Coffee Town on paper is something that would appear to have some promise. A few familiar faces, a concept that would get a laugh or two, and if you are familiar with any of the faces that grace the cover of the DVD, it would seem to be the movie for you. Then you begin to watch it, and you immediately wonder what the heck happened in all of this?

The film was directed by Brad Copeland, primarily a writer in television, but did have a cinematic note in 2007's Wild Hogs. The film centers around a regular at a coffee shop named Will (Glenn Howerton, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia), who passes the time as the manager of a web site. He learns news that his bean fix shop may turn into a nighttime bar and bistro, and this is something he strenuously has a problem with. So he turns to his friends, a policeman named Gino (Ben Schwartz, Parks and Recreation) and an office worker in Chad (Steve Little, Eastbound & Down), and they try to rob the coffee shop, with the goal of making the shop undesirable to change because of the perceived high crime factor in town.

So you have Dennis, Stevie and Jean Ralphio in one movie, on the surface is should be kind of funny. Then you have Jake Johnson (21 Jump Street) who plays Will's dead roommate. And you have Adrianne Palicki (Friday Night Lights), who plays a girl that Will has a bit of a crush on. But for all of the people who are in this movie that I have listed, the one who does the heaviest lifting in the cast? Josh Groban. Singer Josh Groban, who plays the coffee shop server. That he goes for it the most sums up Coffee Town more than I could I think.

Among the stars, Howerton is the most disappointing. Considering how high volume that the The Gang from Philadelphia is, it would be natural to expect some difference in performance in Coffee Town. He has a moment or two of sheer goofiness, but he does not carry as much of the movie as desired. It is a performance that almost sleepwalks in delivery, allowing for Schwartz and Little to have their moments in the sun. And they do, well, Jean Ralphio and Stevie for all intents and purposes, though I would watch a show about Jean Ralphio as a police office, make that happen NBC.

So the jokes and performances are uninspiring, but at least the story has something to do, right? Not really. The story remains flimsy, and is pushed along by running jokes like customers and coffee orders, or things going on in Will's life. And before I forget, Johnson is Will's dead roommate, who appears about as much (maybe a little more) on screen as a ghost than a person. A completely wasted casting decision on someone who is quite funny. At least Palicki I can understand as the requisite love interest, but she has not that much to do. Johnson has less and it's part of the cinematic malady jenga that is Coffee Town.

The best part of Coffee Town may lie in that from a tone or story telling perspective, it may sum up a stereotypical coffee house patron. There are two senses you get when watching the film, one of a certainly understated superiority to the others around, and another part where the inherent complacency of sitting in front of one's computer and drinking coffee are subliminal and not very static. If that is the hope of Copeland, mission accomplished. Otherwise, you get a underachieving film that is not as funny as it may purport itself to be.

The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer befitting Coffee Town is fine, though tends to flirt with moments of inconsistency. The whites in the print appear to be a little hot and flesh tones suffer in the transition. Colors are reproduced decently though the vivid nature of them fluctuates, and darkly lit moments have moments where the blacks fluctuate. Watching it is average when it comes to the DVD, but one would and should expect better from this.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track does not get a lot to do, but it does it adequately. Dialogue is consistent and the soundtrack is surprisingly dynamic, with occasional sound effects to emphasize a joke or a toilet breaking and having a dusting of low end fidelity to things. The track is devoid of channel panning though the directional effects are present and somewhat efficient during listening. It is a fine listen.

Copeland, Howerton and Schwartz team up for a commentary that is light on any real information and more towards the jokes side of things. There is some shot breakdown and production recall, but they mostly bring up stuff on screen that cracked them up, and in terms of humor, Schwartz is the most "on" of the three, which is not a bad thing, because the track is underwhelming. A deleted scene (3:32) features Little in a wig and a lie detector test with mustard and mayonnaise. Two TV spots (:57) and a trailer (2:25) are the other extras on the disc.

Coffee Town has the veneer of superficial potential going for it, but like the beverage you see a lot of in the film, it becomes bitter and loses its taste and subtlety as it goes on. Technically, the disc is fine, and the supplements are nice but are neither completely entertaining nor informative. If you are fans of any of the familiar faces in the film, I would urge you to hit up a Redbox or other rental venue and…see something else.