Multiple Sarcasms (2010/Image Blu-ray)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Feature: C

 

 

Timothy Hutton is a smart, likable actor and has been ambitious about his projects working, including working as a producer on some of them.  Brooks Branch’s Multiple Sarcasms (2010) is another “guy who has it all but is unhappy” tale that we have seen too often before, but like so many others, this one never gets to why the guy is unhappy and never makes any big statement about it, so we just get formulaic situation drama, though having Mira Sorvino, Dana Delany, Chris Sarandon and Stockard Channing does not hurt.

 

Joan Jett and Mario Van Peebles also show up, but that just makes it more quirky and odd as the married Gabriel (Hutton) To free himself, he decides to write his way out of his misery by penning an autobiography in the form of a stage play, but his life is so messed up internally that all this will do is make it more so externally.  Can he survive?  Can we?

 

Hutton has tried this kind of project before where he leads an ensemble cast in what he hopes is good material and at least it is somewhat ambitious, but it seriously misses the mark when all is said and done, so only the most interested should bother.

 

The 1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot on High Definition video and is simply washed out throughout and makes this look cheap like a bad TV movie, which is only furthered by the DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 track that sound like stereo that was stretched out more than it should have been.  These actors deserve better.  Extras include the original theatrical trailer, cast/crew interviews and a making of featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo