Ever want to see washed-up SNL alum Rob Schneider and Tom Hanks’ embarrassing son Chet in the same movie? If so, 2024’s Dead Wrong will intrigue you!

Long married to his high school girlfriend Barbara (Katrina Bowden), Billy Evans (Derek Smith) seems unhappy with his life. In particular, he feels bitter and jealous over the success of his longtime pal Jacko Stern (Hanks), a local crime boss.

Desperate for a change, Billy concocts a “get rich quick” scheme. This leads to multiple concerns for Billy and others.

A basic thriller at its heart, Wrong bites off a lot of character introductions right out of the gate. It also varies in tone radically during its first act.

In the hands of a more talented filmmaker, perhaps these choices could work. In the hands of Rick Bieber, though, the film becomes a murky mess.

Those tonal shifts become a real issue, as Bieber lacks the ability to transition smoothly across them. The movie herks and jerks from comedy to violence to sentimental drama without smoothness and coherence.

The basic narrative doesn’t need all these curves. Wrong really should just focus on Billy’s life and scam without the various distractions along the way.

Though we encounter a major issue there as well. If I think hard, I might come up with a less compelling “protagonist” than Billy, but none come to mind off the top of my head.

Billy becomes a terrible lead character, though not because of his personal flaws. Sure, he offers a narcissist who cheats on his wife with her sister and ruins his spouse’s life, but those don’t become his primary issues.

Instead, Billy turns into a weak “protagonist” because Smith plays him as so relentlessly dull. Smith seems like an even flatter version of Mark Wahlberg, as he brings no personality or spark to his role.

Given how much time we spend with other characters, this turns into less of a drawback than could’ve been the case. Still, Smith’s drab performances leaves a major hole at the center of the film.

Not that a superior actor would’ve been able to redeem this sluggish clunker. More like a semi-random collection of scenes and less a coherent narrative, Wrong ends up as a slow and sub-mediocre thriller.

Dead Wrong appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a bland but acceptable image.

Sharpness tended to seem adequate. The film rarely boasted great delineation, but it also never became truly soft, so the presentation showed acceptable accuracy.

I saw no issues with jagged edges or moiré effects, and the image lacked edge haloes. Print flaws also remained absent.

Colors opted for a blue/teal tint most of the time, with some of the usual amber as well. The hues appeared decent though not dynamic.

Blacks were a bit dense, while shadows seemed a little on the murky side. The image was perfectly watchable but it lacked much vivacity.

I felt about the same when it came to the meh DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Wrong. This wasn’t exactly an action-packed mix, so one shouldn’t expect constant auditory shenanigans.

When appropriate, the soundscape kicked to life a little, but much of it focused on ambient information and music. These tended to seem less natural than I’d prefer, so while the mix filled the speakers, it didn’t show a lot of localized specificity.

Audio quality worked fine. Dialogue seemed positive, so the lines seemed natural and concise.

Music offered good range and impact, and effects followed suit. These elements contributed fine dimensionality, with strong low-end at appropriate times. All of this led to a mediocre soundtrack.

The Blu-ray includes both the movie’s theatrical version (1:50:46) as well as a Director’s Cut (1:44:26). How do the two differ?

Not much, though theatrical comes with a short intro before we flash back to one year earlier. Otherwise, the DC mainly appears to trim some scenes without major overhauls that I could discern.

By the way, “Theatrical Version” seems like an odd description since I can’t figure out if the film actually appeared in theaters anywhere. Still, it seemed like the most logical term for the non-Director’s Cut.

Despite a tale with a bunch of potential twists, Dead Wrong never manages much real intrigue. Dragged down by a muddled narrative and a dull lead actor, the film sputters. The Blu-ray offers passable picture and audio along with two cuts of the movie. This winds up as a dull experience.