Nice Guy Johnny (2010/Film Buff/MPI DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Feature: C-
Edward
Burns was considered a potential breakout filmmaker after The Brothers McMullen was a hit that put him on the map, but he
became distracted, had little to say and became more of an actor at times, but
that has not amounted to much and his performances have not been distinct. Except for Saving Private Ryan, his look has been interchangeable and the
totality of it all has been very disappointing.
Nice Guy Johnny (2010) is his
newest feature and I was hoping it would be a nice surprise. Instead, it is a run-on disappointment.
The
engaging Matt Bush (Mottola’s Adventureland)
plays the title character, a sports radio talk show host who is about to be
married to his fiancée, but his uncle (ill advisedly played by Burns) wants to
convince him maybe he should still meet some other women before he ties the
knot. From there, he meets a tennis pro
(Kerry Bishé) and then, this becomes as predictable as you could imagine.
The
talent is here and Burns can tell at least a basic story, but why not take some
risks? Why not just direct and stay out
of the picture for a change? Why not
come up with dialogue that sounds like people talking to each other and not at
each other? I did not buy this for a
minute, though I was at least hoping it would become interesting and maybe
funny. No luck. This nice
guy sadly finishes next to last.
The anamorphically
enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot some kind of bad high definition video and
wow, does it look bad, choppy, strained, loaded with motion blur and one of the
oddest frame rate mismatches we have see to date and it is not a defect in the
disc. Burns’ films never looked too good
or memorable, but this is bad and even obnoxious, with all these problems being
unnecessary and surprising for a name talent in their work. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is as bad with terrible
sound recording and reproduction, including too much sound in the center
channel. Hope this was not Dogme influenced!
Extras
include a teaser theatrical trailer, feature length audio commentary With
Burns, Deleted Footage and Original Casting Footage.
- Nicholas Sheffo
