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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Good Dick (2008)

Good Dick (2008)

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Released 11-Oct-2010

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer-(1.53)
Rating Rated MA
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)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
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

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     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.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     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.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     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.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     The only extra is the Theatrical Trailer.

R4 vs R1

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.

Summary

     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.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Trevor Darge (read my bio)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Review Equipment
DVDCambridge 650BD (All Regions), using HDMI output
DisplaySony 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 DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationPioneer SC-LX 81 7.1
SpeakersAaron ATS-5 7.1

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