Despite reaching international theaters last year, Mike Binder's Man About Town (2006) was only recently shuffled to American stores as a direct-to-DVD release; it's not surprising, once you've seen the final cut. To be fair, less impressive films have found distributors and made their way to domestic box offices...but make no mistake about it, this uneven drama/comedy (weighted heavily towards drama, if you're wondering) has its fair share of problems.

The shelved production stars Ben Affleck as Jack Giamoro, a successful Hollywood agent with a seemingly enviable life. Predictably, Jack still feels that his life lacks something, so he takes a journal writing class to ease the pain. Unfortunately, his world slowly falls apart after Jack finds out that his wife of four years, Nina (Rebecca Romijn), has been unfaithful to him---and with one of his clients, no less. Even worse, his personal diary ends up in the hands of Barbi (Bai Ling), an up-and-coming reporter who doesn't want to keep Jack's private writings...well, private.

Affleck's earlier roles in Bounce, Jersey Girl and Changing Lanes remind us that he's treading through familiar territory here; specifically, as a cocky yet charismatic professional forced to examine his life after bad things happen. His character---and most of the characters in Man About Town, to be honest---aren't the real issue here, though none are remotely close to three-dimensional. Still, they'd be passable enough as the center of a compelling story.

Of course, Man About Town doesn't quite offer us a compelling story. The glacial pacing ensures that when twists and turns arrive (and they do, on more than one occasion), we're usually past the point of caring. Additionally, the story's one-sided approach---told from Jack's perspective, often making use of melancholy voice-over narration---will certainly rub some viewers the wrong way. Obviously, viewers that can empathize with Affleck's character may be able to stomach more of the slow stretches, but there's plenty of rough road here. It's not a total loss, but most viewers have seen similar plotlines in much more impressive films already.

The recent DVD release by Lions Gate Entertainment isn't half bad, especially considering that Man About Town never arrived in American theaters. The main feature is paired with a solid technical presentation, though the extras are fairly hollow and predictable. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and enhanced for widescreen displays, Man About Town looks fairly good from start to finish. The natural color palette holds up well, black levels are solid and no major digital problems were spotted along the way (save for a few mild artifacts). Overall, it's a quality effort that fans should enjoy.

The audio also get the job done, available in your choice of Dolby 5.1 Surround or 2.0 mixes. As expected, this dialogue-driven film won't give your rear speakers a workout, but it's still hard to complain overall. Dialogue is clean and clear from start to finish, while the music cues added some occasional punch.

Also here is a round of Deleted and Extended Scenes (13 minutes), most of which add a few minor character moments and the like; it's easy to see why this stuff didn't make the final cut, but it's nice to have anyway. Closing things out is a brief Blooper Reel...for the behind-the-scenes featurette, not the movie. Perhaps you simply had to be there?

It's certainly not the worst film of the year, but Man About Town is simply too flat for its own good. Affleck gives a passable performance (though he's in familiar territory) and the story has its moments, but the uneven pacing is simply another nail in the coffin. The DVD presentation by Lions Gate pairs the main feature with a decent technical presentation, while the extras are nothing to write home about. Straight-to-DVD releases from major studios are usually a bad sign---and though it isn't as bad as American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, Man About Town still isn't worth a blind buy. Affleck fans may consider a weekend rental, but everyone else can safely Skip It.