THE PLOT THUS FAR
Desperate to live a little before graduating into “real life,” brilliant grad student Paul Tarson puts his dissertation on the back burner while he and his whiz-bang team of fellow eggheads try to win a trivia tournament held in bars across the city.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Answer This” involves an English literature graduate student who is, the audience is repeatedly, ham-handedly bludgeoned into understanding, repressed and constrained by the life-long influence of his father, who is also, impossibly, an English literature professor in the same department. Add water to the standard elements of a wanna-be movie narrative: Young romantic interest helps protagonist break out of his rut and find his own identity; developing sense of self helps protagonist relate more genuinely to the students he teaches.
The flick is pretty forgettable. That being said, I enjoyed the casual humor and slightly nerdy setup that feels more akin to a television series. While it’s not the worst comedy I’ve watched this month, it fails to inspire one to chuckle more than casually. It’s the kind of flick you’ll rent without paying attention and then you’ll stick it out. I don’t advocate sticking out many films, but it’s a simple trivia bowl contest movie. How many of those exist?
The DVD comes with a commentary, interviews, featurettes and deleted scenes. The A/V Quality is pretty strong with a Dolby 5.1 track. The transfer is flat for an average comedy shot in standard definition. While I find that Funny or Die tends to work better in small doses, it’s a noble first effort. In the end, I’d recommend a rental.
RELEASE DATE: 01/10/2012
