Why So Blu?

Every Day (Blu-ray Review)

I am really at a loss for what to say about Every Day.  The film is full of great actors, and they all performed beautifully.  I just don’t see the point of this movie or why all these actors signed on to do this project.  I will admit that drama isn’t my favorite genre.  I understand that life isn’t pretty and I don’t expect everything to be wrapped up in a nice little bow for me at the end.  But the only lesson Every Day seems to offer is that life sucks sometimes and just when you think that it can’t suck anymore – it does.

Film 

Richard Levine, who is a writer/producer for Nip/Tuck wrote and directed an all star cast.  Liev Schrieber (Salt) stars as Ned.  Ned is a married father of two boys and is generally not a happy guy.  He dislikes his job, and has a strained relationship with his over-stressed wife Jeannie, played by Helen Hunt (As Good as it Gets) who is not much happier than Ned.

Ned works as a TV writer and his boss (Eddie Izzard) constantly wants re-writes and new ideas that Ned just can’t produce.  Ned’s job causes him to work late hours, miss his son’s recital and end up in the arms of a sexy co-worker.  In addition to those problems his teenage son has recently come out of the closet and desperately wants to attend the gay prom.  Ned is not willing to deal with his sons sexuality and has told no one outside the home that his son is gay.  He also has a very skewed view of what a gay prom.  The decision to let their son attend is one of the many issues Ned and Jeannie don’t see eye to eye on.  To top things off, Ned’s grumpy, ailing, often incontinent father in law has moved in.

If Jeannie and Ned had a perfefct relationship, which they don’t, she would still be  a very unhappy lady  due to her relationship with her father.  Brian Dennehy plays her father Ernie, a man who is in a lot of pain, taking a lot of medication, and doesn’t hesitate to tell his daughter and strangers when his crotch itches or he wants to die.  Her father says flat out he should have never had children and understands that he has been depressed his whole life and unsurprisingly, his relationship with Jeannie has never been good.

Ned is unhappy.  His wife and kids are unhappy. And of course Ernie is unhappy but he’s always unhappy anyway.  And that leaves me asking what’s the point of the movie?   Every Day goes on to show how each member of the family has numerous reasons to justify feeling that way but never offers any solutions or course corrections.  I’ve seen this film listed as a dramedy and I strongly object to that description because while there are a few light moments in the movie, this is more of a straight forward drama than anything else.

Video  

Every Day is presented in an average 1080p High Definition wide-screen transfer (1.85:1) that could have been better for a Blu-ray.  The picture has good detail but the muted tones and low lighting give the film a drab look, despites some flashes of vibrant color.  Black levels are acceptable and the film has excellent contrast.  The biggest drawback to the quality is a lot of film noise which gives it a grainy appearance despite being filmed with the Red One Camera.

Audio  

The DTS –HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is also average.  As this is a dialogue driven film, there really are no significant sound effects or ambient noise to make full use of the surround sound other than a few scenes in a club and at the hospital.  The dialogue is clear and at an even level, but there are very few instances where the the satellite speakers are utilized.  Overall, this is an acceptable mix for a film such as this.

Special Features  

While watching the special features I learned that producer/writer Richard Levine based this movie on a similar experience in his own life.  He explains that his wife did not have a good relationship with her father and he wrote the movie near the time that her father came to live with them.

• Cast Interviews – everyone talks about what a terrific script they had in Everyday and how honored they were to be a part of the movie.  I found this more interesting to watch than the movie.
• Trailer
• Deleted Scenes – At 93 minutes I think the film was long enough. None of these seven deleted scenes would have added to my enjoyment of Every Day.

Final Thoughts  

Every Day is a well acted movie.  I did not like it, but at the same time I can’t classify it as a bad movie due to the excellent performances.  I’ve seen plenty of bad movies and they jump right off the screen at you.  This was an all together different experience.  Every Day just made me feel worse after seeing it than I did before I started.  I already know life isn’t always fun and it certainly isn’t fair and I really don’t need it force fed to me. I know a lot of people will say this is a very true look at real life, and therefore quite relatable.  Nonetheless, I like my dramas a little more hopeful and this movie wasn’t for me.

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