Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Shortcut to Happiness Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 22, 2019

Is there a surefire way to determine whether you’re a film geek or not? Well, here’s one example from my own misspent youth: I was beyond excited when Criterion announced it was releasing a (more or less) complete version of the 1941 version of The Devil and Daniel Webster, which other confirmed film geeks will most likely know was originally released as All That Money Can Buy, only to have large swaths of the original version chopped, leading to a much shortened re-release under its better remembered title. The Devil and Daniel Webster (note that the link points to a DVD, as Criterion has yet to bring this out in high definition) had its problems, as perhaps evidenced by the cut and (later) paste history it endured, but those issues probably pale in comparison to the ones suffered by Shortcut to Happiness, a rather odd, modernized remake which was filmed in 2001 but never saw the theatrical exhibition light of day until 2007 (just one indication of those aforementioned problems).

There’s some kind of interesting background on Shortcut to Happiness and its treacherous trek toward (at least cable) release for enterprising Googlers, but the bottom line (in more ways than one) is that the film was evidently beset with budgeting problems from the get go, and some time in post some bean counter forcibly removed it from the control of star and producer Alec Baldwin, who was also the ostensible director. Baldwin ultimately had his directing credit removed (replaced not with Alan Smithee, but “Harry Kirkpatrick”), and has evidently disavowed the final product. What’s surprising about all of this is that the final product, while certainly problematic, has a certain whimsy and even charm, and some of the writing (the screenplay is rather incredibly by Mulholland Falls’ Pete Dexter and Bill Condon of Gods and Monsters — among many other notable credits — fame) is rather pointed and intelligent.

In this version of the venerable Stephen Vincent Benet tale, Jabez Stone (Alec Baldwin) is a would be writer (the film is bookended by a little dramatization of a novel he's writing) who is struggling to hit the jackpot. When his best friend Julius Jensen (Dan Aykroyd) does hit the jackpot, that begins a series of calamities, both perceived and real, the ultimately set Jabez off, which results in a rather attractive young woman (Jennifer Love Hewitt) showing up at Jabez' apartment and informing him she can give him anything and everything he desires, for the small payment of his soul. Along the way Jabez gets to know publishing magnate Daniel Webster (Anthony Hopkins) who it turns out has had his own run ins with this same mysterious female.

And it’s the change from a male devil to a female one that is just one of several kind of odd and arguably unnecessary “improvements” this version of events undertakes. Part of what made the original so interesting was Daniel Webster’s real life reputation as an orator, so that when Jabez “hires” him to defend him in court, it at least kind of made sense. Would a publishing magnate have that same skill set? There’s also a rather odd conceit during the trial, whereby the “jury of peers” who show up are all famous writers, though even here there’s a completely random selection of icons. It’s all a little strange, and it ultimately lacks a firm emotional component.

The film also seems to want to be a parody of the entire publishing industry, at least at times, with a whole series of vignettes documenting Jabez' slow but steady degradation at the hands of an unctuous executive named Constance Hurry (Kim Cattrall). Some aspects of this all work at least reasonably well, but the film obviously suffers from some odd editing choices (including lots of irises to end scenes, for some reason), and never quite seems to hold together as an organic whole. The devil is indeed in the details.

Shortcut to Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shortcut to Happiness is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual's MVD Marquee Collection imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While there are a few rough spots along the way, some at least due to the ubiquitous use of opticals in the film*, this is a surprisingly strong transfer of a lesser known property. The opening sequence, supposedly culled from Bez's writing, and featuring superimpositions of texts (hence, lots of opticals), has a somewhat more pronounced grain field that's just slightly splotchy looking, along with what I assume is an intentional honey yellow grading (see screenshot 6 for an example). Once the "real" story starts, things look decidedly better from both a "grain management" and natural palette standpoint. Detail levels are quite pleasing throughout the presentation, and pops of color, like the gorgeous purplish dresses Hewitt wears, look nicely saturated. There are a few moments that are not part of any optical that do look slightly rougher, as in Jabez's first visit to Webster's publishing skyscraper, where the grain kind of looks like insects swarming over the granite halls.

*Shortcut to Happiness was shot on film, and I'm frankly assuming that its 2001 filming timeframe, along with its budgetary constraints and long post production issues means that no digital compositing or digital intermediate was ever done; if anyone has verifiable data to the contrary, let me know and I'll update the review with that information, though my assessment of how things actually look won't change.

Shortcut to Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shortcut to Happiness offers a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 track that more than suffices for this film's pretty limited sonic ambitions. Dialogue, including occasional narration by Jabez and Daniel Webster (just another kind of weird structural element), sounds clear and clean throughout the presentation, and the kind of fun, Danny Elfman-esque score by Christopher Young also reverberates with clarity and precision.

Shortcut to Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailers includes Shortcut to Happiness (1080p; 2:32) along with several other trailers for MVD releases.

Shortcut to Happiness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maybe because I was expecting an out and out disaster, I was actually kind of pleasantly if only intermittently surprised by Shortcut to Happiness. Some of the refashioning works, some of it doesn't, but a lot of the writing is really very smart, and there's an underlying sweetness to things despite the kind of tart subject matter. Technical merits are generally solid for those considering a purchase.