Bickford's main flaw arises from the main character himself. Having the main character be a pretentious, philosophy loving jerk makes it hard to invest in the story. We know his character will go through trials and tribulations before inevitably changing as a person, but by that time it's too late to care. Granted, the story is about an assy character who is lost in life after losing his most prized possession (his book), but the script should not be so misguided. The beginning and middle act needed something more than a 50 minute search for a book. That does not make for a riveting movie. More conflict is needed to make Bickford's journey more worthy of our attention.

The film also goes off on bizarre tangents. For instance, take a gander at the brain fried spaceman character (overacted by Matthew Lillard of "Scream" and "Scooby-Doo" fame) who believes aliens live inside him. It might have sounded decent on paper, but on screen his goofy, over-the-top antics stall the story. He may have been included to provide comic relief, but that character fails to even accomplish that task. He's a character better suited for an entirely different project.

The film is not without redeeming qualities. The cast is stellar. Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous") and Cheryl Hines ("Curb Your Enthusiasm") are fine in their roles. The highlight is John Cho (from the hilarious "Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle") as a Dungeons and Dragons player who discovers Bickford's book. The movie also has clever cameos ( 2 "Reno 911" cast members playing cops), great geeky references ("Lord Of The Rings" and Golden Apple Comics) and a song by the brilliant musician Beck.

The DVD

Video:
The film is presented in widescreen 1.78:1 format and it looks "Dynomite!" No scratches, color issues, or grain to be had. Props to Screen Media for a nice-looking transfer.

Sound: The 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound audio was hit and miss. Sometimes it seemed like the microphone was shoved into the actor's shirts giving us mumbling instead of audible dialogue. Other times, the music and dialogue were clear and perfectly in synch. The disk also gives viewers the option to choose the 2.0 Dolby Surround Sound track.

Extras: A few Bonus Features have been graciously placed on the disk. There are two trailers for "I'm Reed Fish" and a "Maria Full Of Grace" knock off called "Rx." The best extra is titled "Living With Lew," a nearly 4 minute short documentary discussing how writer/director Lew has a fatal disease called ALS and how he was overjoyed by being able to make his first film. A truly inspiring tale. A DVD-ROM extra called "Dungeons And Dragons Character Sheets" is also included.

Final Thoughts:
While I am thrilled Scott Lew was able to accomplish his dream of directing a film, I cannot recommend "Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas." Had the story been less aimless and the protagonist more likeable, the film would have had a better shot at succeeding.

Film and television enthusiast Nick Lyons recently had his first book published titled "Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia." It is available on Amazon.com.