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Cash Crop
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Those kids from "Dawson's Creek" are having about as much success breaking into films as the folks on "Friends". Although "Friends" has had a breakout in Courtney Cox, the "Creek"ers are still floundering, especially lead James Van Der Beek. While the other cast members have at least had films reach theaters, Van Der Beek's films have included the big-budget "Texas Rangers", which is still sitting on the shelf after over a year and "Cash Crop"(formerly "Harvest") is headed towards video after being done for two years.
The film focuses on a story that's unfortunately happening all across America. In the small town of Oxford, the farmers have all begun to suffer from increasing debts. In a move that isn't like what happens in most of these towns, the adults of Oxford decide to grow pot to repay the money that they've found themselves owing.
I can see why "Cash Crop" sat on the shelf for a while - absolutely nothing happens during the first half of the film. The kids (including Van Der Beek, Wil Horneff and others) sit around and get wasted because there's nothing else to do, while their parents - in a few quick scenes, worry about financial matters. None of the characters are well-developed enough for us to care about them in even a basic fashion.
Nor is it terribly funny. Unlike "Saving Grace", the 2000 feature that was able to milk at least a few laughs out of a similar situation, this film is marketed as a comedy and turns out to be more of a drama - at least attempts at laughter might have helped the film's pace. It all doesn't get too much more interesting when the DEA comes to town and the parents (and their kids) have to find ways to stash their...uh, stash. The film moves very slowly through its 99 minutes, generating little tension, if any, from the arrival of the DEA and the race to keep things under wraps. The acting isn't much better, especially the teenagers who are terrible. At least the adults add some level of sincerity to the story of farmers who aren't able to make things work financially.
The DVD
VIDEO: Artisan presents "Cash Crop" in its original 1.33:1/full_frame aspect ratio. It's not one of their better efforts, but it's certainly not unwatchable. Sharpness and detail are fair throughout the movie; some of the scenes appeared rather darker than they probably should have, but the brighter exterior scenes at least appeared mildly well-defined.
There were various minor problems scattered throughout the picture. Some scenes were lightly grainy. Others had print flaws visible - nothing terrible, just a few stray marks and scratches that appeared from time to time. Light pixelation also was spotted a couple of times, as well as some slight hints of edge enhancement.
Colors looked quite good - the fields and general background scenery appeared bright and bold, with deep greens and blues of the skies. Flesh tones also appeared natural and accurate. Overall, it's a decent effort, but some of the flaws that do pop up became rather distracting.
SOUND: "Cash Crop" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film's music and score is the only element that really opens up the sound much, filling the room, but sounding a little bit thin. When the music stops, the sound essentially folds up into mono/dialogue-driven. Although I do appreciate that the sound is presented in 5.1, there's so little in the way of surround use or activity in general that it could have been in 2.0.
MENUS:: Artisan provides animated menus with film-themed backgrounds; chapter selection also provides clips.
EXTRAS: Commentary with director Stuart Burkin and actor John Slattery; trailer, 4 deleted scenes w/optional commentary, cast/crew bios, photo gallery.
Final Thoughts: "Cash Crop" is a dull drama with little interest in characters, acting or any other element. Artisan provides a DVD with good features, but only mediocre presentation quality. Not recommended.
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