Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Stretch Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 15, 2021

Joe Carnahan's "Stretch" (2014) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailer for the film; new audio commentary by the director; new video interview with Patrick Wilson; and new audio commentary by film historian Eddy Von Mueller. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Picking up Hasselhoff

Very few people that land in LA hoping to make it big in the movie business avoid the moment Stretch (Patrick Wilson), a failed actor-turned-limo driver, so colorfully describes in the very beginning of Joe Carnahan’s film. The moment occurs when they suddenly realize that the road to success is a much bigger grinder than they had initially anticipated and begin doubting their decision to follow their heart. It happens to everyone, even the most resilient ones. But, as Stretch explains, what matters is what happens next. Some of the dreamers get stuck doing lousy jobs that have absolutely nothing to do with their original plan and then slowly lose their ambition to do anything meaningful with their lives. They know it too, but whenever they are amongst friends, they insist that they are still trying. LA is full with baristas, valley attendants, and taxi drivers that are still trying. Then there are the other dreamers that ramp up their game, find a way to break through the Hollywood wall, and discover success -- or lose everything while trying, sometimes even their lives. The lucky ones that get in the business do not necessarily become major stars, but they are provided with enough work to make ends meet.

Shortly after Stretch describes how he was ditched by his girlfriend, a genuine gold digger, he is forced to ramp up his game, but not because he has finally connected with a top agent and given the opportunity to prove that he has what it takes to be among the lucky ones in Hollywood. Stretch is ‘discovered’ by a bulky thug with all kinds of exotic tattoos on his body who informs him that he has less than a day to come up with the $6,000 he owes to his new boss, who has inherited his delinquent gambling debt from his previous boss. If Stretch does not pay the $6,000 by midnight, the thug will start breaking different parts of his body, and very slowly too, for maximum effect. To avoid trouble, Stretch immediately asks the beautiful dispatcher Charlie (Jessica Alba) to give him the best clients she books during the day and, if possible, even hook him up with a few that routinely use the services of their biggest competitor, Jovi, an Eastern European ‘businessman’ with a few notoriously violent ‘associates’. It is a desperate strategy, but the only one Stretch’s overloaded mind can produce. Not too long after that, Stretch screws up his first appointment with an impossibly obnoxious David Hasselhoff (Hasselhoff playing himself), but picks up a loopy Ray Liotta (Liotta playing himself), who tips him a couple of hundred bucks and asks him to return a fake gun to his assistant. Then he gets luckier when Charlie arranges that he picks up the eccentric billionaire Roger Karos (Chris Pine), one of Jovi’s regular clients, who agrees to tip him the money he owes if he brings back to him a metal case currently in the possession of a shady Frenchman named Laurent (James Badge Dale) while he attends a very exclusive orgy.

This film switches into overdrive mode so quickly that almost immediately it begins to look like a deranged parody. Indeed, every other scene seems like the type of loony climax that more than a dozen Guy Ritchie films would have been happy to utilize. It is pretty overwhelming, and definitely not in a good way.

A more coherent screenplay channeling plenty of nihilism mixed with a much darker sense of humor but toning down the vulgar would have produced a vastly superior film. As it is the screenplay routinely mishandles the many interesting truths that come of Stretch’s mouth, and then quite often places the spotlight on the coked-up billionaire, who unfortunately operates with a very small bag of tricks and quickly proves to be an incredibly boring character. While forced to play a loser, Stretch isn’t a dummy, and once you filter out his colorful expressions a lot of what he says about the LA scene actually begins to make perfect sense.

The action does not look cheap but it can be quite uneven. Some of the footage looks very busy, as if it was meant to appear in an MTV video, while elsewhere it is just uncharacteristically casual.

Stretch Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Stretch arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

This film looks simply terrific in high-definition. Yes, it is not surprising considering that it was produced in 2014, but I thought that the master Universal Pictures provided to Kino Lorber was just all-around excellent. For example, there is quite a bit of darker nighttime and club footage that boasts exceptional depth and clarity, with terrific layers of smaller nuances that are exceptionally easy to recognize. Fluidity is excellent as well, so all of the fast camera zooms and cuts can be quite striking. Colors are very lush and nicely balanced. Image stability is outstanding. So, if you like the film and have been hoping to get a high-quality presentation of it, I can assure you that this Blu-ray release delivers precisely that. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Stretch Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The 5.1 track will deliver all the intensity your system can handle, so be prepared when you sit down to watch the film. There is a lot of footage with great separation and the type of dynamic spikes that modern films like to have when they go to work to impress. The dialog is stable but rather surprisingly a few times quite uneven, so it isn't always easy to get every single line that the main characters utter. But this is how the original soundtrack was finalized.

Stretch Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Stretch. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Patrick Wilson - in this new video interview, Patrick Wilson recalls what it was like to contribute to Stretch and discusses the film's sense of humor and twisted reality. The interview was conducted exclusively for Kino Lorber in 2020. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary One - in this new audio commentary, film historian Eddy Von Mueller shares a lot of interesting information about Joe Carnahan's cinematic style, the conception and attitude of Stretch, and the messy relationships that are at the core of the film's narrative.

• Audio Commentary Two - in this new audio commentary, director Joe Carnahan discusses Stretch with his daughter Maile and son Rockne. The bulk of the information that is shared addresses the production of Stretch (via Blumhouse), the shooting locations throughout LA and the sex scenes, the original story that inspired Mr. Carnahan to do the film, the blending of humor and action, the very interesting cast, etc.

• Additional Trailers - additional trailers for the following Kino Lorber releases:
  
  1. The Veil
  2. Thursday
  3. Hollywoodland

Stretch Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Believe it or not, a lot of what Stretch says about acting and making ends meet in LA is very true. Unfortunately, the over-the-top craziness blurs most of it, plus the screenplay keeps putting the spotlight on the coked-up billionaire and he is incredibly boring. Joe Carnahan apparently loves this film, but I think that it could have been controlled better. As it is, it switches into overdrive mode too quickly and immediately begins to look like a deranged MTV-esque parody. Regardless, when the lockdowns are lifted, perhaps you might enjoy it while having a drink with a couple of your best pals. Kino Lorber's technical presentation of Stretch is excellent. RECOMMENDED.