Episode 5 – What Price Glory?
Kip and Henry have to compromise their morals to compete with Marty Bursky, the office boot-licker, for a prestigious new account.

Episode 6 – Kip and Sonny’s Date
Kip’s date with Sonny turns into a disaster, thanks to his nervousness and Henry’s date, a recent devotee of punk rock.

Episode 7 – Beauty and the Beasts
Buffy and Hildy are invited by Sonny and Isabelle to a singles bar. The pair are ignored by the men, causing Henry to question society’s favoritism for attractive people. Feeling like a hypocrite for spurning Amy’s advances, he asks her out on a date.

Disc Two:

Episode 8 – Revenge
The girls hatch a scheme to embarrass Walter after he dumps Amy for another woman at a costume party.

Episode 9 – Amy’s Career
Amy’s spirits get a temporary boost when her complimenting of a new client’s product gets her a shot at producing its ad campaign.

Episode 10 – Gotta Dance
Kip uses the public library commercial he’s directing as an excuse to hire Sonny as a dancer, hoping to kick-start her career.

Episode 11 – Sonny Boy
Kip and Henry (as Buffy and Hildy) subdue two criminals who are robbing the hotel, drawing the attention of the media, and Henry’s mother.

Episode 12 – How Great Thou Art
For Kip’s birthday Henry arranges to have some of his paintings shown at The La Daux Gallery.

Episode 13 – Kip Quits
When Ruth insists that Kip indulge a new client, Kip walks out expecting Henry to follow him.

Disc Three:

Episode 14 – Only the Lonely
Kip and Henry are worried when Ruth invites them to dinner, and appears to want more than a business relationship.

Episode 15 – The Rewrite
Kip tries to help Henry spice up a story documenting Ruth nearly discovering the duo’s alternate identities.

Episode 16 – The Show Must Go On
After Isabelle steals the show from Bob The Comic (guest star: Bob Saget) by singing “New York, New York” during his stand-up act, Kip and Henry arrange for her to sing at a night club.

Episode 17 – The Hospital
Sonny recruits Buffy and Hildy to volunteer as “candy stripers” when the hospital where she works becomes short on staff. Kip discovers he has competition for Sonny’s affections in the form of a blind patient who knows Buffy and Hildy are men. Amy finds herself in over her head when she stands in for the hotel’s manager.

Episode 18 – Best Friends
Henry feels left out when Kip renews his friendship with a rock and roll star.

Episode 19 – Cahoots
Kip and Amy form a pact to use their inside information to help each other win over Sonny and Henry.

The Video:

The video is given in Fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Transfer is pretty good, considering that this show was originally shot on videotape. Once again, this is a 1980’s TV show, so you can’t expect much more than this.

The Audio:

The audio included is available in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono sound. It’s only mono sound, but considering the age and type of show it is, that’s good enough. The dialogue is crisp and clear. There is no need for special effects and thus no need to hear anything but the dialogue, so the audio is passable.

The Extras:

There is NONE! Not a single one! I know Tom Hanks is busy, but he could have done something. And what is Peter Scolari doing these days anyways? I guess they figured that finally having this series on DVD is good enough, but not for today’s fans of TV on DVD. This is highly disappointing, but hopefully they are saving them all for the second and final season of the show.

THE INSIDE PULSE

If you are a Tom Hanks fan, then you have buy this DVD set. If you are a fan of the show, then you have been waiting a long time for this to come out on DVD. There are ZERO extras, which is really not acceptable, but still the show is probably one of the funniest 80’s sitcoms around. If you can look past the premise, that is. I say still buy it, despite the lack of extras and hope that CBS and Paramount make the right decision and put together some quality extras on the second season DVD set. However, if you want something more than the actual show, then obviously pass as you only get that here.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Bosom Buddies: The First Season
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE SHOW

8
THE VIDEO

7
THE AUDIO

7
THE EXTRAS

0
REPLAY VALUE

7
OVERALL
6
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

I'm not embarrassed to say that my favorite television show of all-time is The O.C. I live by the motto "you can't fight fate!" More importantly, I watch WAY too much television, but I do so for the benefit of everyone reading this now. So to my mom and my wife, I say thanks for reading! To everyone else that might stumble across this, remember TiVo should be your best friend!