Ball Of Wax (Baseball Drama)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Main Program: B-
In the world of new feature length fiction videotaped,
Daniel Kraus’ Ball Of Wax (2002) is a rare exception to the glut of
would-be films not on film that are more about goofing off than telling a
story. The story here is about major
baseball player Bret Packard (Mark Mench) and his ability to be a bastard, now
that he has peaked in his life and become bored. Like many egotistical sports figures who do everything they can
wrong and too often get away with it, becoming morally bankrupt by getting too
much too soon and not really earning it, Bret will exploits everyone’s
non-success and insecurity by getting them to turn on each other without
knowing it.
The manipulation is assisted by his success putting him
above suspicion, because why would he lie when he has everything? This even gets sexual, as it turns out more
of these people are emotional cripples than Bret could have ever hoped
for. Mench fits the role well, stealing
many scenes, but playing the seduction card and pushing the bi-sexual boundary
without actually delving into it or having to back up his craziness. The problem is no one calls him on it, which
is why his quiet rampage is as successful as it is.
Kraus has a good idea here and runs with it better than
expected, though it is not as well rounded as it could have been. The world of baseball is not as convincing
as it needs to be for the mian story to work, while a few of the characters
that oppose Bret should be more drawn up to really get the most out of the
idea. Too bad he could not have used
this as a demo to get a longer, more developed version filmed, but there is
talent here and that is rare in these taped features.
The letterboxed 1.78 X 1/16 X 9 image is passable but has
some composition troubles, as if letterboxing was not thought of in
advance. With that said, the camera at
least gets close to the subjects in smart, direct ways that show initiative on
the part of Kraus and cameraman Michael Caporale. It would be interesting to see what they might do with film, but
they used Panasonic 480p video in this case and it shows. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and
adequate, though the songs in between segments do not work. Extras include an audio commentary by Kraus
and Mench, confirming what happened and that Kraus tried to make the film
mysterious where it did not need to be.
Three deleted scenes that deserved to be cut, auditions, a small stills
gallery, a 3/3/2003 All Songs Considered segment on the film’s
soundtrack and a film festival Q&A that is amusing. This is worth seeing once, especially if you
enjoy baseball.
- Nicholas Sheffo
