Dirty Tricks (2000/Acorn Media DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: C+

 

 

Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) plays a womanizer who becomes involved with several women and murder in Dirty Tricks, a 2000 British TV adaptation of Michael Dibdin’s book that wants to be an off-beat comedy and a few other things, but it also more familiar (think Alfie or Tom Jones) down to his constantly (too much) addressing the camera/audience directly.  Clunes can do the comedy, but this eventually becomes a pastiche of everything we’ve seen before.

 

However, the supporting cast (including Lindsay Duncan, Julie Graham and James Bolam) are a plus and Clunes has the energy to hold his own.  Some will enjoy this as a throwback of sorts to a better time for such comedy with some dark overtones, but I felt it only made it so far before becoming too familiar.  Guess you’ll have to see this one yourself to see if you agree or not.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has some good shots and even good locations, but is a little softer than I would have liked.  Color is not bad.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo does not have great surrounds, but is well recorded for what it is.  The only extras are text cast filmographies and a biography of author Dibdin.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo