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Theory of The Leisure Class

Vanguard // Unrated // April 29, 2003
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Don Houston | posted May 18, 2003 | E-mail the Author
Movie: I hadn't seen a good thriller in awhile so I sat down to watch Vanguard's release of Theory of the Leisure Class. The theory the movie was named after was developed by an economist in the 1800's Thor Veblen and centers on class and consumption of goods and services. No knowledge of the movie is needed to enjoy the economic theory and vice versa. The movie was billed as being based on a true story about a women who murders her children (or does she?) and sets about a chain of events that ends in even more deaths. Tuesday Knight (known for many tiny roles as a hooker in television and feature movies) plays a gal who wants out of her small town life for the glamour of Hollywood. She's married with two small children and a dopey husband. The family is going nowhere and her life is sucking her down into oblivion. She's willing to play everyone and anyone she can to get out of there. After an altercation at a local fast food joint, she wakes up in a hospital to find out her children have been butchered by a knife wielding maniac loser. The rest of the movie detailed the twists and turns where you're never quite sure who did what to whom. Here's what the boxcover says: "A group of kids on a field trip shockingly discover the bodies of missing children. Their alarming discovery leads to a small western town where the mystery of the slain children's disappearance has created an environment of suspicion and distrust. A curious reporter from the city arrives in town and bribes a bar owner to divulge everything she knows. Gradually, the pieces of this disturbing puzzle -deception, adultery, secret bonds- start falling into place. They hold the key to the mystery of the murdered children."

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame. It was a bit on the grainy side with some occasional artifacts but about what I'd expect from a very low budget release financed by a shrimp farmer.

Sound: The sound was presented in 2.0 Stereo English. The music was pretty good and the vocals generally clear if not high end.

Extras: There's an audio commentary by Director Gabriel Bologna and female lead Tuesday Knight, a trailer, and a music video by Tuesday Knight. The audio commentary was actually pretty weird with some interesting information and helped fill in the blanks (a lot).

Final Thoughts: I'm not exactly a fan of thrillers most of the time but watch them mostly on dates or when my mood suits me. This was actually pretty realistic in terms of the characters acting like they are "supposed" to act. Contrast this to big budget mainstream releases where the characters seem to be written by people on major drugs. The movie had a good flow to it and lots of little sly references to the theory in the title. I thought Chris McDonald's television salesman to be over the top but funny in a conventional sense and I believe his sales model is none other than porn performer Tiffany Mynx (uncredited). I'm rating this movie as Recommended for all it's quirks (good and bad) and if you rent or buy it, make sure you check out the commentary track. It was at least as entertaining as the movie itself.

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