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The Singing Detective

The Singing Detective on DVD

In a time when the musical seems to be doing its best to make a comeback, The Singing Detective is exactly the kind of movie that could set it back another few years.

Not to say that it’s a bad movie, but as a musical it just doesn’t cut it. In fact, it doesn’t even come close to cutting it.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Dan Dark, a pulp-fiction author with an immobilizing condition that leaves him in the hospital for an extended period of time. He’s a man with some serious physical and psychological issues, so much so that he lives his life alternating between reality and fantasy.

Dark has written a book called The Singing Detective, a story of murder, seduction and betrayal that takes place in 1950s Los Angeles. The title character is one of the best detectives in the game, overshadowed only by his talent as a dance-band singer. Dark imagines himself living the life of the singing detective whenever his real life becomes more than he can handle. The only person who can truly help him is a mild-mannered psychotherapist (Mel Gibson, in one of his best performances to date) who may be a lot smarter than he looks.

This is not the kind of movie to which you can sit back and pay only half attention. If you don’t give it your all, you may not understand what the hell is going on (as proof, we were paying complete attention and we still had trouble piecing everything together). It’s a mishmash of scenes with a mishmash of characters that does its best to string you along.

The musical numbers are nothing more than oldies rock n’ roll tunes with the actors and extras lip-syncing and dancing up a storm. Not that we have anything against oldies rock n’ roll, it just doesn’t really qualify for being called a musical.

Robert Downey Jr. is terrific in the title role. It’s a crying shame that he’s had so many problems with drugs over the years, because he deserves A-list status and recognition from the Academy (more than just a single nomination). Gibson, as the bald and thick-glassed psychiatrist, is almost unrecognizable, but he really gets to show off his acting chops. Katie Holmes, Jeremy Northam, Carla Gugino and Adrien Brody all have bit parts, and do their best. Robin Wright Penn, formerly a very beautiful woman, seems to have been bitten by some kind of plasma-sucking insect. She’d be as beautiful as ever in this movie, if she were anything other than skin and bone.

The Singing Detective isn’t the worst movie of the year, but it’s certainly not great. In fact, it’s one of those movies that you could skip entirely and not really miss anything. If you’ve seen all the good movies, give this one a try.

Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, this is one of the most mediocre DVDs on the market. The picture quality is okay, but there’s a bit of grain in several places, and it looks pretty soft. Colors and detail are well done, and the grain does give it more of a film noir-ish feel.

Audio is equally okay, using the front speakers and not much else. There are plenty of surround opportunities, particularly during the “musical” numbers, but for some reason this track is entirely front-restricted. Even the subwoofer doesn’t get much of a workout.

The only extra on the disc, other than a few trailers, is an audio commentary by director Keith Gordon.

Speaking of trailers, it’s nice that Paramount is now giving you the option to watch the previews at the beginning of the disc. When you pop it in, it loads to a screen that gives you the choice of either checking out the trailers, or going straight to the menu. It’s a nice touch, and certainly better than it has been of late (they usually force you to watch them), but they should still just stick them all in the “trailers” section and not make us go through an extra step to get to the menu. Still, though, it’s a step in the right direction.

The Singing Detective, from Paramount Home Entertainment
108 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Robin Wright Penn, Jeremy Northam, Katie Holmes, Carla Gugino, Adrien Brody and Mel Gibson
Produced by Mel Gibson, Steven Haft, Bruce Davey
Screenplay by Dennis Potter, Directed by Keith Gordon

 

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