The Good Guy (2009/Lionsgate DVD)

 

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

 

 

The lack of any good films about teen and young adult relationships is a horrendous wasteland of self-centered garbage, commercial films where the only happiness is going to the mall and rarely today are any of these films honest.  Though Julio DePietro’s The Good Guy (2009) may not be perfect, it was surprisingly ambitious in its attempts to honestly show a love triangle gone wrong despite attempts on all sides to make things worse and to make sense of it.

 

Beth (Alexis Bledel in her best work since Sin City) is a business ready New York City gal looking for a future and happiness.  She believes things are better when she meets the young, ambitious Wall Street stock investor Tommy (Scott Porter of TV’s Friday Night Lights and good as Rex Racer in the otherwise atrocious Speed Racer movie), but he starts to develop issues and she starts to become interested in his more reserved, quiet friend Daniel (Bryan Greenberg) as Tommy’s worst sides start to surface.

 

DePietro’s script is not bad, but despite being more realistic than expected, still does not go as deep into the character study aspects that I was hoping for when this started to get good.  Still, the cast is good and if this is your kind of film, you should give it a look.  This could be a transitional breakthrough for many involved.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was reportedly shot in 35mm and has some good shots throughout, but it is not a consistent presentation, though I would like to see a Blu-ray or film print of it.  Video Black and detail can be an issue.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 is well recorded and has more of a soundfield than usual for a dialogue-based production.  Extras include a Theatrical Trailer and feature-length audio commentary by DePietro and Bledel.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo