Plot: What’s it about?
Rachel (Megan Ward) is married to Holden (David Dukes), who is very wealthy, but doesn’t treat Rachel as she deserves. He always corrects her speech and seems to talk down to her, all while trying to make all of her decisions for her as well. As he showers in preparation for a trip to visit his daughter, Rachel phones her best friend Carla (Karen Minter). It seems like the two were supposed to have plans for that evening, but Megan seems hesitant, though she soon breaks down and agrees to join her friend. When Holden exits the shower, he and Megan head off to the airport, where he once again treats her like a child, tells her what to wear that night, and then badmouths her best friend, right to her own face. But Megan and Carla have plans of their own, plans which could involve teaching Holden a lesson, once and for all. Later that night, the two friends meet at a local bar and run into Travis (Linden Ashby), a handsome cowboy. As time passes, it looks as if their plan to rake in the bucks and get some payback could be foolproof, but as they soon discover, no plan ever proves to be that foolproof.
The cover makes this seem like a shameless Bound clone, but in truth, Tick Tock is a more than decent picture, for what it is. It has a minimal budget and that shows at times, but it looks better than most made for cable movies, which is about what I expected here. I don’t think Tick Tock is great by any means, but it offers a brisk session of escapism, with a solid (if unoriginal) storyline and a couple of good performances. Megan Ward (Encino Man) and Kristin Minter (American Virgin) have the leads & do well enough, while Linden Ashby (Mortal Kombat) , John Ratzenberger (TV’s Cheers), and David Dukes (Gods and Monsters) complete the basic cast lineup of Tick Tock. As I mentioned, I liked Tick Tock and while it can’t stack up against the big studios & their thrillers, for the second tier market, this was one cool flick. I ended up watching it a couple of times and it lost little the second time, even though I already knew about the twists & turns. This disc from Avalanche has a nice anamorphic widescreen transfer and is well worth the price of a rental, though I wish more extras were included, or at least a commentary track or featurette.
Video: How does it look?
Tick Tock is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The image looks better than expected, but some minor issues still surface here. As this is a lower budget film, there is some grain evident, but it’s never extreme, so no serious problems there. But in a few scenes, the contrast is a little too dark and when you couple that with the grain, it causes detail to be compromised, which is a let down. But these scenes are infrequent and on the whole, black levels seem on the mark and true, with a solid overall detail presence. The colors are stable and look natural also, while flesh tones are normal at all times. This is not a flawless visual presentation, but given the nature of the movie, I think it looks terrific.
Audio: How does it sound?
Not a whole lot to discuss here, as the included stereo option is passable, but it won’t stand out as an impressive treatment. I liken this track to a television mix, as it has all the needed elements, but lacks the depth we’ve come to expect from DVD soundtracks. Even so, for a simple stereo audio track, this one is solid and more than handles the material. The music is well presented and sound effects seem natural, while dialogue is clean & crisp from start to finish. This disc also includes subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s trailer.
