- Patrick Wilson in Stretch
I was looking forward to writing about Stretch—a cartoonish action comedy about a Hollywood limo driver having the worst day of his life—when it was supposed to come out in theaters back in March. I’m a fan of the film’s writer-director, Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The Grey), and I welcomed the release as an opportunity to address what makes him special. But Universal Pictures pulled Stretch at the last minute, and despite rumors that it would open theatrically this fall (after Carnahan reedited the movie to make it tighter), it was released onto VOD instead, and with virtually no fanfare. I imagine this turn of events has less to do with Stretch than with the growing reluctance of Hollywood studios to grant a theatrical release to anything that isn’t part of a franchise or that’s a prestige title with awards potential. (I addressed this phenomenon over the summer when I wrote about the direct-to-video releases of Blood Ties and Gambit). Though perfectly accessible and often quite entertaining, Stretch wound up another casualty of the zeitgeist.
