Wilson (Woody Harrelson) is a cynical, brutally honest, lonely man who doesn’t like modern technology. He thinks people are too buried in their gadgets these days and that no one has actual conversations anymore. So whenever he’s in public he makes it a point to strike up conversations with strangers—especially when it’s evident that they’re not interested. However, Wilson’s idea of a conversation is a bit one-sided—he’ll starting going off on some soliloquy about a topic important only to him when the other “participant” will just saunter away without him even noticing. Wilson is the type of guy who will see five unoccupied seats away from everyone else, but will choose to sit at one right next to a stranger, breaking unspoken social rules and invading other people’s personal space. Wilson’s behavior is especially unnerving to those using restroom urinals.

After Wilson’s father passes, and his only friend moves away, Wilson starts to feel even more lonely. He has no more family or friends, just his dog Pepper to keep him company. So he sets out on a quest to make a human connection with someone new. His first step towards this goal is to try to reconnect with a childhood friend, but shortly into their loud, mutually one-sided conservation, he quickly recalls why the two of them never remained in contact. Wilson’s next approach is to try to re-enter the dating world. After a few failed attempts he scores a date, but all he can think of is his ex wife Pippi (Laura Dern), who left him 17 years earlier without any explanation, just that she was heading off to get an abortion. (Though, seeing Wilson’s personality in action, there’s no doubt why she left.) Wilson decides to reconnect with his ex, and contacts her bitter sister Polly to help track her down, but Polly just tells him that her sister is a strung out prostitute who works the streets.

While Wilson initially takes this comment literally, he is happy to discover that Polly’s statements were unfounded. That said, Pippi isn’t too happy to have Wilson crashing back into her life, which she’s struggling to keep together. Polly reveals that she didn’t actually have an abortion, but gave up the baby for adoption instead. Wilson is thrilled at the possibility of having another human connection in this world, and so he convinces a wary Pippi to join him in his delusional mission to meet their teenage daughter, Claire (Isabella Amara), and reconnect as a family…a mission with a noble purpose, but that is doomed to fail.

Wilson is an expanded adaptation of Daniel Clowes’ (Ghostworld) 2010 graphic novel of the same name. Clowes also wrote the screenplay for the film. The movie has a very unique tone and style of humor. Wilson can be a bit annoying and off-putting at times—it’s no wonder that his wife left him years earlier, and that he has trouble making/keeping friends. Wilson is brutally honest about his opinions and feelings and holds nothing back. For example, when his date tells him she isn’t asked out on many dates, he responds by telling her that looks aren’t really that important to him. However, his unfiltered thoughts are not spoken out of malice—he’s a genuine guy who just says what’s on his mind, without worrying about being politically correct or sparing people’s feelings. Wilson has a one-track mind and is usually lost in his own thoughts, focused on some self-serving mission or topic. Meanwhile, Pippi is also a bit complicated and messed up in a different way. She’s this insecure, downtrodden woman who could never compete with her perfect Stepford Wife-like sister. She was unsure that she even wanted to see her daughter after all this time, and then when Wilson pulls her into this reunions, she doesn’t even know how to be a mother or act around her daughter.

Woody Harrelson is delightfully irritating in this role. He delivers the humor while riding that fine line between annoying and lovable. Despite some of the horrible things that come out of his mouth, you find yourself rooting for Wilson to get that family and human connection he is missing and desires in his life. Laura Dern also delivers a strong performance as this insecure woman thrust back into a toxic relationship and coerced into this situation she was happy to leave in her past. In addition to the drama, there is a lot of witty dialogue and humorous situations, as well as some amazing physical comedy. One particularly hilarious scene finds Pippi and her sister (Cheryl Hines) in a kitchen having a huge, no-holds-barred brawl, which is interleaved with a scene of Wilson sitting among the grass and trees having a serene, peaceful conversation with his daughter. In addition to this talented main cast, the film also includes some excellent supporting performances from Brett Gelman, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Judy Greer and Margo Martindale.

While Wilson has some really fun moments, the film feels a bit disjointed at times. The pacing is a bit inconsistent, with some scenes feeling quite rushed, skipping ahead in time or chopping out portions of the events. There is a lot of excellent material in the deleted scenes that would have helped to ameliorate this issue had they been included in the final film—I wish the Blu-ray had included an extended cut with the deleted material included inline. That said, I still really enjoyed the film overall based on the characters, situations and humor.

The Blu-ray looks and sounds great. The video presentation is very clean with no presence of grain. It utilizes a rich color palette and has a very detailed picture. The uptick in quality of the Blu-ray presentation compared with the included DVD is extremely noticeable. The audio track provides clear dialogue and really showcases the film’s whimsical score. The surround and stereo channels are well-utilized to add ambiance and direction to the events on and off screen—there is one scene early on where Wilson walks off the left side of the screen to answer the phone, and you can hear this taking place in the left speaker.

This release includes Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD copies of the film, and the discs also contain a small assortment of bonus material—15 deleted scenes, 3 short promotional featurettes with the cast/creators, a behind-the-scenes photo gallery, and a pair of theatrical trailers. The discs come packed in a standard HD keepcase along with a slipcover and an insert with the digital copy redemption code.

What’s Included:

Film: (1:34:29)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD-MA 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD:

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD-MA 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Surround Dolby Digital 2.0, French Surround Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
• Closed Captioned

Digital HD (Code May Not Be Valid After 2019):

• Digital HD copy redeemable via iTunes, Google Play, or Vudu (UltraViolet)

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes (16:48)
  This is an excellent collection of 15 deleted scenes—I wish most of this material had been put back into the film as it would have helped flesh out some of the storylines and alleviate some of the uneven pacing in the final cut. Play All or select from “Phone Call From Dad”, “Hospital Visit”, “Cafeteria Comfort”, “Storage Keys”, “Locker Visit”, “Old Stomping Grounds”, “Bagel Shop Pick Up”, “On The Road”, “Family Bonding”, “Officially In Hell”, “She Needs To Know”, “Hard Time”, “Call From Prison”, “Technology” and “Grocery Store Rant”.
• Promotional Materials
  Collection of three promotional featurettes
  • Who Is Wilson? (2:00)
    Stars Woody Harrelson (“Wilson”) & Laura Dern (“Pippi”), and director Craig Johnson talk about the irritating but lovable character of Wilson.
  • Strip To Screen (1:49)
    Stars Woody Harrelson & Laura Dern, screenwriter/author Daniel Clowes and director Craig Johnson talk about expanding the graphic novel into a feature film. Also includes some side-by-side comparisons between scenes from the film and the original comics.
  • The Women of Wilson (1:41)
    A look at the women in Wilson’s life. Includes interviews with Judy Greer (“Shelly”), Laura Dern, Isabella Mara (“Claire”) and Cheryl Hines (“Polly”).
• Gallery (2:05)
  Manually step through this gallery of 24 behind-the-scenes photos, or allow the slideshow to auto-advance every 5 seconds.
• Theatrical Trailers (4:34)
  Play All or select from “Red Band Trailer” and “Theatrical Trailer”.
• Sneak Peek (6:22)
  Play All or select from trailers for “Discover Digital HD”, “Table 19” and “Absolute Fabulous: The Movie”.

Final Thoughts:

Wilson is a fun, entertaining look at one lonely man’s mission to seek out human connections and reconnect with a family he never had. Woody Harrelson gives a delightfully annoying performance as the title character—he’s both lovable and irritating at the same time. The film has some pacing issues and some odd editing choices, but the characters and nice blend of humor and drama outweigh this to provide an overall satisfying experience. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great, and includes a small but entertaining assortment of bonus material. This film is definitely worth checking out.