With Mandy, one of the year’s best movies, now out on Blu-ray, I decided to take a look at the deleted and extended scenes that are included on the disc. What I found were a collection of scenes that were fine on their own, but probably would have slowed down the pacing without adding anything of value. The five deleted/extended scenes are:
- Gas Station
- Red & Mandy Cook Dinner
- Brother Swan and Sand Inside Van
- Cheddar Goblin—Uncut
- Caruthers Extended
The problem with most of these scenes is that they simply reiterate what we already know. Gas Station tells us that Red (Nicolas Cage) had a troubled past and a temper. Red & Mandy Cook Dinner is another glimpse at the love between those two characters. Brother Swan and Sand is one of Sand’s weaker monologues. And Caruthers Extended would slow down the momentum if it were included in the movie even though it includes a great line about how an arrow “would slice through bone like a fat kid through cake.”
The only scene that I think would have worked in its entirety is the uncut Cheddar Goblin commercial. I don’t know if writer-director Panos Cosmatos knew how popular the Cheddar Goblin would be when he made the movie, but it’s kind of a scene stealer. But more than that, it would actually work in the movie because it comes along with Red’s world and mind have unraveled, so we may as well keep focus on this bonkers fake commercial. It also provides a nice comic beat, and perhaps that’s why Cosmatos decided to cut around it even though watching a goblin puppet vomit mac-and-cheese on children is comedy gold in my book.
If you’re looking to pick up Mandy on Blu-ray, don’t let the deleted scenes be your deciding factor. They’re fine, but not particularly revelatory. Instead, let the terrific audio and video encourage you to add what’s sure to be a demo disc in your collection. The worst thing I can say about Mandy’s home release is that there isn’t a 4K version available for this visually stunning movie. But even at only a Blu-ray, you still have an excellent movie about love and loss. Click here for my full review of the movie.
