This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
When an ambiguously intentioned masked man (James Parks, The Hateful Eight) kidnaps a drug addicted punk singer (Liv Roush, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot), it triggers a police investigation headed by Detective Charles Dobson (Ralph Garman, Ted) as well as a media circus.
From Executive Producer Kevin Smith (Clerks III), WRONG REASONS marks the narrative feature debut from director Josh Roush (Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks) and features an all-star supporting cast that includes Teresa Ruiz (The Marksman), David Koechner (Anchorman) Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive), Keith Coogan (Adventures in Babysitting) and introducing Liv Roush (in her first starring role) along with a killer punk rock soundtrack that includes Tim Armstrong, L7, Black Flag, The Wipers, Channel 3, William Elliott Whitmore, The Unseen, Bi-Product and more!
For thoughts on Wrong Reasons, please check out our discussions on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Wrong Reasons debuts on Blu-Ray with a great 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio from a high definition master that captures the film without fault. The project has a natural color palette that leaps off the screen consistently when out in nature while showing off an impressive amount of detail and clarity. There may be a hint of slight banding in certain shots, but it is not pervasive throughout. Despite being fairly low budget, the film maintains a consistent aesthetic across the different locations. The highlights do not show off any instances of blooming. Black levels hold up nicely as they appear with great depth. Objects hold up pretty well in the shadows and retain their depth. The stylized moments such as the music video conjure up the appropriate look for the narrative. Overall, this is a really solid disc that showcases the work well. MVD Entertainment has given this one a rock solid presentation.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio and LPCM 2.0 track that brings this soundscape to life as you would hope. The lifeblood of this movie is the music, and every tune maintains a strong fidelity and comes through the room really purposefully. The environmental effects are distinguished nicely with some unique sounds and ambient noises on display. Dialogue holds up quite nicely, coming though clearly without being overshadowed by the music or sound effects. This is a track that represents the film in an immensely satisfying way. Optional English (SDH) subtitles are provided on this disc.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary #1: Director Josh Roush and Kevin Smith provide a fun commentary track in which Smith keeps things moving like a pro as Roush breaks down how this film came to be, the realities of shooting on an indie budget, how his professional career is tied to Smith, Smith’s horror over seeing his friend (Roush’s wife) naked on screen and more that makes for a lively time.
- Audio Commentary #2: Director Josh Roush, Co-Producer Matt Rowbottom, Composer Cam Mosavian and Star Liv Roush provide another enjoyable commentary track which is a bit more focused on the scene-to-scene production details from their various points of view. You get some good insights into how certain elements evolved, securing the shooting locations, injecting needles on screen and more.
- Introduction: A nearly nine-minute optional introduction from Kevin Smith who gives you insight into why he championed this project and why he is excited to get it out into the world. Smith always brings immense enthusiasm anytime he is involved with special features.
- Q&A with Josh Roush and Live Roush Moderated by Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman: A 56-minute Q&A with Kevin Smith, Ralph Garman, Josh Roush, Liv Roush and James Parks in which the participants discuss the genesis of the project, the efforts that went into making this story a reality, bringing the performers on board, the challenges faced and more. This is a really fun conversation that fans will really enjoy.
- Outtakes: A 15 minute collection of unused footage from the NIN broadcast.
- Deleted Scenes: There are two unused scenes provided here which are amusing but were understandably cut for time.
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- Hopscotch (0:51)
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- Peanut Butter and Pickle (2:48)
- Original Opening: A nearly five-minute unused opening is provided here which is not terribly different from the theatrical opening, but there is an unexpected appearance from Fred Armisen.
- Idiot Cops Short Film: A two-minute short film which delivers on its title: dumb cops stumbling around.
- Trailers: This disc provides the Trailer (2:03) and the Trailer with Intro (2:42) for Wrong Reasons. There are also trailers provided for Max Reload, Clerk and Film Hawk.
Final Thoughts
Wrong Reasons is passably entertaining while you are watching it, but it has some of the growing pains that come when getting into indie narrative filmmaking. The premise is interesting, but half of the narrative feels unsatisfying and unnecessary with cultural commentary that rings familiar. The movie is at its most successful when it is focusing on the dynamics between the characters in the cabin, as you get at least a small bit of something tangible to latch onto emotionally. The performances unfortunately skew a bit to the rocky side of the equation, and the pacing is pretty lethargic.
Kevin Smith seems to be doing an admirable job of supporting his friend both on this disc and in the promotion surrounding this release, but it is not a good sign when the special features outshine the main feature. MVD Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray that has a really good A/V presentation and a rich array of special features. This one will mostly be for the true Kevin Smith fanatics.
Wrong Reasons is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: MVD Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.