Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle. He dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, but has only managed to make it as a high school poetry teacher. His only son Kyle is an insufferable jackass who won't give his father the time of day. He is dating Claire, the school's adorable art teacher, but she doesn't want to get serious - or even acknowledge publicly that they are dating. Then, in the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of all the fame, fortune and popularity he ever dreamed of, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.

I’d heard a lot of word of mouth on this one. The film is the very definition of dead pan humor and is also a bit dark. Williams plays the father of a complete (censored) of a son who ends up killing himself during a rather unnatural act of “me time”. Instead of just letting it be, Williams rights a suicide letter that changes the entire community in one swoop making the deuchebag look like the second coming. Of course Williams plays this to his advantage until it just spirals out of control. The film has its funny moments but it is also a bit frustrating in its character work. Overall I enjoyed it, but I can’t see a lot of repeat viewings.

Magnolia does a pretty good job with the presentation. The video is a bit on the soft and mellow side with natural hues and adequate detail. You can tell this was shot on a lower budget. The soundtrack is pretty subdued with some subtle ambiance and not much dynamic range. Dialogue does sound natural though and the balance is solid.

Extras include some behind the scenes features, outtakes and deleted scenes. You also get a commentary from the director, a music video and some trailers.

Overall this isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. The characters make some pretty bizarre decisions and it’s hard to relate to anyone. If you like darker humor, give it a look, otherwise this is pretty passable entertainment.