Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Garden State, Grosse Pointe Blank
Likes: Good indie films, Jeremy Sisto, Taylor Negron
Dislikes: Self-destructive people
Hates: Losing someone you love

The Movie
The idea of returning to your roots when at your lowest point in life is a common theme in film, and is the plot for several of my favorite films, including Grosse Pointe Blank and Garden State. But, as Martin Blank notes, when finding his childhood home is now a convienence store, "You can't go home again."

That doesn't stop Alex (Jeremy Sisto, "Six Feet Under") from trying though, after he assaults a film producer (Garry Marshall) and throws away a once-promising career. It's not that he's a petulant artiste. It's just his inability to move past the death of his wife. Two years after his loss, his sputtering life brings him from Los Angeles to his hometown of San Francisco, and the social circle he had left behind.

Aside from the dark opening scene, it would be hard to tell this film was created by Matt Leutwyler, the man behind the gory horror/comedy Dead and Breakfast.This is a slow-paced series of stops along Alex' path of recovery, marked by overly earnest exchanges from the Kevin Smith School of Screenwriting. There's no real flow evident in this grabbag of quirky personalities. 60 minutes into the film, I couldn't identify a real storyline, which is rarely a good thing for a movie. Once in a while, a fim can get a way with being less than the sum of its parts, but this isn't one of those moments. A screwball comedy could get away with this, but a realatively serious movie like this (you can tell from the music), needs more to entice a viewer to invest themselves. This is a bunch of moments looking for a connection that doesn't appear, even when the overlong film fades to black, leaving you unsatisfied.

The DVD
A one-disc release, it's packaged in an insert-less standard keepcase. The disc features a static, amamorphic widescreen main menu, with options to watch the film, select scenes, and check out the extras. There are no audio options or subtitles, and the closed captions listed on the box didn't work on my system.

The audio, delivered as a Dolby Surring 2.0 track, is solid, but unremarkable, as the dialogue, music and sound effects live in a mostly center-focused presentation.

The Extras
A feature-length audio commentary with Leutwyler and Palladino locks off the extras. The conversation is very friendly, and a good amount of on-set material is presented as they chat about making the movie. It's actually one of the better tracks I've heard for a film I didn't really get into.

There's also an extensive collection of outtakes included, which run 16:30. It's OK, but nothing hilarious, and seems to have been made to entertain the cast and crew, if the end card is any indication. Four trailers wrap up the package, though this film's preview is absent.

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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.