Blu-ray Review: $5 A Day

 

I think my estimates are off. 

 

 

The Flick

Flynn (Alessandro Nivola) has had one hell of a day.  He not only loses his job as a health inspector, but gets dumped by his girlfriend (Amanda Peet) and receives a letter from his estranged father Nat (Christopher Walken), with a plane ticket to Atlantic City asking him to come visit.  Soon after arrival, Nat reveals that he has a brain tumor and is dying soon.  He wants Flynn to drive him to New Mexico for an experimental treatment that could reverse his current situation. Nat has a plan to go the entire trip on $5 a day.



Christopher Walken as the oddball Nat is incredible to watch here.  He plays such a good con man that even I was jealous of his abilities.   He manages to steal every scene he’s in with hilarious results.  The way he tries to steal and talk his way into getting a place to stay or a free meal is incredible to watch.  Alessandro Nivola as Flynn is the more stable of the duo and tries to remain the voice of reason throughout. It works for most of the film until he warms up to Nat and they become a good team.  Although Sharon Stone as Dolores Jones is plastered all over the box art, her role is a minimal one and her character is an annoying one.  Her one saving grace is the small scene she has with Walken before bed time.



Despite this film being labeled as a comedy, $5 A Day tackles some very serious issues that have developed between Nat and Flynn over the years.  In the beginning of the film, Flynn absolutely hates Nat.  Flynn was sent to jail after attempting to steal a car for Nat.  With a felony on his record, Flynn’s life has been a nightmare ever since.  Flynn coming to drive Nat to treatment leads him back to the pain he’s dealt with all this time.  Watching them slowly open up to each other and their differences as the film progresses is another great reason this film excels.

Audio/Video

Although this film is presented 1080p high-definition 1.85:1 Widescreen, it doesn’t really look it.  The entire film features a heavy dose of graininess throughout that really doesn’t represent the standard quality I’m used to with Blu-ray films.  The sound is presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.  It’s a very dialogue heavy film that won’t work your speakers over, but it does a fair job nonetheless.  Hearing the banter between Nat and Flynn will certainly put a smile on your face.



Special Features

$5 A Day on Blu-ray comes as a single disc collection in a non-recycled case with the following extras presented in 480i standard definition:

• Interviews with the director and cast members
• Still Galleries
• Official Trailer

All the interviews combined run about 35 minutes with director Nigel Cole stealing the bulk of the time from the other interviewees.  He offers plenty of insight on how they filmed the movie along with his experience with each of the actors.  The cast offers some small snippets on how it felt to complete the entire film in 23 days.  The Still Galleries consist of production stills, a photo gallery of shots from the film and shots of the cast and crew.  The production stills are worth a look, but after watching the feature, the photo gallery and cast and crew pics don’t really offer anything new.



Overall

The picture quality doesn’t stand up to many other Blu-ray releases, but if you’re a fan of Christopher Walken, you’ll find comedic gold in this release.  For the rest of us, you’ll find a great, fun film that has a little something for everyone.

ComicsOnline gives $5 A Day on Blu-ray 4 out of 5 pink Cruisers.

Buy $5 A Day on Blu-ray at Amazon.com now.

 
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