Try as he might, Jim Carrey just can’t get audiences to embrace him as a non-comedic actor. For the latest evidence of this, we go to 2007’s The Number 23, a thriller that took in a mere $33 million at the box office.

Animal control officer Walter Sparrow (Carrey) leads a pretty ordinary life with his wife Agatha (Virginia Madsen) and teen son Robin (Logan Lerman). A mishap with a pooch makes him late to meet up with Agatha, and his tardiness proves life changing in an odd way. While the wife waits, she browses a book called The Number 23: A Novel of Obsession by Topsy Kretts. Agatha forces him to buy it, and Walter quickly becomes engulfed in the world of its protagonist “Fingerling”, especially since that character reminds Walter so much of himself.

When Walter gets to the part about the “Suicide Blonde” (Lynn Collins), the story introduces the mystery of the number 23. Walter finds many connections between his life and that digit, and these become an obsession for him. 23 follows Walter as this concept consumes him as well as various related mysteries.

Based on its trailers, I thought 23 could become interesting. The ads gave it a vibe of The Da Vinci Code with a psycho edge. What I got reminded me of Code, all right, but simply because that film came out as something dull.

At its heart, 23 has a lot of potential. Those trailers looked good for a reason, and the inherent tale here could turn into something creepy and chilling.

If handled by someone with more talent than director Joel Schumacher, that is. I don’t think I’d call Schumacher a truly bad director, but his flaws often outweigh his strengths. Schumacher usually favors style over substance; his movies may look good but they lack depth or impact.

That becomes the main issue during 23, as there’s just not much meat here. For one, I don’t like the awkward melding of Walter’s world and the hard-bitten Fingerling tales. Obviously these are supposed to tie together and blur but their execution just make things seem goofy and disjointed. At times I get the impression that the writers didn’t have enough material for one movie so they threw in all the Fingerling tales to fill time. Yeah, they play a more significant role than that, but so many of them ramble on for such long periods that they often come across like filler.

Even beyond these narrative concerns, 23 just lays there. I thought it would have a creepy feel to it that caused shivers, but that never happened. The result seems kind of dull, really. It pounds us with forced spookiness, but nothing about it ever becomes unsettling - cheesy maybe, but not disquieting. The Number 23 does gets a little more interesting when it finally ties together the pieces. It follows a few moderately intriguing paths as it nears its conclusion. Unfortunately, these collapses in a sentimental, sappy ending that renders moot the prior moments. Ultimately, 23 bores more than it entertains, though I must admit Virginia Madsen looks awfully hot as a brunette.

The Number 23 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Virtually no problems occurred during this fine transfer.

Sharpness was very good. The film’s stylistic choices meant a little softness was inevitable, but those examples were infrequent and unproblematic. Overall definition seemed strong. No jagged edges or shimmering occurred, but I noticed no edge enhancement. Source flaws were absent.

23 delivered very distinctive tones. Much of the movie went with a red-dominated palette, and sickly greens also cropped up on many occasions. Some of the Fingerling bits favored more of a blown-out, desaturated look. These colors were all over the place but the disc delivered them as intended by the filmmakers. Blacks looked dark and tight, while shadows were clear and smooth – within those stylistic constraints, that is. I thought the Blu-ray rendered the movie well.

In addition, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of The Number 23 consistently impressed. The soundfield opened up to engulf us in Walter’s paranoia and insanity. Various elements cropped up from the surrounds and the sides to lead us inside his head, and the track made sure these combined smoothly. More mundane effects also showed good placement and involvement. The various channels formed a fine sense of place and added to the story.

In addition, the quality of the audio satisfied. Speech was natural and concise, with no edginess or other issues. Music was dynamic and bold, while effects showed similar characteristics. Range seemed very good, and low-end was strong and tight. This was a pretty nice soundtrack.

How did the picture and sound of this Blu-Ray compare with those of the original DVD? The lossless DTS track was a little punchier and more vibrant, but the visuals were where I noticed the most significant improvements. The old DVD packed in a lot of elements so the bit rate took a hit – a hit that made the picture quality inconsistent. With the greater storage capacity and resolution of Blu-ray, those issues went away. This was a pretty terrific presentation.

The Blu-ray duplicates the supplements from the DVD and adds one new element. We open with an audio commentary from director Joel Schumacher. He provides a running, screen-specific piece. The director covers cast and performances, the “Number 23 Enigma” and themes, sets and locations, visual design and effects, and a few other tidbits.

A veteran of these commentaries, Schumacher knows what to do, and his experience shows. He remains a very chatty presence as he discusses his film, and he makes sure we get a nice overview of the flick and its important areas. Though this never becomes a truly fascinating chat, it does what it needs to do.

Another option to accompany the movie arrives via the Fact Track. This text commentary uses the subtitle area as it provides small factoids that appear throughout the flick. It covers subjects such as aspects of the production, facts about the actors and others involved, and concepts depicted in the flick. For instance, we learn a little about numerology, dog-catching, and various psychological disorders.

Most of the “Fact Tracks” that accompany DVDs lack much content, and this one doesn’t improve immensely on that state. However, I think it’s better than most of its predecessors. Those tended to suffer from too little information; large portions of the film would pass without notes. Some dead space still appears here, but the track uses our time in a much more efficient manner. We get a reasonable amount of decent details here, so the “Fact Track” is worth a look.

For another feature that runs during the movie, we get a collection of Focus Points. Exclusive to the Blu-ray, this slaps special icons onscreen ten times during the film. Hit “enter” when these appear to see short clips. These last a total of 15 minutes, 32 seconds, and we hear from Schumacher, producer Beau Flynn, screenwriter Fernley Phillips, Intelligent Creatures visual effects production executive Raymond Gieringer, and actors Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen. These examine visual effects, 23s in the film, Carrey’s tattoo, the celebration of the shoot’s 23rd day, numerology and coincidences, and some story subjects.

That’s it? Ten “Focus Points” across a 98-minute movie? That’s not very much content, and the “Points” don’t add much to the proceedings. They’re moderately interesting at best but the intrusive format makes them frustrating; it’s a drag to have to halt the movie to watch these brief pieces.

16 Deleted/Alternate Scenes fill a total of 14 minutes, 28 seconds. These include “Alternate Opening” (1:50), “Walter Chases Ned” (0:19), “Nathaniel’s Institute” (1:22), “Walter in Bedroom with Book” (0:51), “Engine Problems” (0:45), “Spying on the Suicide Blonde” (1:08), “More Engine Problems” (0:27), “Empty Truck” (0:15), “Happy Birthday from the Suicide Blonde” (0:35), “Alternate Bookstore Clerk Scene” (1:00), “Emotional Leave” (1:25), “Fingerling Finds Note” (1:15), “The Police Sergeant” (0:52), “Robin Asks About Mailbox” (0:30), “Laura and Kyle Buy Knife” (0:15) and “Alternate Ending” (1:05).

The “Alternate Opening” takes us to the film’s potential conclusion as a way to set up what follows; it’s one way to start the flick, though not necessarily the best one. The “Alternate Ending” is actually more interesting than the used conclusion, if just because it’s less schmaltzy. It adds a slightly ominous note to the finish.

As for the other clips, most remain inconsequential. Many would have been redundant, and others are simply unnecessary. The two “Engine” clips, “Truck” and “Leave” show how Walter’s obsession affects his job and are moderately interesting; other than the “Alternate Ending”, they’re pretty much the only ones that might’ve worked in the final film.

A variety of featurettes appear. The Making of The Number 23 lasts 22 minutes, 20 seconds as it presents the usual mix of movie clips, shots from the set, and interviews. We hear from Schumacher, Carrey, Flynn, Phillips, and actors Virginia Madsen, and Lynn Collins. “Making” looks at the script and its path to the screen as well as how Schumacher came onto the project, and casting. From there we learn about characters and performances, the book within the movie and its depiction onscreen, Schumacher’s work, and the film’s tone.

One problem with documentaries on infinifilm DVDs – the series to which the original release belonged - comes from their structure. Since the infinifilm process chops them up into little segments you can watch along with the movie, they tend to be awkward and they don’t always flow well when viewed as a whole.

That creates some jerkiness during “Making”, but the content helps overcome the structural flaws. The program combines into a pretty decent glimpse of the story/character issues and covers them well. It’s a good little show.

Creating the World of Fingerling goes for 11 minutes, 10 seconds and features Schumacher, Carrey, Flynn, Madsen, Phillips, and Gieringer. “World” looks at issues like cinematography and visuals, set design, the depiction of the “storybook world”, effects, and other stylistic decisions. “World” complements “Making” with a nod toward the technical side of things. It fleshes out various topics well and becomes another useful piece.

Next comes the 25-minute, three-second The 23 Enigma. It presents remarks from Carrey, Schumacher, Phillips, Madsen, Loyola Marymount University Professors of Mathematics Dr. Herbert A. Medina, Dr. Jacqueline M. Dewar and Dr. Michael Berg, numerology expert Josh Siegel, and the OCD Center’s Tom Corboy. This program looks at the numerical concepts behind the movie. We examine things from a mathematical point of view as well as lucky/unlucky numbers, numerology, number-related obsessions and psychology.

Although “Enigma” examines some intriguing ideas, it doesn’t tie things together very well. It tends to flit from one area to another without much clarity, a factor that makes it a little too disjointed. You’ll find some decent information but I’d prefer a show with greater definition.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we discover How to Find Your Life Path Numbers. It runs 11 minutes as numerologist Glynis McCants teaches us about “life path numbers”, how to calculate them, and what they mean. McCants comes across as a total crackpot – partially because she buys into this nonsense with such intense conviction - and the whole thing sounds absurd. Or maybe I’m just bitter because McCants instructs us poorly; my birthdate numbers come out to “29” and she doesn’t say how to turn that into a “life path number”. I have no life path – no wonder I’m such a damned mess!

Despite some appealing aspects, The Number 23 is just not a very interesting movie. While it has the components to turn into something compelling, it never quite gets there, and it ends up as fairly dull and forgettable. The Blu-ray offers excellent picture and audio as well as a nice collection of extras. Though the movie itself leaves me cold, this is a nice release, and it’s worth the upgrade for fans who already own the original DVD.

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