The Golden Boys (2008/Lionsgate DVD)

 

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

 

 

In a film drama originally intended to have Peter Boyle before his passing,

Writer/Director Daniel Adams brought together David Carradine, Bruce Dern, Rip Torn, Charles During and Mariel Hemmingway in The Golden Boys (2008) only to see cast member Carradine pass before the film reached home video.  The adaptation of a book by Joseph C. Lincoln is a period drama/comedy.

 

Hemmingway is a woman who has a home and if one of the three veteran fishermen can seduce and marry her, the others will not be homeless.  The cast is good, the idea amusing and locations even work, but the resulting film is unfortunately too light and uneven despite some good performances.  It is odd to watch with Carradine (in what is not his last work) no longer with us, but as you watch, you see what a good actor he could really be.  Even when the film falls flat, the actors, also including Julie Harris and John Savage, make it bearable.  For the most interested viewers only.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image can be soft, but any stylizing is limited.  The look is not bad, but does not feel totally authentic.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better than the Dolby 2.0 Stereo, but it is still dialogue-based and only has so much going for it dynamically as expected.  Extras include a trailer and retrospective tribute to Carradine.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo