The Jerky Boys

The Jerky Boys first audio tape was a huge success, and I enjoyed many hours of laughs from it. The second audio tape wasn't as funny, but still had some great jokes, and I never listened to any more after that. But I saw the movie on video, and it couldn't measure up. Just the same jokes from the first tape, only not quite as funny. And the token plot wouldve been better off just showing them make the calls. Alan Arkin as a mafioso was an amusing touch, following his psychiatrist from Grosse Point Blank. Everyone I know who saw this film thought it was mediocre, but the ones who never heard the tapes before thought it was somewhat funny, while fans of the Jerky Boys expected a whole lot more. Now Johnny and Kamal's 15 minutes of fame together are up, but at least they had a good run.

Why turn an unfunny series of prank phone calls into a movie? Whose idea was this? Why does this movie have Alan Arkin in it? Watching this movie will not answer any of these questions, it will only make you inquire "Why am I watching this movie?"

The Jerky Boys are a famous comedy duo known for making prank calls which have been recorded and released on albums. I knew about them by the time I first came across a copy of this film for rent at a video store recently, but didn't know they had their own movie until then. Released in 1995, long before I was old enough to watch R-rated movies, "The Jerky Boys" is a comedy starring the two prank callers, John G. Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. By the time I watched this, I had heard many of their recorded prank calls (it seems they were falsely credited for several of the ones I heard, but most of them really were from the duo), and thought they were generally funny, but since I was aware of this film's lack of popularity, I wasn't surprised by its overall mediocrity.

Johnny B. and Kamal are two "lowlifes from Queens" who have been making prank telephone calls since they were kids. John's mother warned the two of them what they would be like when they grew up if they didn't change their ways, and sure enough, they have since grown up and turned out to be exactly what she predicted, two unemployed idiots still living at home. Making prank calls is still a major hobby of theirs, and they've had certain jobs in the past, but due to their stupidity and incompetence, they didn't have them for long. Unfortunately for Johnny and Kamal, their prank calling gets them into serious trouble when they call the local mafia and Johnny pretends to be a crime boss from Chicago named Frank Rizzo, and the two of them then pose as two of Rizzo's hoodlums when they go to meet members of the Queens mob in person! They soon find that not only are the local mafia after them, so are the police!

Shortly after I began to watch this 1995 flop, I did find myself laughing or at least smiling at times, but not enough to make me think it was a actually a good comedy, and I didn't care for the part with Johnny and Kamal (as kids) watching a boy getting in trouble with his mother after they prank called her, and what the mother says she'll do to her son when they get inside. None of the gags in this movie are among the most revolting I've ever seen, but one fairly lame scene is the one with hot dogs made from human bodies! Most of the film is basically just mediocre, unfunny, and boring. The plot also isn't that interesting, with the two pranksters getting into more and more trouble. I certainly did laugh at times, such as the drive-thru scene and the part where the main characters (the Jerky Boys playing themselves) steal a cab and Kamal poses as the cab driver. These laughs definitely weren't always just small ones, either. Still, for the vast majority of the film, I kept a straight face, and cannot give it a high rating.

This silly comedy was apparently panned by critics and seems to be fairly obscure, but it seems that some Jerky Boys fans like it. However, it also appears many of those who have seen it think it's atrocious, and I'm sure a number of the duo's fans have been disappointed by this movie of theirs. As someone who has never listened to any of their albums from start to finish but has heard enough of their recorded pranks individually to be convinced that they know how to be funny, I sure would have been disappointed if I had expected this film to be as good. Apart from occasional funny moments (some very funny and some mildly amusing) and a cameo appearance from Ozzy Osbourne as the Band Manager, there was hardly anything in 1995's "The Jerky Boys" (a.k.a. "The Jerky Boys: The Movie") that appealed to me. If you're not a Jerky Boys fan at all, I suggest you skip this film, and if you are a fan, I can't imagine how you could watch this without finding anything in it funny at all (though you never know), but don't be surprised if you find that it doesn't live up to the duo's audio recordings.

This movie will go down in history as an all time classic. I place it in the realms of Cheech and Chong and the Blues Brothers. Not many Guys could pull off making crank calls into a Big-screen comedy. Fast paced action and wacky impressions make this movie a winner. Even though it was a box office flop I bet video rentals more than made up for poor ticket sales. This is a stay home, 12 pack type of flick.

"The Jerky Boys" is mostly an excuse to be silly. The plot is that slackers Johnny and Kamal spend their lives making prank phone calls and inadvertently call a mob boss (Alan Arkin), pretending to be another mafioso, thereby starting a wacky chain of events. I actually thought that the best parts were the pranks. Still, the flick's an overall fun romp. Far from the funniest movie ever, but OK for a viewing. As it was, I saw this movie right after I first learned of Alan Arkin by seeing "Catch-22", so this was a real surprise. And now he's won an Oscar!

Anyway, pretty funny. Also starring William Hickey (the mob boss in "Prizzi's Honor" and the patriarch in "Mouse Hunt").