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The Movie:
Ah, another weird straight-to-video entry passes before me. "Dish Dogs" is slightly different though, as it actually contains some familiar faces. Matthew Lillard and Sean Astin (you may remember the later from "Rudy" and the former from "She's All That") play two dishwashers who spout philosophy about life that they take seriously, but that everyone around them finds rather idiotic. The two hit the road to find the meaning of their lives, although from the first moment, it seems obvious that the two are probably lucky they even have a job washing dishes.
The two of them have plenty of idiot adventures on the road as they do interesting things like wash dishes for money along the way, but there's also a love story thrown in, of course. Astin's character falls in love with a stripper (played by "American Pie"'s Shannon Elizabeth, in another straight-to-video role capitalizing on her "Pie" fame).
There's literally nothing funny about this movie, and there's plenty of stretches where almost nothing happens. Astin's performance is terrible, which is dissapointing after he's done some good work in the past. Lillard also can be pretty decent when he wants to be ("S.L.C. Punk"), but he falls flat here trying to be a "surfer dude". Brian Dennehy (what the hell is Brian Dennehy doing here?) also appears, to little effect. Irritating characters, bad dialogue, slow movie.
The DVD
VIDEO: Trimark offers "Dish Dogs" in a non-anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer that manages to show off the film decently, but makes it obvious that not a great deal of work twas put into the presentation of this little movie. Sharpness is lacking for much of the film, as the picture often seems variably soft and wanting in detail. The darker scenes seem a little murky.
There's more to talk about though - print flaws appear often - a good deal of marks, scratches and slight speckles. Pixelation and shimmer are slightly visible a couple of times, but doesn't become distracting. Colors are decent though, looking bold and vibrant, especially during some of the exterior scenes.
SOUND: The Dolby 4.0 soundtrack offers both positives and some negatives. There's some decent surround use throughout the movie, whether it be for the music or for the occasional unnatural and forced sound effect. Audio quality is generally fine, although it seems rather flat at times, lacking bass. The negative remains that the dialogue tends to get overshadowed by the music or whatever else is going on at the time - not completely, mind you - but I have to strain to hear the occasional sentence.
MENUS:: Menus are non-animated, with very basic images serving as backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Some decently funny outtakes, photo gallery w/director's comments, trailer, music video.
Final Thoughts:
Positive: ?.
Negative: Bad movie. Decent DVD but nothing worth even a rental.
Film Grade
The Film 1/2 Star
DVD Grades
Video 79/C+ = (316/400 possible points)
Audio: 80/B- = (320/400 possible points)
Extras: 75/C = (225/300 possible points)
Menus: 70/C- = (140/200 possible points)
Value: 75/C = (225/300 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1226/1600
DVD GRADE:C/76%
FILM GRADE: 1/2 star
DVD GRADE: C
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