Stick to vintage Scott

"A Good Year" was supposed to be director Ridley Scott's rebound flick. After "Kingdom of Heaven" tanked at the American box office, Scott took the path of making a modest $35 million romance that would pair him with Russell Crowe on a romp through Scott's current residence of Provence, France. Sadly, "A Good Year" flopped as well, and honestly, I'm not surprised. \nThe film tells the story of Max Skinner (Crowe) who, as a young lad (played by Freddie Highmore, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), would spend his vacations in Provence with his Uncle Henry (an always warm Albert Finney) at his vineyard estate. The grown-up Max is a big player in the UK stock exchange, concerned only with the money floating around him and the various women he romances on a daily basis. When word of Henry's death reaches Max, he learns Henry's will was never updated, therefore making Max the inheritor of the estate. With a desire only to sell the property and make a killing, Max travels to Provence and thus begins the journey of rediscovering himself through the childhood he'd thought was forgotten. \nMany say that with "A Good Year," Scott was out of his element. Famous for being a man of action with his big-budget epics, this film doesn't fit his stylings, but I am never one to discount a director for trying something new. While it is beautifully photographed and has some genuinely funny moments, the story feels lackluster and too long by about 20 minutes -- one should hope a director's cut, which Scott has done for a majority of his films, never pops up as a future DVD release. Crowe is great in the role, but considering I am usually impressed with his work, maybe I didn't take notices of any shortcomings.\nThe DVD does feature a great commentary by Scott that also ties the making-of featurettes into the film itself; essentially you watch the movie with his commentary and breaks are inserted with the footage. Obviously you wouldn't watch the film the first time around this way, but being as boring as was, it was that much harder to watch the film for these segments as they cannot be viewed individually. There are also half a dozen trailers for the film and three terrible music videos of Russell Crowe and his new band. I've drank some nasty wine, but nothing left a more sour taste in my mouth than listening to one of my favorite actors sing alternative pop. And what better way to forget such horrid music than by downing some vino afterward?