With Vince Vaughn and Kevin James as the lead characters, one might expect a rollicking comedy from 2011’s The Dilemma. However, the plot takes a more dramatic turn as well.

Pals since college, Ronny Valentine (Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (James) remain best buddies. Though the single Ronny’s lifestyle contrasts with that of the married Nick, they still find plenty of time to get together and always have each others’ backs.

Their bond gets tested when Ronny suspects that Nick’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) cheats on him. Ronny tries to learn the facts and then decide how to proceed with this information.

There’s your titular dilemma! This theme crops up at about the 30-minute point, so we find ourselves with 80 minutes of movie for Ronny to deal with it.

Though Dilemma fills the opening half-hour with some character development, most of it feels like meandering filler. That situation doesn’t improve after Ronny spies Geneva, especially because of all that cinematic real estate the movie needs to occupy.

At best, Dilemma boasts 90 minutes of story material, and that’s likely being generous. However, the film crams in a ton of useless subplots to take up all that time.

Whereas the movie really should focus on elements connected to Ronny’s concerns, it broadens into beats related to the joint business venture he and Nick operate as well as Ronny’s decision whether or not to propose to long-time girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly).

None of this goes anywhere, and it all turns into a bizarre, muddled mess. How could a veteran director like Ron Howard create such a bumbling tale?

In theory, when Ronny discovers Geneva’s infidelity, the movie should ramp up in terms of drama. However, it just putters down a slew of melodramatic paths and never finds any kind of rhythm or purpose.

All this means Dilemma wastes a solid cast. How can a movie with Vaughn, James, Connelly and Ryder become such a dull dud? Toss in supporting turns from Channing Tatum and Queen Latifah and this becomes an even bigger shock.

When you factor in the presence of Howard as director, the movie’s absolute failure seems even more perplexing. A thoroughly misguided clunker, Dilemma winds up as a slow, forgettable experience.

The Dilemma appears in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie offered a positive visual impression.

Overall definition seemed pleasing. Only a little softness materialized, so the movie usually appeared accurate and concise.

I noticed no signs of jaggies or edge enhancement, and shimmering was absent. The film lacked print flaws and seemed clean.

In terms of colors, Dilemma went for a teal and orange/amber tint. These appeared fine within the film’s stylistic choices.

Blacks seemed dark and tight, and shadows demonstrated good clarity. This added up to a satisfying presentation.

A character comedy/drama wouldn’t seem to be a candidate for a whiz-bang soundtrack. As such, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Dilemma fell into expected realms.

Usually the track remained oriented toward ambience, so don’t expect lots of sizzle from the mix. Some scenes in clubs or at sporting events added involvement, but don’t expect much from this low-key mix.

Audio quality satisfied. Although didn’t get much score, the music was full and rich, while effects showed nice clarity and accuracy.

Speech – obviously an important factor here – appeared concise and crisp. Nothing here soared, but it all seemed perfectly adequate for the project.

A mix of extras flesh out the disc. We find both an Alternate Ending (5:34) as well as 14 Deleted Scenes (43:50).

A full discussion of the “Ending” would involve spoilers, so I won’t spill beans. The alternate offers a more neutral finale, though. Because the movie’s so bad overall, I can’t claim one works better than the other.

As for that long collection of deleted scenes, most offer extended versions of sequences found in the final cut. We get a few totally new segments, but most just extend the existing material.

Given that Dilemma already runs way too long, each and every one of these cuts makes sense. Heck, chop out another 20 minutes from the finished product!

A Gag Reel spans four minutes, 42 seconds and shows the usual array of goofs and giggles. Given the presence of Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, I hoped for some alternate lines, but these don’t arrive.

A featurette called This Is The Dilemma runs 13 minutes, 45 seconds. It brings comments from director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, executive producers Kim Roth and Victoria Vaughn, and actors Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Queen Latifah and Channing Tatum.

The show looks at the movie’s roots and development, story/characters, cast and performances, Howard’s impact on the production, sets and locations. We get a fairly superficial overview.

An interactive feature, Tour Chicago actually splits into four short clips that take us to various sets and locations. We hear from Vaughn, James, production designer Daniel B. Clancy, Green Mill owner Dave Jemilo and actor Clint Howard as we go through the spots. This becomes a worthwhile discussion.

Finally, On Ice fills four minutes, 48 seconds and brings notes from Howard, Vaughn, and James. We get a quick look at the United Center shoot. Since we already saw that location in “Tour”, I don’t know why we needed another featurette about it.

With noted director Ron Howard behind the camera and a top-notch cast in front of it, The Dilemma should becomes a winner. However, the film never finds a groove, so it rambles from one flat plot point to another. The Blu-ray brings solid visuals along with acceptable audio and a decent array of bonus materials. Dilemma delivers a dull disappointment.