Plot: What’s it about?
After four years of good times with his friends in college, Jack (Ben Affleck) is starting to have some serious doubts. Not about the good times or his friends, but about the future and what direction he wants to head into. This came about because graduation looms only a couple of days off and of course, he begins to think about the real world that awaits him. When he thinks of that real world, he also thinks about all the fun he’s had at college, the friends he has made, and the idea of giving all that up to become a member of the real world. His doubts aren’t helped by the impending separation of his friend circle, as they head off to other cities to pursue their lives, switch schools to further their education, or simply prepare to waste their lives in one way or another. It seems as if the real world has nothing but misery to offer him, so he opens up to his friends and of course, they also begin to question the logic in leaving college behind. The move makes sense, but since it involves leaving all the fun and memories behind, it weighs on their minds. As time passes, it becomes obvious that a choice has to be made and soon. Will they return to school and continue their wild times, or will they realize that the party is over?
This movie has a number of well known names involved, but not all of them were famous when Glory Daze was produced. You’ll see such folks as Ben Affleck, French Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Alyssa Milano, Megan Ward, Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Sean Whalen, Matthew McConaughey, Spalding Gray, and even more famous people, all of whom were foolish enough to become involved in this lackluster picture. Even with writing from Rich Wilkes (The Stoned Age, Airheads, XXX), Glory Daze comes off as a rushed, written & shot over a weekend kind of movie, one that has potential, but doesn’t capitalize on much of it. Yes, the movie is fun to watch because of the stars in lame roles, but given the talent involved, you would assume the end result would be better than this low rent feature film. I do have to say that some of the dialogue is humorous, but not enough time was taken to refine the material, which is a shame. If additional time was put into tuning up the script, this might have been a really fun movie, but as it stands, Glory Daze is a disappointment. I do think it is worth a rental to those interested, but don’t expect a lost gem with this one. Columbia must have known this one was a clunker too, as their disc has minimal effort involved and zero supplements, so I said, a rental should suffice in all cases.
I would comment on Ben Affleck’s hilariously bad performance here, but I think we’ve all come to expect such presence. I did find Affleck to be great as Shannon in Mallrats, but his recent efforts in the world of blockbusters has left me cold. Affleck works best as a supporting level player, especially as comic relief, but I haven’t seen too much of his leading work that impressed me. And when he has a major role within a movie, unless he’s surrounded by high level talents, he often fails to carry the movie. I do like Affleck’s presence at times though, which is why I wish he would drop the mainstream blockbusters route and return to some low key comedies, which is where his skills are best used. In Glory Daze, he is given a role that he simply cannot handle, as no one would believe him as a disgruntled punk rocker. Other films with Affleck include Daredevil, The Sum of All Fears, Pearl Harbor, Shakespeare in Love, Reindeer Games, and Chasing Amy. The cast also includes Sam Rockwell (The Green Mile, Galaxy Quest), French Stewart (Love Stinks, Clockstoppers), and Alyssa Milano (Commando, Embrace of the Vampire).
Video: How does it look?
Glory Daze is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a full screen edition also included on this dual layered disc. This was an obvious low rent production, which includes the film stock used and as we all know, cheap film stock often hinders the eventual home video visual presentation. Such is the case here, where the image is more than watchable, but looks more like a home movie than a feature film, to be sure. The print has nicks and other wear signs, while grain is present in almost every scene, which further lessens the visuals. The colors look stable, but a little washed out in most sequences, while black levels look solid throughout, but not as refined as we might want. So this is not a terrible transfer, but Columbia was able to do only so much here, given the poor source material.
Audio: How does it sound?
The back of the case lists a Dolby Digital 5.1 option, but that is a misprint, as the sole audio choice is a 2.0 track. As was the case with the video, the audio is held back because of production limitations, but sounds acceptable. The punk rock soundtrack sounds hard and rough, just as it should and the other elements are passable. The dialogue is usually clean and audible, but some scenes are muffled and harder to understand. This is not a frequent flaw however and given the low rent nature of the movie, its somewhat expected. A basic, unremarkable audio soundtrack for a basic, unremarkable motion picture. This disc also includes subtitles in English and French, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
