Who better to review a movie about young women with financial/employment troubles than a middle-aged guy who’s held the same job for more than two decades? If I only wrote up films that connected with my life, I’d never be able to discuss anything other than Sideways, so a man needs to branch out.

Which leads me to 2015’s Apartment Troubles. New York City residents Olivia (Jennifer Prediger) and Nicole (Jess Weixler) attempt to make it in the arts, but they fail and find themselves destitute – and evicted from their apartment.

Nicole comes upon a possible solution: a reality TV show that showcases artists. They head to Los Angeles to attempt to find fame and/or fortune.

That synopsis makes it sound like Troubles actually has a plot, doesn’t it? Alas, that doesn’t prove to be true. Troubles boasts a vague theme and thinks it depicts real characters with growth, but it believes so incorrectly.

Instead, we’re stuck with a random accumulation of scene segments that add up to nothing. Even at a mere 78 minutes, Troubles feels long, as its lack of coherence threatens to make it an endurance test.

Truthfully, Troubles comes across like an audition reel for Weixler and Prediger. Both have earned a lot of work as actors, but obviously stardom eludes them, so perhaps they envisioned this film – which they also wrote and directed – as a calling card.

I can’t imagine it’ll succeed. Though both are pretty, neither Weixler nor Prediger can display much personality, as they make their roles annoying and self-absorbed but not much else.

If Troubles aspired to simply parody a certain sense of pretentious artistic entitlement, the lack of depth wouldn’t matter, but I suspect we’re supposed to like and care about Nicole and Olivia. We don’t. They seem irritating and never convince us they deserve our emotional commitment. We don’t care if they succeed – and we might actually root for their failure.

Troubles even wastes a good supporting cast that includes Jeffrey Tambor, Megan Mullaly and Will Forte. Pointless, self-indulgent and generally incoherent, Troubles bombs.

Apartment Troubles appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1 on this single-sided, single-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 TVs. The picture never excelled, but it was acceptable for SD-DVD.

Sharpness was usually fine. Wider shots tended to be a bit soft, but those instances weren’t extreme, and much of the flick offered decent to good clarity. Shimmering and jaggies were minor and edge haloes seemed non-problematic. Print flaws were non-existent, as I detected no specks, marks or other blemishes.

The film’s palette usually opted for a mild amber tint. Within that design range, the colors seemed passable; they weren’t especially strong, but they were okay. Blacks tended to be somewhat inky, but shadows showed reasonable smoothness. Nothing here did much to impress, but this was an acceptable presentation.

Don’t expect fireworks from the film’s Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, as we got a mix heavy on music and general environmental material. Even when the material broadened, it stayed restrained and effects could seem borderline monaural. This became an exceptionally restricted track for 5.1.

Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, and the score demonstrated pretty good vivacity. Effects did little to tax my system but they were clear and accurate enough. Overall, this ended up as a lackluster mix.

The disc opens with ads for Always Woodstock, Lovesick and Hit By Lightning. We get no trailer for Trouble or any other extras.

Perhaps Jess Weixler and Jennifer Prediger have talent, but they don’t show it in the meandering Apartment Troubles. Self-indulgent and pointless, the movie goes nowhere. The DVD offers decent picture along with mediocre audio and no supplements. Perhaps someone else can find value in Troubles, but I can’t.