DVD REVIEW

Dedication (2007)

Weinstein Company || R || Feb 12, 2008

Synopsis

Henry Roth (Billy Crudup) is a successful children’s writer more comfortable with fiction than real people. When his only friend and collaborator passes away, Henry must team with Lucy (Mandy Moore!) – a beautiful-but-sassy illustrator who drives him crazy before eventually melting his gruff heart.


Critique

The best thing about Dedication is the way it shows how these two children’s book authors find their inspiration. Marty the Beaver, their latest and greatest creation, comes to them as they watch a porno film. It’s one of those touches that feels so honest, like it’s based on a real person.

Well, maybe that’s the second best thing about Dedication. Tom Wilkinson is the best thing about the film, just as he is the best thing about nearly every film he’s in. He is the most interesting character in the film, and he gets precious little screen time. After his character dies early in the film, I found myself losing interest. He pops up here and there, in Henry’s mind, but don’t get enough of him to really matter.

Henry could be the most compelling person in the film, but he is not. Like the film itself, Henry is drawn too broadly. He is dangerously unlikable, but, worse than that, he is unrelatable. Henry is a mean, snotty guy. We know that he has had a hard life, a rough childhood, but we never get into the character enough to really care. By the time he starts to change, starts to grow and evolve in any way, it is too late in the film to matter.

Lucy is not much better written. She cries a lot, gets pushed around by Henry, her mother, and her ex-boyfriend. Even when she finally stands up for herself she looks weak; we know the change is temporary. She takes so much abuse from Henry it’s a wonder she stays around at all, even with the money that is being thrown at her. Her career as an illustrator never seems that important to her, but she sure goes through hell to make it work.

Dedication uses a cool, blue color scheme that works in the context of the film. Mandy Moore is especially emo, with enough eyeliner to make Panic at the Disco! reconsider their look. For as much detail as obviously went into the visual aspect of the film, it doesn’t seem like there was as much attention given to the script. The broad strokes are there, but the characters are never fully fleshed out. The cast does well with what they have, but they only have so much to work with.

Dedication is not the lame romantic comedy it might seem to be, and it’s not a bad film. The problem is that the film is too muted to ever be truly engaging.


Video

Dedication is presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio. The transfer is sharp, and the films cool color scheme, the blues that dominate nearly every frame, is expertly rendered.


Audio

The presentation on this disc is clear and well balanced, but it feels muted. It’s hard to tell if that’s how the film is supposed to sound, or if the disc has an awkward mix. The levels are all over the place, and the overall presentation isn’t consistently sharp.


Special Features

Nothing! I can’t help but be astounded …


Final Thoughts

Dedication is not the kind of by-the-numbers romantic comedy the promotional material might make it seem. Still, it is a choppy, pedestrian film that never lives up to its potential. The actors do well with what they have, but whole ends up less than the sum of its parts. The audio-visual presentation is good, but I never cease to be amazed at a DVD that is released with nothing in the way of bonus material.

VERDICT: RENT IT

 

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Review posted on Mar 16, 2008 | Share this article | Top of Page

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