Good Dick (2008) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Drama | Theatrical Trailer-(1.53) | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2008 | ||
Running Time | 82:48 (Case: 86) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Marianna Palka |
Studio
Distributor |
Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Marianna Palka Jason Ritter Eric Edelstein Mark Webber Martin Starr Tom Arnold |
Case | Amaray-Transparent | ||
RPI | $29.95 | Music | Jared Nelson Smith |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None |
English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | English Descriptive Audio | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Good Dick, despite the frat-boy gross-out comedy title, is an off-beat indie comedy/drama from first time director Marianna Palka without an appendage in sight! Not content to just sit behind the camera, Palka also wrote and stars in the film alongside her real boyfriend Jason Ritter.
Palka and Ritter are an unnamed man and woman. He works in a video store and she is a regular customer who only rents soft-core erotic films. Entranced by her sad quality, the man strikes up a conversation with her one night with negligible success; for the woman is deeply troubled and shuns all forms of human contact. Falling somewhere between lovesick puppy and stalker the man gets her address details and lies his way into her apartment.
So begins a slow and difficult courtship. The woman makes it clear that she will never sleep with the man and that she barely tolerates him. She is rude and abusive and frequently tells him to take off. When they watch videos together he has to sit some distance away and if he gets aroused he is dead meat! Viewers have to decide whether to embrace this character who is genuinely disturbed. So why does he keep trying? Perhaps it is his own troubles, hinted at in the film, including a past of drug abuse and homelessness. Perhaps he sees her as someone who can be saved or perhaps he just finds her beautiful.
Good Dick is no formulaic rom-com and the audience for the film will be those who like their love stories a little truer to life, where no one lives in massive New York lofts and owns publishing houses. These are two down and outers; him with a going nowhere job and a bunch of oddball video store friends and her without any prospects living off her daddy’s money. As a real life couple Palka and Ritter make an engaging pair. The script is pared back to a minimum and Palka plays the woman as one step short of the precipice. Ritter, son of comedy star John Ritter, has a grin that stays on despite the abuse he cops from the woman. Their exchanges are often funny and the film itself blends the amusing with the poignant very well. Perhaps the only misstep is the presence of some "celebrities" as micro-cameos; a very aged Charles Durning and Bryce Dallas-Howard as video store customers and Tom Arnold as the woman's father. Their performances are fine but the recognition factor tends to cut against the lo-fi nature of the film. Ultimately, the film is about the ability to find love in the most difficult of circumstances and places. Definitely worth a watch and hopefully not the last we see of Palka as a director.
Good Dick was shot on High Definition digital video. It was transferred to 35mm film for cinema exhibition and projected at a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. That ratio has been preserved for the DVD release. It is 16x9 enhanced.
The film is no smorgasbord of light and colour. The image tends towards the drab in keeping with the dingy video store and unkempt apartment which are the two prime settings for the film. The image quality is a little soft but the picture is clean and without defects. There is minimal digital noise about particularly in the darkly lit scenes but this is not intrusive.
The short length of the film and the lack of extras means that despite the content being placed on a single sided DVD there are no compression problems. The flesh tones are accurate right down to the dark circles under the woman's eyes.
There are subtitles in English which are descriptive for the Hearing Impaired.
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Overall |
Good Dick comes with two soundtracks; there is a Dolby Digital 5.1 running at 448Kb/s and a Dolby Digital 2.0 running at 224Kb/s. Both do a satisfactory job of providing clear dialogue and lots of supporting music. There is not a lot of ambient sound in the film and most of the action comes from the front and centre. The sub-woofer really only supports the bass of the soundtrack.
The score is by Jared Nelson Smith and is very prominent in the film, reminiscent of the soundtrack to Lost in Translation.
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Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The only extra is the Theatrical Trailer.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The Region 1 version of the film is a better buy. Although the specs are the same it contains a very decent extra Good Dick Goes to Sundance which runs for just over an hour as well as a gag reel and some trailers.
Good Dick will appeal to anyone who likes the Sundance Film Festival vibe. It is pleasant and occasionally heart-warming but never easy.
The DVD transfer is pretty good and in keeping with the aesthetic of the film. Some extras would have been nice, particularly a commentary track from Palka about how she put the whole thing together. Those interested to know more might want to check out the official site for the film.
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Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Cambridge 650BD (All Regions), using HDMI output |
Display | Sony VPL-VW80 Projector on 110" Screen. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. |
Amplification | Pioneer SC-LX 81 7.1 |
Speakers | Aaron ATS-5 7.1 |