As you can tell from some of the other, obviously tongue in cheek reviews, people watch 'Ryan's Babe' as a kind of so-bad-it's-good, unintentional comedy. The film holds your interest, and on that level it is entirely enjoyable.
There's only one problem: we can't tell whether director Ray Ramayya is an idiot or a genius.
'Ryan's Babe' is a portrait of Ryan (Bill LeVasseur), who is handsome and attractive to women but otherwise a zero. 'Ryan's Babe' is a road film- but Ryan isn't going anywhere, and Ryan never does anything. Instead, things happen to him. His character and motives are nonexistent. When Ryan isn't kidnapped (which happens three times), he is captive to his utter lack of judgment. Ryan is neither to be liked nor disliked- he is totally null and void.
'Ryan's Babe' is the cinematic equivalent of a picaresque novel, a genre that follows the life of a low level criminal. These novels follow the character through a series of loosely connected episodes, but lack a conventional plot. In the world of film, 'Ryan's Babe' is in the same territory as Stanley Kubricks 'Barry Lyndon' and Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Querelle'.
So far so good. But intentionally or not, Ramayya filmed a movie about a man whose life is totally out of control in a style which is totally out of control. It's difficult to make a film about a bore which isn't boring, yet this film is enjoyable and the style genuinely innovative.
Ramayya juxtaposes action, dialog, sound, and expression in a way we have never seen before. Dialog is a series of non sequiturs, and the automated dialogue replacement is strangely dissonant. Foreshadowing leads nowhere, and there is a near total disconnect between events. Flashbacks within flashbacks recall 'Pulp fiction's' non-sequential editing.
Ryan's adventures are violent and entirely ludicrous, which only adds to the film. More than making any statement, Ramayya seems intent on creating his own reality (something John Waters did successfully in 'Dangerous living').
'Ryan's Babe' is a paradox. We can't tell if it's more in keeping with 'An Andalusian dog' or 'The room'- surrealism often verges on the ridiculous. Either way, David Lynch should take note.
