Directed by:
Eric Weber
Starring:
Joe Pantoliano ………. Elliot
Boyd Gaines ………. Richard
Peter Gerety ………. Marshall
Bronson Pinchot ………. Doc Klingenstein
Matthew Arkin ………. Gerald
Jennifer Tilly ………. Carole
Stephen Bogardus ………. George
Barbara Barrie ………. Dorothea
Polly Draper ………. Paula
James Ryan ………. Danny
Stephen Sable ………. Lum Chin
Damian Young ………. Robert Stern
The Movie
Second Best is one of those movies where at its heart is a great concept but due to low… well everything, it gets deteriorated from what it could have been and becomes barely average. The story is about Elliot who along with his group of friends were born in the 50’s during the baby boomers era and now here they are at the age of 50 nowhere near where they saw themselves when they were growing up. Richard one of their closest childhood friends is coming to town and is the only one of them to ever really become successful as he’s now a Hollywood studio executive who finances films.
Elliot has become a writer but is so insecure with what he writes he pays a teenager three bucks an hour to pass flyers he prints out with his work on them around town. Everything he imagined growing up never came to fruition, as he nears his half century mark on the planet all he had is gone. His wife left him and remarried, his son is a gay dentist and all he has is his house, his dog, his writing and a set of golf clubs. With very little to look forward to he’s become bitter just hoping to find a fast track to break out and make something of himself.
Now divorced, unemployed living off alimony from his Ex and still trying to convert his gay son to atleast try a relationship with a woman, Elliot only has his writing which are all mostly observations of the average loser in all of us giving the cold hard truth many know or have experienced. He’ll write pages about his friends and read them aloud to his small group of school buddies constantly promising that the next piece will be a reflective look at his own past. However he finds it difficult to stare at himself and write because he knows that what ever he puts down on paper will be too true and too depressing.
The only reason to check out the film sadly is Pantoliano’s acting who as always doesn’t disappoint. Everyone else in the cast do their best with the movie but there are certain things that keep anyone from running ahead of the pack. But the Elliot character is given some good dynamics and depth that he’s a very intriguing person to watch, too bad the plot seems so unalluring and dull.
Score: 5/10
The Video
(Presented in 1.33:1 Full Frame)
For it’s time using DV (digital) cameras were very new and very low budget, and while the technology has advanced over the years this was made three years ago and really shows it with the quality of footage. Since watching the movie means you need to actually look at it, it gets annoying watching such a low quality shaky style of recording. Was there not enough money in the budget for a tripod or some type of steady cam rig?
The Audio
(English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
Audio comes out as clear as you could hope for with such a low budget film, most is conversation which comes out fine. The 2.0 track that was included does as good a job that it can.
The Extras
Feature Length Commentary – Joe Pantoliano and director Eric Weber are the two people on the track and the guys do a wonderful job of blending an informative commentary on working with a tight budget and how it was working on the film along with joking around with one another. It’s a nice bonus feature for the disc and for those who like hearing tracks about how it is working on a film and some tricks of the trade might like hearing it.
Trailer Gallery – Trailers for Second Best, Murderball, Dallas 362 and The Aristocrats.
Score: 3.5/10
