"I don't know how long I can go on dressing like Jekyll and Heidi." - Peter Scolari as Henry Desmond/Hildegarde
Bosom Buddies: The First Season DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
It is almost impossible to find nice, affordable real estate in New York City. Just ask Kip Wilson (Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump), an artist, and Henry Desmond (Peter Scolari, Newhart), a writer. The roommates and lifelong friends thought they had the perfect place...until they woke up one morning to find a wrecking ball in their living room. Amy Cassidy (Wendie Jo Sperber), their coworker at the Livingston, Gentry, & Mishkin Advertising Agency, has the perfect solution for the now homeless duo: they can move into her apartment building. Of course, Amy has an ulterior motive in that she has an unrequited crush on Henry. It seems like a good idea - the rent is cheap and the building is well maintained - but Amy neglects to mention that the Susan B. Anthony is an apartment building for women only.
Despite the obvious problem, the idea proves to be irresistible. Henry sees it as the opportunity to gather information for a book. Kip sees the opportunity to hit on Amy's beautiful roommate, Sonny (Donna Dixon), with whom he has fallen instantly in love. Before you can say Tootsie, Kip and Henry transform themselves into their "sisters," Buffy and Hildegarde, and move into the Susan B. Only Amy knows their secret, but will the guys get away with their audacious plan? It'll be tough, especially with suspicious apartment manager Lilly Sinclair (Lucille Benson, Tom Sawyer), curious neighbor Isabelle (Telma Hopkins, Gimme a Break), and their cranky boss Ruth Dunbar (Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men) snooping around.
The show's silly premise leads to a series of predictably wacky hijinks. While in Hildegarde drag, Kip plies Sonny for her thoughts on the possibility of a relationship with him ("Kip and Sonny's Date"). Amy and Sonny have a spat, and Sonny moves in with "Buffy" and "Hildegarde" ("Loathe Thy Neighbor"). Buffy and Hildegarde stop a mugger in the Susan B., and the resulting press coverage brings Henry's mother to New York, armed with a psychiatrist to address her son's cross-dressing ("Sonny Boy"). When Ruth nearly discovers the boys' secret, Henry imagines what her reaction would be, by replaying the scene over and over in his mind in a variety of genres and styles, from slapstick to romance novel ("The Rewrite").
One of the biggest problems of the series is that no one even suspects the truth. It's the most implausible mass hallucination since Clark Kent. If the residents of the Susan B. didn't know Kip and Henry, the premise could possibly be conceivable, but since they do, everyone comes across as a little slow.
The series mostly coasts by on the strength of its stars. Scolari and Hanks have an easy rapport. Hanks may have gone on to become a bigger star, but he is in some ways outshone here by Scolari. Hanks often relies on his twinkly-eyed charms, but Scolari is genuinely funny. Watching these episodes, you may find yourself wondering why the late Wendie Jo Sperber didn't go on to bigger and better things. She is hilarious in Bosom Buddies, shamelessly stealing almost every scene she's in. She went on to appear in such less-than-memorable series as Women in Prison and Babes.
If you remember only one thing about the original run of Bosom Buddies, it is probably "My Life," its Billy Joel-penned theme song. Well, you'll always have your memories. The song has here been replaced by "Shake Me Loose," a disco-lite song about the joys of friendship performed by Stephanie Mills. "My Life" gave the series a defiant edge. "Shake Me Loose" makes it seem...well...a little gay. There is a chapter stop immediately after the opening credits, so you can skip the song if you'd like. It's so bad, though, that you may find yourself perversely attracted to it.
The nineteen episodes that make up Bosom Buddies: The First Season are divided onto three discs. All three discs are housed in what, from the outside, appears to be a standard DVD keepcase. An interior swinging arms holds two discs while the third disc is affixed to the interior rear cover. Each DVD is individually accessible. There is one tiny inconvenience - the keepcase is clear, allowing the double-sided coversheet show through to the inside of the case. The interior features episode titles, original airdates, and brief plot synopses. Because disc three attaches to the interior rear cover, the disc must be removed in order to read the episode guide.
The static menus are drab but functional. Viewers can choose to play all episodes on each disc consecutively or individually. There are no scene selection menus, but chapter stops are included. One of the chapter stops is helpfully located immediately after the opening credits.
