Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.0

Accidental Love Blu-ray Movie Review

A movie made in a tortured way...

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 14, 2015

When it's not making a farce of the medical profession and the political process, Director David O. Russell's (American Hustle, and working under the pseudonym "Stephen Greene"), Accidental Love is a 100 minute satirical advertisement for government healthcare. It depicts, in the broadest, most unflattering, most absurd manner possible a woman's hunky-dory life -- she's happy, good at her job (it's a wonder the movie didn't get into what must be her minimum wage salary...why not go for broke?), and set to marry the most desirable guy in town -- that falls apart when she falls victim to an accident. Suddenly, her storybook life crumbles because...she doesn't have health care. Enter the government solution and the stereotype "right-wing sleaze balls" who only want a military base on the moon, who build "handgun factories" on endangered land, and use sexuality as a weapon against their opponents standing in the way. The problem isn't that the movie champions a cause, the problem is that it's ridiculously transparent, grossly over-the-top, unapologetically one-sided, and downright stupid. It's insulting to both sides of the argument, those who want the government to take a larger role in providing heath care and those who would rather leave it to the private sector.

Help me health care. You're my only hope.

Alice Eckle (Jessica Biel) almost has it all. She's attractive, comes from a good family that cares about her, works a job she enjoys, and is dating the most attractive guy in town, a local cop named Scott (James Marsden). The one thing she doesn't have, however, is health insurance. Her job doesn't provide care, and she's off her parents' plan. One day, Scott takes her out to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town. He's reserved the best table in the place, they're eating the highest-ranked pasta in town, and he's set to propose. Unfortunately, the proposal is interrupted when a repair man goes to work right above them, firing nail after nail into the restaurant's trademark prop. An accident results in a nail shooting straight into Alice's head. It doesn't kill her, but Scott rushes her to the hospital. She's about to go under the knife when it's revealed that she's uninsured. "So sorry," they tell her without performing the necessary surgery. Without coverage or the $150,000 needed to perform the operation, she's kicked to the curb. With the nail stuck permanently in her head, she begins to transform. She loses her coordination and her job. She starts speaking foreign languages and goes on uncontrollable temper tantrums. If the nail doesn't kill her, her uncontrollable actions mean her life is essentially over.

One day, while she's still partially lucid, she sees a man on television, a local politician named Howard Birdwell (Jake Gyllenhaal), who's in his first term in Washington. He promises to help anyone in his district who needs help. That's Alice, so she sets off for Washington, D.C. in hopes that he can do something for her. When they finally meet, sparks fly, but the mere utterance of the words "health care" momentarily take him aback. He's idealistic but too new and lacking in influence to get anything done. If anything, he's easy leverage for a "yes' vote on other people's bills, like a military moon base championed by colleague Pam Hendrickson (Catherine Keener). The two become involved, and he rallies to her cause. However, Washington's back room dealings keep him from getting fully behind the effort, leading them down a zig-zagging path of lies, double speak, and general mayhem on the way to better government coverage for all. Yet Alice continues to fight on and finds help from both a couple of other people (Kurt Fuller, Tracy Morgan) suffering from abnormal ailments and a committed troop of "Girl Squaws" who rally to her cause.

There's a long, bleak history to Accidental Love, once titled the more catchy and appropriate Nailed. There's plenty out there on the movie's history that's a Google search away, but suffice it to say this isn't the movie Russell intended it to be, and one cannot fault him for distancing himself so far from a project as reckless and brain-dead as this. This is a total disaster of a film that's overplayed and under-delivering, mindlessly hopping, skipping, and jumping through various far-fetched shenanigans that make either gross simplifications out of complicated issues or haphazardly revert to the most extreme forms of stereotype to shape the story and pull the audience toward Alice's side of the issue. It's demeaning, insulting, and mind-numbingly stupid. Even people who champion a greater role for the government in health care will find the movie only hurts their cause rather than boosts it. The film lacks any kind of dramatic overtones, structural subtlety, legitimate championing of a cause. Even an all-star cast can't help but stumble through the tripe. There may be a better movie here, one that's not so grossly one-sided and lamely farcical, but the end result is one of the biggest disasters in recent years and insult to everyone in on the government health care discussion, be they pro or con.

Accidental Love Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Accidental Love's uneven 1080p transfer is an exercise in frustration. There are times -- much of the film -- where this is a near stunner. Grain presents evenly and handsomely, accentuating razor-sharp details evident across the spectrum, including complex facial lines, pinpoint clothes, and beautiful stone, brick, and wood appointments and façades in Washington, D.C. Colors are robust and vibrant, a little warm, perhaps -- which is reflected in skin tones -- but offering a striking, diverse palette, including blue and green clothes and pink accents around the eatery where Alice works at film's start. But the transfer goes terribly smudgy, soft, and dull in places. It transitions to looking artificial and plastic, where details are smoothed out, colors are drained, blacks are pale and purplish, and grain is gone or spiked with large quantities of noise. It's a ridiculously uneven and jarring series of transitions that wipe away the good feelings of the movie's best moments.

Accidental Love Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Accidental Love arrives on Blu-ray with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's a simple affair but presented with commendable efficiency and clarity. Music is airy and nicely spacious across the front and enjoys a fine natural wrap around into the back. Minor ambient effects float through the stage in several crowded locations. Light sound effects -- some squeaks and squeals and microphone reverberation -- are likewise delivered with a pleasing precision. The film is largely dialogue-driven, however, and the spoken world flows into the stage with effortless clarity and lifelike reproduction.

Accidental Love Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from the Accidental Love (1080p, 2:10) trailer, this disc contains only additional trailers (480i) for The Humbling, Elsa & Fred, By the Gun, and Kidnapping Mr. Heineken.

Accidental Love Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Accidental Love is like a bad joke of a movie, stuff that even the staunchest pro-government health care advocate would only ever imagine in a nightmare scenario. If this is was meant to be the public face of government-run healthcare advocacy, those on the "pro" side had better fire their PR person, and fast. And they'd better disown the movie, and fast, if it's not. It's an out-of control train wreck of a film that even an impressive list of A-list talent cannot save. Alchemy's Blu-ray release of Accidental Love features shaky video, decent audio, and no supplements beyond a collection of trailers. Skip it.