Run Ronnie Run

An average episode of Mr. Show began with one idea and, by the end, returned full circle to that original idea. Run Ronnie Run follows that cycle. Ronnie Dobbs was first introduced in the first Mr. Show episode, and now years after the show was cancelled, we return to Ronnie in his very own movie to close the circle.

The movie, as an inside joke filled with many inside jokes that only fans of the show will get, is a disappointment. Many situations can only be fully appreciated if you have seen the series from HBO. Those who haven't will find themselves wondering why so many jokes fell flat. For those who have seen the full series, we find ourselves wondering, once again, why so many jokes fell flat.

The movie, a loose plot based on one portion of the first Mr. Show episode, anchors a handful of poor skits that just don't have the wit or anti-establishment humor that the series showcased.

At three times the length and only half the jokes of a Mr. Show episode, it makes sense that Run Ronnie Run has been sitting so long waiting for someone to take a chance on distributing it.

I am one of the biggest Mr. Show fans on Earth, I watched the first episode when it originally aired, and every episode after that. I've bought the 1st through 3rd season DVD's, and I'm convinced it is the funniest show ever. So when you know the comedy potential of Bob and David, then you see this movie, you wonder what they were thinking. Even now if you visit their site they will tell you themselves it was a horrible movie. You are just left wondering, how can these two hilarious guys not make a hilarious movie? I loved the Ronnie Dobbs segments on Mr. Show, but even when I heard they were going to turn it into a movie long ago, I couldn't imagine how they planned to stretch it out into a full-length film. Having seen the film it's apparent they didn't know how to either. The funniest parts of the film we've already seen in the Ronnie skits on Mr. Show. There were a few chuckles in the movie, but Mr. Show made me roll on the floor. There are a few Mr. Show characters in the film other than Ronnie and Terry, such as "Three Times One Minus One" the reporter Tim McCracken, and possibly a few others, I forget. The funniest part of the movie was Jack Black and his musical number, but it had nothing to do with the plot of the film itself, and this wasn't even one of Jack's best performances.

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.

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).