Nerdland Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Nerdland Blu-ray Movie Review

Wait...this is what constitutes a "nerd" in 2017?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 31, 2017

Nerdland is a physically ugly and fairly depressing movie that's built on sharp-edged animation but seriously dull and shallow characters. But that seems to be the point, and the contrast between the two is startling. The film explores celebrity culture, the attachment to it and the desire to be part of it, one way or another, no matter what it takes. It's getting noticed that matters to these characters, not the deeds that get them noticed. In fact, they run the full spectrum, from seeking out acts of kindness to contemplating murder in the name of celebrity. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't really nail its underlying thematic component. It's too bizarre to work. It gets the point across loud and clear, but what it has to say about it falls rather flat. Maybe that's the point, displaying the fruitlessness of fame or, at least, those obsessed with it, particularly in a day and age where fame is a camera shot or a few thumb taps on a phone away.

John (voiced by Paul Rudd) and Elliot (voiced by Patton Oswalt) are a couple of slackers with a little ambition but not much direction. John writes for a movie theater concession trade publication. Elliot is an aspiring screenwriter. One day, John lands an interview with a disinterested actor. He humiliates himself in the process and decides that it's time for a change. He and Elliot are tired of being invisible. They want to make a name for themselves, to stand apart, to get noticed. At first, they strive to gain attention by doing good: helping the homeless, rescuing someone from a burning fire. But as their failures mount, they decide to take a turn towards something much more sinister in the name of fame. Will they sink to a serious low to gain all that they have ever wanted, or will they come to realize that the simple life is more appealing and rewarding than time in the spotlight?

"Nerdland" is an odd title for the movie. It's difficult to label these guys as "nerds," unless the definition has changed in the past few months. They're slackers, not nerds. They're slightly more intelligent, 2016 versions of Beavis and Butt-Head, just a bit more self-aware and understanding of the world in which they live than were Mike Judge's famous halfwits. They've followed girls around, pretending to be on dates with them. They can't hold down even the simplest of jobs, like working at a video store, a comic shop, or an ice cream parlor. They're also dreamers, but so too were Beavis and Butt-Head. They just dream a little bigger, with a bit more of an understanding of what their actions might mean down the line, not simply in the moment. In a word, they're pathetic. Their priorities are out of whack, and even if some of their immediate goals may be noble -- helping the needy, saving someone from a burning building -- the driving factor behind them is anything but. The movie is about selfish people and, if this reviewer is reading it right, why selfishness, at least as it is in the search for modern day fame and fortune, is an empty pursuit.

The movie is meandering and too weird for its own good, visually to be sure but thematically, too, particularly as it takes the film a good long while -- even considering its compact sub-90-minute runtime -- to get to its climax and twist that puts the characters' entire journey in a completely different perspective, for them to be sure but for the audience, too. The movie's twist end helps solidify the film's commentary on celebrity and culture and time in the spotlight, but it doesn't define it much better than anything else the movie has on offer, including its empty characters and ragged animation style. The movie tries its best to balance commentary with humor. The laughs usually emanate from a dark place with some lighter bits along the way, but the movie's most linear path is one of murkiness that traverses the intersection of simple minds in a complex, yet, in this movie, completely empty world.

If nothing else, the movie's rather hideous animation style -- very hard and angular, very rough, depicting characters that are strange colors, odd shapes, and often in some way distorted or mangled -- is something a little different. The Los Angeles depicted in the film oozes a sense of filth, an empty soul, a dumping ground for the intersection of fame and fortune and the bottom feeders looking for a leg up and any way towards notoriety. Voice performances are largely good, particularly from leads Oswald and Rudd, but various voice actors nail several other key parts as well, including Kate Micucci and Riki Lindhome as a couple of shallow girls who are in their own way worse than the main characters: they seek not a name for themselves but rather a name to which they can attach themselves and ride the wave rather than do the legwork to get on it. At least John and Elliot are out there trying to make it on their own.

Nerdland Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Nerdland's 1080p transfer appears reflective of the film's somewhat crude animation, crude in both construction and appearance alike. The movie's many angular and odd lines are presented well here. There are a few jaggies that appear introduced in the encode rather than the source, but most of the misaligned lines and unevenness appears inherent to the animation. Detailing is fine. The 1080p horsepower allows for a sharp, stable image that captures all of the gritty cityscape details, weird character traits, and the generally grimy-worn down look very well. Colors are stable and varied. The palette is never wanting for much more diversity than is on display, and even if the variations of color aren't particularly nuanced, there's a good bit of punch to each of them, particularly contrasted against those dreary city backdrops. The image is clean, featuring no apparent source or encode anomalies. It's not a pretty movie, but Sony's Blu-ray does do the material justice.

Nerdland Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Nerdland's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack isn't particularly exciting, but it's technically sound, for the most part, and surprises in a few places. Opening title music is a bit stale, lacking serious front-end width and not wrapping hardly at all into the backs. Music does open up a bit more as the movie progresses in both width and depth (and considering its low end output, too), eventually finding a nice, energetic balance, particularly in some of the sharper, more aggressive musical cues. Various environmental details around the city find a healthy sense of space and place throughout the listening area. The guys' "mystery witness" chants seep into the back and lightly reverberate throughout the stage, marking one of the more interesting moments the track has to offer. An explosion yields a satisfactory level of bass. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and remains positioned in the front-center, save for those few moments of natural reverberation.

Nerdland Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Nerdland contains no supplemental content. No DVD or digital versions are included, either. It's as bare-bones as they come these days.

Nerdland Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Nerdland's main characters seek praise rather than purpose, looking to manufacture a result rather than start at the bottom and strive to something better. The movie plays with some interesting concepts, a modern-day Beavis and Butt-Head but with a couple of characters who have their heads on just a little straighter and with a little more drive and aim but still that sense of futility hanging above everything they do. The movie efforts to deliver a biting criticism of celebrity culture, but it's too vile and weird to really succeed. Sony's featureless Blu-ray delivers the film's crude animation well enough. Audio is good but not particularly remarkable. Rent it.