The Third Wheel (2002) is a movie that really flew under the radar. In short, it's a romantic comedy starring Denise Richards and the underrated Luke Wilson, who play two co-wokers (Diana and Stanley) that have quite an interesting start to their relationship. After a long bout with procrastination, along with the encouragement of a friend (played by Ben Affleck), Stanley works up the courage to ask Diana out. She graciously accepts, much to the delight of Stanley's friends, who go so far as to place bets on how the date will play out. Unfortunately, the two end up with an uninvited guest on their date when Stanley accidentally hits a homeless man by the name of Steve (played by Jay Lacopo). Unable to get rid of him for the evening, a series of mishaps and general confusion remind us that unexpected things are always around the corner, and no one can plan "the perfect evening".

If you ask me, though, you can plan the perfect evening. Simply pick out any movie except for The Third Wheel, and you've got a good head start.

Actually, I'm being a little hard on it here. First of all, if you're like me, you're wondering where this movie came from, and why it went so far under the radar. It never really appeared in theaters, as was doomed to sit on the shelf for the last few years. Obviously, many of the cast members aren't exactly new faces (Richards, Wilson, Affleck), and the movie itself was produced by team of Affleck and Matt Damon (who also makes a cameo appearance later in the film), so the strange absence is even more of a surprise. However, this isn't a very memorable effort, and it's fairly obvious that The Third Wheel really needed some additional work to make any kind of impact. Still, while the cheap shot above may be warranted on a certain level, it's not the worst movie you'll ever see...not even close.

However, there are many things that still hold The Third Wheel back, including a relatively thin plot and the absence of strong surrporting characters. Lacopo is the only exception here, as the rest of the cast members aren't much more than cardboard cubicle cut-outs. In fact, the strange history of this film's treatment is perhaps the most interesting aspect of its production. Many could blame the film's poor reception on the involvement of Ben Affleck, who has recently played the role of Hollywood's whipping boy...a sort of anti-Midas, if you will. Case in point: his face is featured on the cover, but you won't find his name in bold letters at the top. Ouch.

Even with its many weaknesses, there's been at least a half-dozen other films in the past two years that should have been shelved before this one. In any case, The Third Wheel arrives straight to DVD, some two years after its completion. While a more complete presentation may have really saved this one, Miramax presents the film in a very minimal and lackluster fashion, most notably in the extras department. Long story short, there's not much meat to this DVD release, but let's see what we get:

Despite the film's weak areas, at least the transfer looks nice. Presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), the image is very clean and bright. Blacks are rock solid (with only the darkest of scenes being slightly murky), and the colors are natural and bold. Although the atmosphere isn't very exotic or memorable, The Third Wheel still looks great on DVD and will please any fans of the film.

You know, it's not a good sign when the reputation of a film is more interesting than the film itself. The Third Wheel had a few interesting moments, but it wasn't really memorable enough to win me over. Although the list of talent involved really surprised me, it's just about the only aspect of the release worth noting. It's a shame this movie didn't have more going for it, as the chemistry between Denise Richards and Luke Wilson was actually more convincing than most romantic comedies of recent memory. However, with an awkward sense of pacing and a "straight-to-video" cloud hanging over its head, there's not enough to keep The Third Wheel rolling. Combine this with a lackluster DVD presentation and a high MSRP of $30, it's all but guaranteed that this film won't make much of an impact on DVD either. At the very most, you might want to Rent It...but don't set your hopes too high.