A topic which we've discussed in the past has once again reared its ugly head -- When is a remake not a remake? As we all know, Hollywood continues to have remake fever and apparently this trend is never going to end. But, how close can a new movie be to an old movie without officially being called a remake? Plagiarism and copyright law are very serious things, and no one wants to accuse or be accused of such things, but when two movies are mirror images and there’s no overt statement of the newer one being a remake, one has to wonder. Well, no matter how you slice it, The Roommate bears a striking resemblance to a movie made nearly 20 years ago.

As The Roommate opens, Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) moves from Iowa to Los Angeles to attend college. She gets settled into her room and makes friends with Tracy (Aly Michalka), a girl from down the hall, who talks her into going to a party. Once there, she meets Stephen (Cam Gigandet), and the two flirt. Arriving home from the party, Sara is surprised to find her new roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester), in her room. The two begin to get to know each other, and Sara, who is studying fashion design, is fascinated by Rebecca’s fancy clothes. Rebecca and Sara begin to do things together, but Sara also tries to allow time for Stephen and Tracy. However, she soon notices that Rebecca will wait up for her when she is out or call and check on her. At first, this seems like friendly roomie behavior, but soon, it becomes obvious that Rebecca is determined to be a major part of Sara’s life. As Sara tries to distance herself from Rebecca, Rebecca’s obsession only worsens and it becomes clear that Rebecca will do anything to remain best friends with Sara.

When Single White Female was released in 1992, it wasn’t the biggest movie ever made, but it did OK, grossing nearly $50 million. Since that time, it’s become somewhat of a cult film and people still talk about one particularly creative and gruesome death. So, did the powers that be behind The Roommate assume that their PG-13 target demographic had never heard of/seen that movie? Because this film is very similar to that Bridget Fonda & Jennifer Jason Leigh vehicle. The points of reference are numerous, but the bottom line is that both movies deal with roommates where one becomes obsessed with the other to the point that the obsessed one attempts to become their roommate. The only real difference is that The Roommate takes place in college and that Sara didn’t get to choose her roommate (Actually, one the special features, Writer Sonny Mallhi states this the potluck which is college roommates was his inspiration for the script.)

So, The Roommate wants to show us “the roommate from hell”, as it were. Well, copying Single White Female certainly wasn’t the way to go about doing it. The movie is far too over the top and never pretends that it isn’t. Even if you aren’t familiar with what I must refer to as the source material, you’ll be rolling your eyes at this movie. Isn’t of Rebecca being a psycho from the get go, she should have been more annoying at first, doing things like playing the guitar whenever Sara was trying to sleep or refusing to wear pants or getting drunk and passing out in the bathroom (as far as you know, none of those examples are things which I endured in college). Instead, she’s immediately clingy and protective, making the whole thing very unrealistic -- There’s no slow burn here. So, we’re supposed to side with Sara, but she looks like an idiot for taking too long to realize that Rebecca’s crazy. The movie also takes the leap for never explaining why Rebecca is the way that she is.

The movie’s other fatal flaw is in the casting. The great thing about Single White Female is that Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh look nothing alike, but Leigh made herself look like Fonda as her obsession grew. Sara and Rebecca look exactly alike from the outset. (I’m familiar with both actresses from their television shows, and I never thought that they resembled one another until I saw them together.) In order for a plot twist lifted directly from Single White Female to work, the girls must look alike, but there were several poorly lit scenes in the first act where I couldn’t tell them apart. Way to go, movie!

So, I’m basing my opinion of The Roommate on the fact that it’s a carbon copy of Single White Female, a movie which I wasn’t really crazy about. But, what if you haven’t seen that, would you still like The Roommate. Probably not. As noted above, the movie is ludicrously plotted and it’s hard to take any of it seriously. Leighton Meester is far more scary as Blair Waldorf and there’s only one scene which comes close to being cringe-worthy. (But it did make me say, “This is PG-13?”.) The movie is predictable and boring, making me wish that this cast of familiar faces could have had a better script.

The Roommate shouldn’t be watched by animal lovers on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 25 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no intrusive grain and no defects from the source material. However, the picture is noticeably dark. I’m not sure if this transfer accurately reflects how the film was shot and is supposed to look, but everything is simply dark, sometimes to the movie’s detriment. When the lights are on, the colors look good and surprisingly aren’t muted given the movie’s dark look. The level of detail is good, as we can see textures on objects. The Disc contains a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 3.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. Stereo and surround effects are effective, most notably during crowd scenes and the finale. These effects are nicely detailed and are clearly separated from the center channel. A dance club scene provides some subwoofer action, but not as much as one would expect -- it’s there, but a bit weak.

The Roommate Blu-ray Disc contains a host of extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Director Christian E. Christiansen. The Disc contains seven DELTED & ALTERNATE SCENES which run about 6 minutes. All of these are brief, with some lasting only a few seconds, and they are simply moments trimmed off the beginning or end of scenes. The "Alternate Opening Title Sequence" will leave you saying, "I don't remember the other opening title sequence." "Obsession: The Making of The Roommate" (9 minutes) is a brief featurette which contains comments from the cast and filmmakers about how the project came together and what production was like. The piece contains some on-set footage. "The Roommate: Next Generation of Stars" (5 minutes) contains interviews with the actors, as Christiansen discusses how the actors were cast. "Dressing Dangerously" (4 minutes) has comments from Costume Designer Maya Lieberman discussing the clothes in the film.