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Beautiful Joe

List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Aaron Beierle | posted May 28, 2001 | E-mail the Author
The Movie:

Oh, how the mediocre have fallen. Sharon Stone, an actress who I've never really been impressed with in any role, ends up in this straight-to-video bland feature. On the other hand, the film also stars the always wonderful Billy Connolly("Mrs Brown") as Joe, a very nice guy who, at the begining of the film, finds out that not only does he have cancer, but his wife is leaving him because he's "boring".

He sets out to think about what he's going to do next and at the racetrack, he runs into Hush (Sharon Stone) a con artist who is interested in his winnings, but finds out that he's a normal guy and becomes disinterested. Of course, if they ended it at that, there wouldn't be a movie. Joe runs into Hush at the club that she works at, where apparently mud wrestling is the premiere attraction. Stone frankly looks embarassed playing the announcer during these sequences. But, the embarassment is not over yet. Connelly gets into the ring to mud wrestle with several girls. In the meantime, Hush picks Joe's pocket.

In reality, Joe would be less than pleased, but here, the two become good friends. Movies like this don't have any concern with little things like reality, though. There's further injustices as the great Ian Holm eventually steps in to play a loan shark - a terrific actor who gets stuck in a painfully bad role. Topping it all off is Gil Bellows of "Ally McBeal" turning in one of the worst performances of the year as Hush's ex.

The film doesn't know what it wants to be - it skips between drama, comedy and action and succeeds at none of the above. Not only is "Beautiful Joe' a bad movie, but it's a movie that takes bad one step further by waisting a couple of terrific actors.


The DVD

VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar presents "Beautiful Joe" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Although certainly not one of the studio's better efforts, the picture at least remains fairly consistent. Sharpness and detail are very good, with some scenes displaying a decent amount of depth. Some moments are a little soft, but not too noticably so.

There were some flaws to report, and more than the usual new release from the studio. Some minor edge enhancement and pixelation is visible, as are print flaws infrquently throughout the movie. Some scenes also appeared lightly grainy.

Colors were visibly pleasant, but unremarkable. Flesh tones were natural and accurate, as well. A decent transfer, but not impressive in any way.

SOUND: "Beautiful Joe" is presented in Dolby Surround, but there's really not much more than mono for the majority of the feature, as the film remains a dialogue-driven effort with little else. Occasionally, the score wakes up the audio, but these instances are brief.

MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with film-themed backgrounds.

EXTRAS: Trailer.


Final Thoughts: "Beautiful Joe" is a mess that's anything but pretty. Tristar's DVD does not provide anything special, either in the way of features or presentation. Skip it.

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