DVD Review: Two and a Half Men - The Complete Fourth Season

At the end of season three, it looked like Charlie's bachelor days were behind him, and Alan was moving on with a new wife. Charlie and his girlfriend Mia (Emmanuelle Vaugier) were seriously considering marriage, but when it became clear Charlie would have to choose between marriage and his family (Alan and Jake), Charlie chose his family. Regardless, Alan married Kandi (April Bowlby), a young dim-witted actress. After a quickie ceremony in Vegas, Kandi divorced him and got their condo, but they continued to have regular booty calls. When she got a role on a CSI-spoofing show, she signed divorce papers so that Alan wouldn't be able to claim her newfound fortune, and has not been seen since then.

Once the guys settle back into their bachelor life together, Alan is forced to face his worsening financial problems. On top of losing his condo, Alan loses his dog and is forced to pay two alimonies after Judith steers Kandi to her divorce lawyer. The only bright side to all of this is that Judith (Marin Hinkle) and Herb (Ryan Stiles) get engaged. Charlie and Alan do everything they can to convince them to marry. After all, once Judith gets hitched, it means one less financial responsibility for Alan. In the meantime, Alan goes through a few love interests, with memorable guest appearances from Allison Janney and Brooke Shields.

While Alan is having all sorts of issues, Charlie is, well, Charlie. He dates women, drinks and works as little as possible. In the episodes "Smooth as a Ken Doll" and "Aunt Myra Doesn't Pee A Lot", Charlie and Herb's sister Myra discover some potential chemistry. In the first one, Alan is overjoyed at the prospect of giving Judith her last alimony check. Charlie decides to go along for the ride and meets Herb's sister Myra (Judy Greer), and as it turns out, Charlie and Myra bond over their dislike for Judith. In the later, as the relationship gets intimate, Alan fears how it will affect Judith and Herb. Charlie worries because he thinks he has true feelings for Myra.

The fourth season of Two and a Half Men (or any season to date), can best be described as frivolous fun. It's harmless male fun, with Berta, their revolving cast of girlfriends and Charlie and Alan's mother Evelyn, bringing a female perspective to the proceedings. Though sometimes it's debatable as to whether Evelyn is truly bringing perspective to any situation. The woman is conceited and self-centered, not very fond of her sons or her grandson but can sometimes care for her grandson and Alan but never Charlie. In the fourth season, she appears in a couple of episodes; in the particularly funny "I Merely Slept With a Commie," After Evelyn tells Alan and Charlie how she feels about there being no mourners at her friend's funeral, the boys share their feelings that this could also be the case at hers. Evelyn tries to prove them wrong by introducing them to a couple she helped adopt a boy from China and pushing them out of the picture, literally.

Even after four seasons, Two and a Half Men remains a humorous situation comedy. Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones work very well together and fans of the series will be happy with this latest DVD release.

The video is given in 1.85:1 ratio widescreen format. The presentation is in a matted format, which is indicated to preserve the original aspect ratio of widescreen television exhibition. The picture quality for this transfer is pretty solid. There are some compression artifacts, but nothing that should affect the viewing experience.

The audio is presented in English and Portuguese 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. It sounds good with dialogue easy to hear and no noticeable audio distortions. There are subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Two and a Half Men - The Complete Fourth Season has a couple of special features:

• Audio Commentaries: are included for episodes "Tucked, Taped And Gorgeous" with Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn, and "Mr. McGlue's Feedbag" with Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones.
• Two Men Talking About Two and a Half Men (13:12) - A featurette with creators Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn. They provide a behind the scenes look at season four.
• Gag Reel (8:05) - A standard montage clip of the cast messing up lines etc.