Harold (2008/City Lights DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Film: C-

 

 

Another would-be pre-teen comedy, Sean Shannon’s Harold (2008) is about a young man (Spencer Breslin) who has a hair loss problem, issues in growing up and narrates his “adventures’ in living and dealing with constant annoyances.  Unfortunately, this would-be comedy is more like a package deal with plastic dialogue, predictable situations and a cast list that seems more like filler than casting.

 

That includes Cuba Gooding Jr. (always a bad sign, save American Gangster), Ally Sheedy, Nikki Blonsky, Dave Attell, Rachel Dratch, Nicky Katt, Chris Parnell, Colin Quinn and Fred Willard in a stale, tired work that is never believable and the title character’s dialogue and voiceover never sounds like his age.  There is no innocence or discovery of anything, meaning he is somewhat of a know-it-all and that never works.  It’s like a bad 1980s sitcom.  Breslin is Abigail’s older brother and that does not surprise us, with the overprocessed acting and talking-at style that never works.

 

The case says this is another Napoleon Dynamite, but it is too phony to begin to compare to, as Napoleon had some innocence and character.  Harold is like a bad film writer’s mind in a child’s body. 

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 x 1 image is soft and colors are limited.  It is supposedly shot in 35mm, but this is so weak, you’d think it was HD.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is also weak, showing the budget limits.  There us no way multi-channel was considered.  Extras include the trailer and an interviews piece, but the makers can forget a hit or even cult status.  Yawn!

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo