When I first found out that I would be reviewing the Blu-ray movie, Stuck, I did some quick research on the web. After reading about the premise of the movie and how it was somewhat based on actual events, I was able to recall hearing the factual news story years ago. I remember being amazed and intrigued by what really happened. That is why I was really excited and looking forward to seeing what Stuck had to offer me. I went in with no hopes or expectations. I just wanted to be entertained and enthralled.
Stuck is loosely based on a true story that rocked the headlines momentarily in 2001. The factual story unfolds through the following chain of events. Chante Jawan Mallard struck a homeless man, Greggory Biggs, while driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Confused and not knowing what to do Mallard proceeded to drive home, with Biggs “stuck” in her windshield, and parked the car in her garage for the night. She did not call for help, notify the authorities or offer any kind of medical attention to the helpless man. The following morning, she checked on the man still lodged in her windshield and refused to offer any help. The homeless man died a couple days later. Mallard and a couple of her friends disposed of the body and set her car on fire to destroy any evidence. She and her accomplices were arrested. Chante Mallard was later convicted with a 50-year prison sentence.
Stuck premiered at the Cannes Film Market on May 21, 2007. It went on to be shown at a number of other film festivals. If you are scratching your head, as I was, and wondering why you never heard of this at the theater you can wonder no more. Stuck opened in limited release at only 2 theaters in the United States. It only grossed an estimated $10,000. Surprisingly, it did manage to receive very favorable reviews from the critics.
Stuck was produced and written by Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond). Stuart Gordon drifts from the factual events to give us more insight into character development and to build tension. I can’t help but find myself torn between two ways of thinking. I can’t put my finger on it whether or not Gordon’s take was intended as a dark comedy of errors or whether he was sincerely trying to make a horror/thriller film. I think I found myself laughing more than I should have.
Stuck opens up with retirement-home caregiver, Brandi Boski (Mena Suvari), wishing to get promoted to a NA Captain job. She is frustrated that in order to get ahead in her job she needs to put in extra time and work extra shifts, particularly on Saturdays. It all sounds way too familiar to me. The whole be careful what you wish for phrase echoes through my head. Anyway, like most shift workers she likes to go out and have a good time after work. One fateful Friday night her and her friend meet up with her boyfriend Rashid (Russell Hornsby) at a club. One thing leads to another but by night’s end Brandi is heavily intoxicated from both alcohol and drugs. A real poster child for the health care industry one could say. Meanwhile, Tom (Stephen Rea), is out of work, down on his luck and today of all days…homeless. It is here where are two main characters’ worlds collide. Brandi, like a fool, attempts to drive herself home even though she in no way, shape or form should she be doing so. On her way home she accidentally hits pedestrian Tom with her car. Tom ends up getting his bones shattered as he flies headfirst through Brandi’s windshield. Frightened and shocked Brandi decides to drive home with Tom sticking halfway into her car’s windshield. This is where it gets both humorous and ridiculous. You mean to tell me that no one ever sees her driving around with a man in her windshield? Much like the factual story in 2001, Brandi ends up driving home with Tom still in her windshield and promises to get him help. She ends up parking her car in the garage and tries to wipe the blood off her seats with a Kleenex. That was a hilarious scene, although I don’t think it was intended to be one. She kind of ignores Tom’s plead for help and proceeds to go into her house where she morally debates whether or not she should place a call for help.
It is at this point of the movie where I felt it was finally going somewhere. I was really starting to get into the moral tension and dilemma that Brandi’s character was facing. In her mind she knows that without proper medical attention Tom is certainly going to die. Obviously, she knows what the right thing to do is. However, her boyfriend, Rashid, steers her in a different direction and urges her to consider the consequences of how this will impact her life and career over a homeless person that no one will ever care about nor even know is missing. That is certainly a conundrum I wish upon no one to ever have to live through and decide. When Tom realizes he is being left to die he attempts many painful experimental escape plans. This is where the movie starts down a path of unrealistic measures and almost begins to take a comedic route instead of the seriousness we were treated to in the first half of the film. I am not going to spoil it for anyone but there is no way a man could live through as long as he does, everything Tom is subjected to. The conclusion of the film also takes on its own leg as justice is delivered in different ways than what actually happened in the news story this movie was based upon. There are some pretty grotesque moments in this film but the comedic elements of those moments, overshadows the seriousness. This is how I found myself torn between the writer’s intention of where he wanted to take this movie and how he wanted to deliver its message. One cannot argue how definitely ironic it is that a nursing home caregiver could ever be so ignorant to the primal needs of an injured person. The writer definitely hit home on that level of moral irony.
Video
Stuck comes to the Blu-ray format utilizing an AVC MPEG-4 video codec with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The video quality is just average at best. This is not a video transfer that you will want to use for your home theater demo sessions. I could not help but feel that I was watching something that looked like it belonged in the early 80’s. It had that low budget kind of feel to it. There were many problems I found with the transfer. In the first half of the film there were some very distracting artifacts on the screen. In more than several occasions I noticed black and white blemishes on the print as well as speckles throughout. The overall image quality was very soft yet the skin tones were very natural looking. Blacks are solid for the most part but I did notice areas of grain. While I think the muted and washed colors are of director’s intent I just find this transfer very unworthy of the Blu-ray format considering the print was lifted off filming that took place circa 2007.
Audio
Image Entertainment delivers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless audio surround track on the Blu-ray release of Stuck. There really is not much to say here. This is not a big action thriller and there are only very subtle uses of surround effects utilized throughout the film. With that being said, I do feel they did an excellent job in the mix of the dialogue tracks. Every spoken word was intelligent and clear. Like the video, I feel the audio mix was adequate at best. Again, this is not demo worthy material here but the audio holds it own for what it was intended to achieve.
Special Features
The special features of the Stuck Blu-ray disc will really only appeal to the viewers who want to know more about the factual events of the original news story in which this movie is loosely based upon. With the exception of the commentary tracks, all of the special features are only in 480i standard-definition. Let’s take a moment to dissect the small list of special features to be found on the Stuck Blu-ray. The special features are as follows.
Audio Commentary – The audio commentary track features director Stuart Gordon, writer John Strysik and actress Mena Suvari.
Ripped from the Headlines – (SD) This featurette is a 17-minute behind the scenes documentary in addition to actual news footage.
The Gory Details – (SD) This is a 9-minute look at the makeup and special effects utilized in Stuck.
Driving Forces – (SD) This is an 8-minute video interview with director Stuart Gordon and writer John Strysik about the adaptation of the actual news story into the feature film.
Interviews and Exclusive Footage from AFI Dallas International Film Festival – (SD) This is a 17-minute collection of footage that covers the discussion of the real-life event and an interview from a reporter that covered the Mallard trial.
Theatrical Trailer
Final Thoughts
If you made it through my review this far and you still feel interested in giving this title a view then I would highly recommend a trip to your local Blockbuster to give this Blu-ray a rental first. I warn against a blind buy of this movie in fear that it may not warrant repeat viewings like many other Blu-rays scream for. I was very into the subject matter upon going in for my initial viewing but kind of turned off from the comedic elements and unrealistic happenings scripted in the screen play. Had the movie been more realistic and treated in a more serious fashion I think I could have enjoyed this more so than I did. Instead it just felt like a low budget movie from the 80’s with a murky video transfer to back that statement up. You may call it director’s intent or whatever term you like to say the look is intentional, but anyway you slice it, this is not a beautiful looking Blu-ray. In my opinion, Stuck, is only an average Blu-ray release that will appeal to fans of the film only. At least with a rental, you are not “stuck” or obligated to continue watching the film if it is not up to snuff with your viewing tastes. While there are good things that can still be said about the underlying story here, I ask readers to please take caution with this one, and rent before blind buying.
