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Big Little Lies Season 2 DVD Review

“Big Little Lies” season 2 lacks depth.

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own.”

After the death of Perry, Madeline (Reese Witherspoon), Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), and Renata (Laura Dern) attempt to move on with their lives, but that proves difficult. Perry’s distraught mother Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) is snooping around to find answers, Bonnie is struggling with what she did, Renata’s husband Gordon has been arrested and he has lost all of their money, and Madeline and Ed’s marriage deteriorates. On top of that, there’s plenty of other family drama involving secrets, cheating, future plans, children, a character having a stroke, and relationships.

Season 2 (which is comprised of 7 episodes directed by Andrea Arnold and written by David E. Kelly with story credits by author Liane Moriarty) is the definition of a cash grab. While I wasn’t fond of season one, it was easy to see the appeal due to the star power and gripping drama. With season 2, there’s simply not enough story here as the fallout of events from season 1 feel drawn out and fairly obvious. All 7 episodes feel like an excuse to reunite the cast and add Meryl Streep into the mix. The drama within the season feels like a glorified soap opera with problems being piled onto the characters in an over-the-top fashion. The season also becomes a veritable court drama with Mary Louise (no spoilers as to why).

I don’t think there’s any question that “Big Little Lies” coasts on star power alone. Kravitz, Witherspoon, Dern, Kidman, Streep, and Woodley are all great here and have been rightfully lauded with awards. It’s just a shame their talents aren’t devoted to something richer and more realistic than a paltry melodrama. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: Widescreen. How does it look? The DVD transfer is perfectly acceptable for standard definition. It should be noted this is also available on Blu-ray

Audio Track: 5.1 Surround. does job

The lone extra is a roundtable discussion with Kidman, Kravitz, Dern, Streep, Woodley, and Witherspoon titled “The Lies Revealed: A Conversation With The Cast Of Big Little Lies”

January 17, 2020 - Posted by nicklyons1 | DVD review | Big Little Lies, Big Little Lies Season 2 DVD Review, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz