Run Ronnie Run

I'm not familiar with the Ronnie Dobbs skits on 'Mr. Show' but I really enjoyed 'Run Ronnie Run'. It's funny from start to end. In the beginning there's a cartoon which mocks the cine-goers and the movie itself is a spoof of the 'trailor trash culture', reality shows, censorship and stardom in Hollywood. The film is full of cameos and all the actors show excellent comic timing. Dot Lancaster's opening sequence and his reappearance are hilarious. But, the stars of 'Run Ronnie Run' are Bob Odenkirk and David Cross who also co-wrote the screenplay. It is their tremendous comic abilities that make this one a joy to watch. Even though both Ronnie and arguably Terry are dumb, the viewer roots for them no matter what. The offbeat and adult humour might not be considered as everyone's cup of tea but I believe that it's an underrated film. The humour works on multiple levels as satire, slapstick, dark humour and yes, there's something poetic about it too. Go and watch 'Run Ronnie Run'but remember that it isn't real, it's a movie.

Not bad but...clearly either a case of too many cooks in the kitchen or massive studio interference marred what could have been a real blast of a comedy based on the cult favorite show MR. SHOW'S most enduring sketch.

After viewing the DVD's deleted scenes section is becomes very clear that a truly hilarious film does exist somewhere in there (including a much better ending, and a great rant by David Cross inspired by a similar one he did on the very first HBO episode of the t.v. show) but as it is the film is fun and occasionally very funny but often only passably amusing. Some inspired cameos, especially the one featured in the Broadway Musical rendition of Ronnie's life story which I will not spoil for you here, some nods to the stream of consciousness style of the show itself and of course all the familiar cast faces (Bob and David in particular) help elevate this endeavor, but as a long time fan who has seen every episode of the source of this movie, HBO's t.v. show "MR. SHOW", multiple times, I have to say the end result is a bit of a let down. Don't get me wrong, it's enjoyable, but it's hard not to wish another cut could be made that includes more of the cut material. That along with cutting a bit of David Koechner's part (and he is pretty funny here, like he usually is, but less would be more in this case), or maybe losing his narration altogether, would really put this flick up where it should be. A mistake early on in the general concept of the movie was made when Ronnie was made more likable than his television version. The film suffers a bit from sentimentality as a result and loses a lot of the MR. SHOW bite. This new sentiment could have still worked, however, if the cuts to Koechner's character and the reinsertion of the deleted scenes (including even more that's featured in the trailer but aren't even in the deleted scene section) could have been made. Seeing how neither is even remotely likely, I'll just have to go on wishing, and enjoy the picture for what it is, a flawed attempt that is still a must see for fans. Here's to some alternate cut turning up one day, grainy and edgy...which is really the way MR. SHOW is meant to be anyway!

Why on Earth would the guys who gave us one of the smartest "premise" based comedy shows on television choose such an easy target for their first film? New Line's tampering is not the reason the film isn't that great, guys. It's the idea to begin with. A parody of red necks? Ohhhhh, how cutting edge. THAT'S never been done before. The guys seem to have gone out of their way to play two really tired characters, in a tired situation (Reality TV) that we've seen parodied over and over again in other places and are now about as fresh and funny as a "Full House" rerun. This is a really sad loss 'cause I doubt it's likely anyone will poney up the money now to give these guys a second chance.

Also, the cameos. Great stuff with Jeff Goldblum, and Jack Black's bit is hysterical, but usually the famous people are just standing around without a single amusing thing to do ( Sarah Silverman and Gary Shandling immediately come to mind).

For years I've loved the work of David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, and certainly enjoyed Mr. Show, probably the best television comedy show since Kids in the Hall went off the air. However, when Bob and David themselves set out to warn people how awful this movie was, you KNOW you had to be worried. The fellas claim that studio interference from New Line made the production problematic and that the cut of the movie they wanted was largely sabotaged in favor of trying to compete with your usual "Cooter Patrol" style Hollywood comedy in the vein of utter retardedness like, say, American Pie. In the end, they claimed that Run Ronnie Run had been turned into a piece of garbage, and they are RIGHT. I don't care how deep your love for Bob and David runs...avoid this movie. Everything clever, subtle, and interesting about their comedy is sabotaged in this flick. Yes...it has it's moments. There's a few scenes here and there where I did honestly laugh. But all together, that totaled maybe 5-8 minutes of the rest of the flick. I love these guys but I have to be honest...something screwed up here. Whether it was New LIne or Bob and David just not being too good at a movie-length format, this just isn't what Mr. Show fans want to see.

Ronnie is a mullet headed redneck who lives in a trailer, drinks a lot of beer, raises hell and gets arrested. A failed infomercial pitchman sees Ronnie and decides to have him star in a new reality-based TV show where Ronnie goes from city to city, gets drunk and in trouble, and ultimately ends up getting arrested. It's like "Joe Dirt" meets "Cops".

The show becomes a big hit. Ronnie gets to mingle with the stars, buy a big house and finally nail the hot girl who is in his favorite beer advertisement.

Ronnie begins to feel the hallowness of his fame and then goes through the stereotypical soul searching that we've seen in a lot of movies.

This movie had some great, almost classic moments. And I was loving it, up until the last 20 minutes. It's another example of a movie that would have benefitted from a re-edit or two. The story just ran out of steam.

There are a boatload of very funny celebrity cameos, some uncredited. Also, there is an animation at the beginning of the movie which looks like a classic 1950's style "Please refrain from talking during the movie" cartoon, but it ends up being anything but. It looks like a Cricfalusi animation and it's pretty funny.

Look for the fake music video which also is very good.

Also, the ending credits have a few surprises including a great send up of Jackie Chan closing credits.

Supposedly, this movie failed to get a distributor. It is certainly strong enough to be released. I just wish they'd punch up the ending.

I give it a 6.5 to 7 out of 10. The team that made this movie is certainly talented. Be sure to check out the memorable quotes.