Knuckleface Jones

I first saw Knuckleface Jones at the Johns Hopkins film festival, and then at Microcinefest in Baltimore. I've met Todd Rohal a few times in Baltimore also, and he's a great guy. This film, while seeming totally random to some, is so funny. It is a well shot, well acted film, and now Piper Perabo (one of the co-stars) is making a name for herself in hollywood. See this, along with Todd's second film Single Spaced, to witness Piper's screen debut.

Todd Rohal is a mad genius. "Knuckleface Jones", his third, and most fully realized, short film has an offbeat sense of humor and will leave some scratching their heads. What the film is about at heart, and he would almost certainly disagree with me on this, is how a regular Joe finds the confidence to get through life with a little inspiration. Or not. You just have to see for yourself. The short is intermittently making rounds on the festival circuit, so keep your eyes peeled and catch it if you can - you'll be glad you did. It is hilarious. And check out Todd's other short films also popping up here and there from time to time: "Single Spaced" and "Slug 660".

I saw this as part of a Movieside screening in Chicago a month or so ago. I'm not sure what on Earth was going through the head of Todd Rohal when he came up with this one, but from the first lines of text on screen he had my attention. It was strange but entertaining. I felt like I was watching an episode of The Adventures of Pete and Pete on acid. If you're a fan of oddball humor that makes you think (or does it?!) then this is definitely worth checking out. If that's not your game, it's just going to come off as nonsense.

That's my two cents. The end.

Let me see if I have this straight:

We see some nasty young woman spitting in a guy's face who is left tied up in the middle of the woods. A Boy Scout and Cub Scout come by and (off camera) pummel him with sticks. Then "three queer guys" (their words) dressed in just shoes and underpants come by and taunt the guy, use a ton of f-words and obscene gestures, and then leave. Then we see the girl again at a gas pump. She still looks nasty and does one obscene gesture with the pump.

Later, the guy in the woods is untied and he meets another young woman, this one with really strange pigtails sticking out the sides of her head. That role is played by Piper Perabo, who has gone on to play in feature films and make a name for herself. I can't say that for the rest of this cast. Anyway, she tells him to go see this guy in a cabin nearby but be careful because she just took a big dump. When the guy knocks on the cabin door, an old man answers and winds up telling him all about "Knuckleface Jones.

I won't spoil the ending because I know, after reading this, you are dying to watch this award-winning short subject. You can view it on a DVD called "Movieside Film Festival - 20 Award Winners From Around The World."

Whether it's three guys in their tighty-whiteys rapping to a dude bound in twine or a girl saying "What up, dog?" to a lump of roadkill, there's something please everyone in Knuckleface Jones. It is strange and surreal and not altogether a completely comprehensible yarn... yet it never loses you. The first time I saw it, I nearly laughed myself sick. And every night after I would come home and watch it again. Forget Coyote Ugly... this is the movie that cemented my crush on Piper Perabo. See it... before it's too late!