On DVD: The Ten

 

 

Directed By: David Wain

Starring: Paul Rudd, Justin Theroux, Ken Marino, Oliver Platt, Jessica Alba, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Moll, Kerri Kenney, Winona Ryder

 

Ten modern morality tales. You'll never think of the ten commandments the same way again.

 

The Movie

 

Sometimes I really doubt my judgment. Probably not the best way to start a review but when I first saw this in the theater I thought it was a noble effort that came up a little short. I thought the concept was great and there were some very funny moments it just didn't seem to gel. Now that I've seen it again I really have no idea what I was thinking. This is a great movie.  

 

The movie starts with an Introduction from Jeff Reigert (Paul Rudd) explaining the setup. One story about each commandment. They start out as mini morality tales but as the movie works it's way down the list they become a little morally ambiguous. The stories stand on their own, sharing some characters, but as the movie progresses they start to all knit together for the big finale.

 

The first story is about a young man that gets a little too exited skydiving and on his first solo jump exits the  plane without his chute. Instead of ending up dead he's just embedded in the ground. His catch phrase “No, not really.” elicited during an interview ends up propelling him to instant stardom. How does this relate to the first commandment (the “no other gods before me” one)? Well his fame grows to the point that people are “idolizing” him which of course leads to disaster and his downfall. Well as far down as you can fall when your embedded in the ground. The second commandment is the one about not taking the Lord's name in vain. The story involves an inhibited librarian, the gorgeous Gretchen Moll, taking a vacation to Mexico and finding Jesus. That's all I'm going to say about that one. Thou shall not kill is demonstrated with a story about a doctor who kills a patient “for a goof”. Some of the stories show the consequences of breaking the commandments, some just show people breaking the commandments. Between each vignette is an interlude with Jeff who tries to introduce each segment but his crumbling marriage keeps interrupting. Oh yeah, there's a near pornographic animated piece about a heroin dealing rhino.

 

The humor is lowbrow and crude, sometimes extremely lowbrow and crude, but it's also surreal. Fans of The State (this is practically a reunion) or Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain's directorial debut) will probably recognize the style. The cast is great, as I mentioned before everybody from The State shows up (if you don't remember The State  you'll recognize them as half the crew from Reno 911! ). Gretchen Moll, Famke Janssen, Jessica Alba and Winona Ryder were not only beautiful but they turned in inspired performances as well. Winona Ryder in particular was great considering her romantic interest was a puppet.

 

8/10

 

The Video

 

The video is great. It's presented in widescreen. The colors are vibrant. I couldn't notice any grain or artifacts. Some of the outdoor scenes had less than perfect lighting but it's nothing that really gets in the way.

 

8/10

 

The Audio

 

The sound is in 5.1 Surround Sound. The levels are good. I never found myself having to ride the volume control. The dialog is always clear and I never noticed any distortion. It may not be the most immersion sound but it fits the material.

 

8/10

 

The Packaging and Bonus Features

 

The DVD comes in a standard case. The artwork is snappy and attractive. In my opinion there can never be too much bonus material, but often what gets thrown on a DVD is really just filler. That's not the case here. City Lights have included only premo extras in this release. There is an interview with the David Wain, Ken Marino and Paul Rudd, a making of featurette, the ever present trailers and a link to wallpaper and ringtones that you can download from the The Ten website. There is also an excellent commentary with Paul Rudd, Ken Marino, a Jazz bassist, David Wain and his parents. This is one of the better commentaries I have heard in a while. When I saw that they were including David's parents and a bassist I figured it would just be a joke. There was a lot of joking but there was a lot of great commentary and even criticism. There was some material that David's parents  didn't care that much for and it was great hearing David, Ken and Paul respond to their criticism.

 

10/10

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review this is a great movie. I didn't recognize it the first time around so I'll concede that maybe it takes a couple of viewings to appreciate it or more likely I was just in the wrong frame of mind the first time around. The humor may not be the most accessible, I loved it, but even if the humor leaves you cold there's still Gretchen Moll, Famke Janssen, Jessica Alba and Winona Ryder to appreciate.

  

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

The Review

The Movie 8/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 8/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 10/10

Overall (Not an Average) 8/10

 

-Mike Young