Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

A Thousand Words Blu-ray Movie Review

'A Thousand Words' in a thousand words.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 17, 2012

Remember in high school when a teacher who just assumed that his or her students had nothing better to do than write, write, and write some more and assigned for those students' weekend pleasure "a thousand word essay on..." any number of subjects, probably about some stuffy read from a long-dead writer who would probably have a conniption fit at the mere concept of writing of on a typewriter, let alone a bulky word processor or, nowadays, an iPad with Pages and a wireless Bluetooth keyboard. Well, weren't those the days. Most regular readers of Blu-ray.com know that the review team happily (usually reasonably happily, anyway) cranks out a ton of reviews (really, if one could add up the physical pages required to print them all out the stack would be quite large) on a weekly basis and writes many thousands of words per month. As a general rule, a thousand words is nothing for a review, and statistics show that the average Blu-ray.com review hovers somewhere around a cool thousand words for just the material above the video portion of the review, never mind the entire thing. So in honor of Eddie Murphy's A Thousand Words, here's an effort to lower that whole-review average by a smidgen, this review promising to come in right at a thousand words*, and for the heck of it, add the above to the total to keep this one really short and sweet; the movie needs nothing more.

Only duct tape prevents Eddie Murphy from speaking out (for? against?) his own movie.

Slick-talking book agent Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) finds himself in quite the predicament when he approaches popular self-help guru/spiritual advisor Sinja (Cliff Curtis) with an offer to publish his highly-anticipated book. But Sinja knows that McCall cares not for the book's content and only for the money he can make, despite Jack's claims to the contrary. Sinja lays a curse upon McCall: a tree appears in his back yard, and for every word the agent speaks (or even writes), a leaf falls from the tree. When it goes bare, it will die, and McCall's fate, too, will be sealed. Can Jack get through life -- succeed in business, keep his marriage strong, discover who he really is and what life means -- before using up his quota of comments?

A Thousand Words might have worked better as a short. As a full-length feature, the gag simply cannot withstand the rigors of a 90-minute movie. It's far too repetitive, and Murphy, for as talented as he may be with his mouth and his body, isn't exactly the world's best Charades player. His physical replacement for dialogue lacks cohesion and charm, and while that's certainly part of the tale -- a man who isn't supposed to be able to communicate without his mouth -- he and the script simply leave the audience confused and frustrated. The idea is sound, but the execution isn't. Murphy shines when he's allowed to speak, both before he's faced with his dilemma and all the way to the end when he must use his words sparingly and to touching effect, but that majority of the middle ground suffers.

The supporting elements aren't much to write home about, either. The would-be touching moments aren't particularly touching, the dramatic moments not exactly demanding of audience thought or attention, the family crisis transparent, and the comic relief probably the film's biggest downfall. As for the latter, it's not that Clark Duke's performance of the bumbling assistant is poor, it's the the character is terribly written and absolutely unfunny. The picture shows signs of potential for a funnier and even more touching film, but it feels stale out of the gate and the little bit of humor never quite meshes with the little bit of drama. A Thousand Words shows signs of life, but the picture never does gel into a suitably entertaining or meaningful final product.

A Thousand Words Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Thousand Words sparkles on Blu-ray. Paramount's 1080p transfer looks straight out of theaters and appears with no immediately evident areas of concern. Light grain accentuates wonderfully crisp details, whether complex skin textures, the tree's twisty and rough bark, or clothing lines. The image is naturally sharp and perfectly defined at every turn. Colors do favor a warm -- sometimes golden -- tint, but by filmmaker design. Yet green leaves, bright attire, and the like generally appear balanced and accurate. Black levels are superb, and flesh tones are reflective of the picture's natural visual style. There's no evidence of blocking, banding, edge enhancement, print wear, or other areas of concern. This transfer will delight even when the movie fails to do so.

A Thousand Words Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A Thousand Words delivers a surprisingly active, full, and immersive lossless surround sound experience. The track is defined by a fairly constant array of supportive atmospherics, from the light din of McCall's office to the serene natural ambience of Sinja's idyllic retreat. The track additionally offers some more prominent effects that play with startling accuracy. The tree's rapid growth in chapter three rattles the listening area, zipping traffic in chapter five zooms straight through the soundstage, and a booming storm in chapter twelve immerses the listener in the moment. Music delivery is crisp and seamless, ditto dialogue.

A Thousand Words Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

A Thousand Words includes eleven Deleted Scenes (1080p, 12:52), an Alternate Ending (1080p, 2:03), and a UV Digital Copy.

A Thousand Words Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Thousand Words, despite the unending stream of negative reviews, isn't the worst movie ever to grace cinema screens. By the end it manages to find a whiff of emotion, but the unfunny cadence and the removal of Murphy's best asset results in a below-average movie with the potential to be better. On the other hand, Paramount's Blu-ray impresses a great deal. Uh-oh, no more words with which to write; there are only a few leaves left on that cursed...

*=based on Blu-ray.com calculations.