It seems that when discussing movies, we bring up a lot of genres and sub-genres as an easy way to identify certain types of films. And it seems that every year we got another hyphenated term to describe a newly crowned category of movie. Who comes up with these terms? I don't know, but have they coined one for ensemble dramas in which a seemingly disconnected group of characters are ultimately intertwined? I mean a term other than "a movie like Crash"? Well, until that word is invented, I'm forced to say that Answers to Nothing is a movie like Crash.

Answers to Nothing focuses on a group of characters who live in Los Angeles. Ryan (Dane Cook) is a therapist who is married to Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell). They have been trying to have a baby, but haven't had any luck. Ryan is having an affair with musician Tara (Aja Volkman). Kate is a social worker (or lawyer, I wasn't sure), who is representing Drew (Miranda Bailey), a woman who is trying to maintain custody of her brain-dead brother. Tara's band has been recording in a studio where Evan (Zach Gilford) works. He meets Allegra (Kali Hawk), a TV executive who is working through some personal issues. Jerry (Erik Palladino) is a police officer who frequents funerals and memorial services. Carter (Mark Kelly) is a school teacher. Frankie (Julie Benz) is a police detective who is investigating the disappearance of a young girl, and Beckworth (Greg Germann) is her prime suspect.

Did I mention that someone saw Crash (or Traffic)? Co-writer/Director Matthew Leutwyler has worked in film for over a decade and has made movies in different genres. (The only one of his other movies which I've seen is Dead & Breakfast and it wasn't very good.) Apparently, he wanted to pool all of his energy into a movie which covers as many topics and characters as possible. In a situation like this, one would usually accuse the filmmaker of biting off more than they can chew. But here, Leutwyler has spread everything too thin. The characters are all very one-dimensional and their motivations are often vague. Also, it's often unclear why their stories should seem important. For example, Evan has found a dog and he's looking for the owner. Is that interesting? It is interesting that he's paired with Allegra, as her issues border on whining and never really develop.

Of course, in a movie like this, it's the connections between the characters which is supposed to be important. In movies like Crash, Traffic, and Babel, the ways in which the characters are linked are slowly revealed as the movie progresses. These can either be very intricate or conveniently coincidental. However, in Answers to Nothing most of the connections are revealed very early on, and they are done so in a casual manner. For example, Kate and Frankie are friends. Oh, OK. Carter and Jerry are neighbors. Wow, how do they come up with this stuff. The ways in which the characters cross paths isn't the least bit interesting. Instead of pieces of a puzzle which come together in a complicated way, the characters here are simply part of a chain which doesn't move very much in either direction. There's also an issue with the drama in the movie. When Answers to Nothing started, my wife said, "Is this one of those movies where everyone is depressed?" And it is. As I've said before, I know that there can't be drama without drama, but this movie could have used some levity.

The vague genre of "movies like Crash" is one with unrealized potential, and Answers to Nothing is an example of how things can go wrong with it. The movie is made even more frustrating by the fact that it does do a few things right. The finale reveals a surprising twist with one of the characters and another isn't who we thought they were. Also, I applaud the movie for the scene where Ryan admits to having an affair and someone says, "Why?" I know it's a complicated situation, but it's also a legitimate question. Typically in a movie like this, there's that one storyline which dominates the action and one can't help but like. But most all of Answers to Nothing goes nowhere and certainly lives up to its title.

Answers to Nothing really makes me miss Dane Cook's stand-up (which I actually like) on DVD courtesy of Lionsgate. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing only trace amounts of grain at times and no defects from the source material. The colors look good and the image is never overly dark or bright. However, the picture does get soft at times and the level of detail isn't always stellar. Some slight artifacting is visible as well. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are pretty good and show good separation. Some crowd noises provide fairly effective surround sound. The music from Tara's band (which is grating) sounds fine and fills the speakers nicely.

(It should be noted that the DVD contains no scene selection feature. I guess we're supposed to view the movie as one large piece of...work.)

The Answers to Nothing DVD contains a few extras. We begin with an AUDIO COMMENTARY from Co-Writer/Director Matthew Leutwyler, Co-Writer Gillian Vigman, Producers Amanda Marshall & Sim Sarna, and Director of Photography David Robert Jones. The DVD contains twelve DELETED SCENES which run about 20 minutes. This contains an ALTERNATE ENDING which creates another connection between characters and offers some more specific closure for some of the characters. The rest of these offer small, additional scenes with most of the characters, with the bulk going to Evan, as much of his subplot with the lost dog got cut out of the movie. We get two MUSIC VIDEOS, one for the song "Iron Man" by Nico Vega and one for the song "Fade" by Egyptian. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.