Don’t run from Ronnie

After sitting on the shelf over at New Line for two years, the long awaited Mr. Show movie finally gets its due on DVD, going straight to video because it was basically deemed unworthy of theatrical release. David Cross plays Ronnie Dobbs, the most-arrested man in America who gets his own Cops-like TV show after he is spotted by an entrepreneurial TV producer with a fake British accent (Bob Odenkirk). The film doesn’t live up to the classic hilarity that was the TV show (Bob and David have actually severed themselves from the project), but it is still very funny, much funnier than the majority of films being passed off as comedies nowadays. This cut of the film is a little different than others I’ve managed to see over the past couple of years through various legal and illegal means. I’ve seen some of the cut scenes included in the disc package in different edits of the film, and those scenes worked just fine. It’s a shame this film got screwed because it does contain some gems, including Jack Black’s dreadfully obscene chimney sweep song.

Special Features: The deleted scenes in this package are very funny and could’ve been used to flesh out the film’s paltry running time (87 minutes). Some hidden Easter eggs contain outtakes worth watching, and Mr. Show fans will recognize the video from R&B sensation Three Times One Minus One.

Movie: B+ Special Features: B-