NIGHT OF THE WHITE PANTS, THE - DVD review

"The Night of the White Pant is a crafty blend of family drama and a screwball scavenger hunt. After Beth Hagan (Selma Blair) introduces her drug dealer boyfriend Raff (Nick Stahl) to her dysfunctional family, her father Max (Tom Wilkinson) and Raff wind their way through the streets of Dallas, encountering a variety of characters-including ex-wives, an appellate judge and his wife, punk bands and even the police.

With Wilkinson, Blair and Stahl in the lead roles, Amy Talkington's sixth directorial outing (first feature length production) had at least something going for it: actors capable of pulling off the material. Add to that a location shoot designed to show off the best of Dallas as well as the local music scene and a script which deftly handles both the drama and comedy. There is no overall plot per se-or a goal for the characters to achieve. Rather, Raff narrates the events of the night as a document of what happens to the group. Sure, there are minor goals to accomplish throughout; the search for a judge to marry a young couple stands out the most. It works to the advantage of the story itself, allowing the audience to enjoy the ride as opposed to trying to find a way to get to the proverbial point B.

Despite the ability of all three leads to carry a production by themselves, "The Night of the White Pants" is Tom Wilkinson's film. His Max Hagan ranges from morbidly depressed at the outset to delightfully stoned and drunk by the en. He goes through the biggest transformation, particularly in regard to Raff. Hagan, sticking to his morals, believes drug dealing is wrong (Raff has sold substances to Max's son Millian, ably played by Fran Kranz) and yet we watch a conversion as their relationship strengthens. It is a testament to Wilkinson the change never feels forced; each step is organic to the situation.

Credit must also be given to writer/director Talkington. She is smart enough to know what she wanted to achieve in the film while keeping an eye on the other aspects of the production. (Look no further than her commentary on the deleted scenes. At least one shot she adored is cut for the benefit of the film.) A wit comes from every character, even those with minor roles; each preexisting relationship is fully formed in her mind so the script doesn't waste time on needless exposition. Because Talkington knows each of the personalities on screen, she is able to blend propelling the story forward with the necessary backstory effortlessly. This is an indie movie which isn't quirkily inaccessible to the mainstream audience.

For whatever reason, a major subplot concerning the aforementioned wedding falls flat, especially in the wake of the time and energy taken to introduce Judge Barefoot Johnson and his wife. They garner roughly ten minutes of running time between them, with nothing of any interest to do. The first reaction would be to think additional scenes were cut for time; there are two minor extensions in the deleted scenes. We're not privy to the actual wedding ceremony and they both drop from the picture with no story rationale.

One other character leaves for a long period of time, though her absence can be explained. Beth is absent for a majority of the film. According to the commentary track, she was involved in another subplot which never made shooting script. (Beth is entertaining an offer to move her record company to New York and she is there hammering out a deal.) It's almost disingenuous someone like Beth-with her responsible side-would leave her father and boyfriend alone. Side mentions are made of the New York offer at the beginning and end of the picture, yet when Beth isn't around, we don't think about anything besides "where is she?"

"The Night of the White Pants" reminds me of the 1980 scavenger hunt movie "Midnight Madness." Not so much in story, but in tone. A group of people criss-crossing a city on a search for…something. As I've already mentioned, what they're looking for isn't something tangible; rather, they need to find a way to have a healthy relationship with one another. And in the end, they do find some sort of peace in their lives.

VIDEO:
The 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer looks rather good, considering the budget the film was working with. (Talkington mentions $500,000, though she also says the final budget was higher.) Most of the story takes place at night, making it essential the presentation accurately recreated the darks colors. By and large it does, with one notable exception. Certain shots have differing black levels based on the perspective. There are no other issues to mention; each location has the feel of a real place, the intended effect.

AUDIO:
Only one option here, an underused English 5.1 mix. I call it underused not because there are any problems with it. Instead, it is a clean, competent track, only hamstrung by how much the surround speakers are given to do. To be fair, no film of this genre really uses all its speakers in a way an action film does. The Dallas band-based soundtrack is the most pronounced element. Dialogue is unencumbered and easy to understand. English and Spanish subtitles are included.

EXTRAS:
Amy Talkington has the commentary track all to herself and, truth be told, she deserves it. She does wax on about the white pants Max wears, as if she expects the audience not to follow the symbolism. (As Max's night continues, the pants become more and more messed up.) Other mentions about various locations, deleted scenes and the process of putting this particular cast together fill the track. For what it's worth, Talkington barely comes up for a breath, all the while staying away from the dreaded commentary scene synopsis.

The director is back for optional commentary on a series of deleted scenes, all under a minute each. Most of them are either alternate takes or extended versions of existing scenes. Only one-Beth standing on her head in an airport-was the result of an excised subplot. Even more information about the film is imparted in the 17-minute Making of featurette. This time Blair, Wilkinson and Stahl join Talkington. It rehashes a lot of the same information from the commentary. (Oddly, each interview seems to have been cut from something longer, considering the hard cuts with no movie footage covering them.)

A single text screen introduces the music to the film. Following it are 16 different scene selections for the music used in the film. Finally, the theatrical trailer is included; promo's for "Stuck" and "YPF" play at the beginning of the film.

PARTING THOUGHTS:
Selma Blair sees the finished product as a family drama; audiences, she has noticed, see "The Night of the White Pants" as a comedy. Which one is accurate? Both, if you want to be technical about it. Instead of a production which follows the same tired family formula, a first time director like Amy Talkington is able to twist the norm, providing both poignancy and humor.