Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Johnny Knoxville
Likes: Quentin Tarantino, coming of age stories
Dislikes: Most "family" films
Hates: Southern Culture

The Movie
When one hears Johnny Knoxville is starring in a movie produced by Quentin Tarantino, about a slacker who grows grass, it's reasonable for a film geek to freak out and get in line down at the multiplex a few weeks early. Then, it's also entirely reasonable for that same film freak to be entirely disappointed when that movie turns out to be something of a chick flick, and the real focus of the show is actually a 14-year-old girl. This is the story of Daltry Calhoun.

Daltry is a good guy, or at least he has built himself into one. As seen in the flashback opening, as a young mulleted punk, he once impregnated a girl (Elizabeth Banks, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and settled into a robe-wearing life of NASCAR watching, punctuated by violent outbursts aimed at targets like Duran Duran. Essentially, Daltry is a southern-fried ass.

Now, he's a legitimate business man, putting the small town of Duckstown, Tennessee on the map with his popular grass hybrids, which are used on all the big golf courses. That is, until they start showing an odd mutation that manifests itself in cactus-like protrusions that are hardly acceptable in the game of golf. Naturally, this has a negative effect on Daltry's business, and the repo vultures are circling.

As Daltry struggles, he's faced with a new challenge, as May, that girl from long ago, comes back into his life, with June (Sophie Traub), her 14-year-old daughter, in tow. May needs Daltry to finally be a dad, and, of course, he's definitely not ready. June is a music prodigy aimed at Julliard, who's too smart for her own good, yet still very naive. She needs Daltry, and is willing to admit it, but that just puts more pressure on a man already crumbling under the weight on his shoulders.

Outside of Daltry learning to be a dad to June, the only real plot centers on Daltry's grass problem, which he hopes to fix with the help of rebel horticulrturist from Australia named Frankie (Kick Gurry). Other than that, the film is mostly a character study of Daltry and his pals, including Flora (Juliette Lewis), a widow who runs the local sporting goods store, and Daltry's feeble pal Doyle (David Koechner, Anchorman). In that, the film is an overwhelming success. After all, any movie that can make me like Juliette Lewis, who to this point had only annoyed me, is a pretty good movie.

Tarantino discovery and first-time writer/director Katrina Holden Bronson keeps things moving smoothly from beginning to end, bouncing between Daltry's life and June's life, and rarely getting trapped on either side. The only trouble comes in regards to the tone, which is far from consistent, sliding from June's surreal daydreaming to emotional moments between Flora and Daltry to comedic scenes with June and Daltry. The lack of a bridge between these shifts makes the progression of the film a bit halting, but the talented acting helps smooth out the path.

In the end, the movie isn't as satisfying as it should be, as the story, or perhaps the way it's told, doesn't resonate. Instead, it just exists on the screen, without the energy or magic that a "special" film has. It may be the high expectations brought on by the cast or the connection to Tarantino that affects the way this film is seen, because as a film by a first-timer coming from out of the blue, this movie would probably be hailed as the coming of a new talent. As it is, it's simply a well-constructed film and the end of an era at Miramax.

The DVD
Daltry Calhoun is a one-disc release, packaged in a standard keepcase with a two-sided insert that lists the chapter stops. The DVD has an animated, anamorphic widescreen main menu, with options to watch the film, adjust the captions, select scenes and view special features. There are no audio options, though subtitles are available in English and Spanish, along with English closed captioning. The scene selection menus have still previews and titles for each chapter.

The Quality
The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer delivers a very pretty picture, showing the various color palettes used in the film excellently, shifting from a cold blue to a country green with ease. There are many different "looks" to this movie, including some very stylized scenes, and the DVD presents them all nicely, though the image isn't razor sharp as so many recent movies are. There are no obvious digital artifacts or dirt and damage, while the level of detail and grain are both well under control. Overall, this is a good-looking film.

The audio, presented as a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, sounds solid, but doesn't rise above your standard family dramedy mix. Though the dialogue is crisp, there's nothing very dynamic about the track, and the surround speakers are used only for some background sounds and to enhance the frequent source music found in the film. Certainly, there aren't many explosions or gun fights that require extensive sound effects, so the presentation does well by the film.

The Extras
For a film that barely made it into theaters, Daltry Calhoun boasts a pretty impressive list of bonus features. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Tarantino is directly involved in three of them, starting with the feature-length audio commentary with Bronson, Tarantino and producer Danielle Renfrew. Tarantino acts as something of an unofficial moderator, questioning the ladies about decisions made in the editing room and changes to the story, as well as his involvement in the project. It's a pretty lively track, with a good amount of info about the production, joking between the participants and just a small amount of "Isn't ____ great?"

There's more commentary from the trio available on a set of five deleted scenes, which can be watched separately or as a 7:48 chunk. These trims were smart, and are explained well in the commentary, but it's interesting material to watch. More thoughts about the film are shared in "Hollywood Comes to Tennessee: The Making of Daltry Calhoun," a 12-minute featurette that has plenty of sit-down interviews and on-set footage. For a clip job made up from mostly EPK material, it's not bad, thanks in large part to Knoxville and Tarantino.

A rare talent-driven featurette is found in the 3:48 "The B Team," with Lewis, Gurry and Koechner. It's a cute little piece that's unlike most extras you see today. Like, say, the blooper reel, 3:46 of screw-ups that will bring a few small laughs, the film's theatrical trailer, or a video of Paul Anka's "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," by Blue Mother Tupelo.

The Bottom Line
Daltry Calhoun is a decent movie with some very good performances from Knoxville and Lewis, but certainly not the send-off the Weinstein Era of Miramax deserved. Despite that, it's the kind of movie couples can enjoy together and that teen girls might latch onto, thanks to its blend of heart and humor. The DVD provides a quality transfer and some good extras that will appeal to fans of Tarantino. It's not an award-winner, but well-worth checking out.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.