Ok, I'm a Mr. Show junky. I love the show to death; I have done so ever since their first season back in '95. They have taken sketch comedy to such joyous, conceptual heights that you would think anything they were involved in would be classic. When I heard they were making "Run Ronnie Run!", I read a quote from David Cross in Spin magazine. It was maybe February 2000, and David said, "If something like Deuce Bigalow can top the charts, then our movie has to be classic. There's about 5 times as many laughs as that so called comedy." Ok, I'm slightly paraphrasing, but he was snobbish about that comedy and thought his film had so many more jokes.
But, where are they? The jokes. The laughs. The Ronnie Dobbs sketches always seemed like the weakest ones on the show, and it always seemed like Bob and David had an affection for them (even as the audience didn't laugh). The main basis of the show was taken from a sketch from their pilot episode, and it was one of the least funny in the entire duration of the show. They were so unfunny, they actually had to cut an entire scene out, the only time they have ever done so on the show.
So, it didn't work as a sketch, so they made it into a movie. Conceptually, what an awful idea. The idea of "Cops" following anyone around is the most lame brained premise for a comedy, and the only inspired version I have seen of this idea in a DECADE is the Comedy Central gem, "Reno 911". They actually know all the "Cops-Sketch" clichés, and avoid them by making the scenarios absurd, beyond the bounds of its Cops-like premise. "Run Ronnie Run!", on the other hand, runs into every Cops cliché in the book, and the basis of most of the dramatic scenes are weighted back in sketches that were 5 years old when they started filming. It's also a shame as David is actually a very strong dramatic and comedic actor, but he is stuck in an unbelievable accent and an unlikable character, which is never a smart move for a full length feature. You need to sympathize with the main story line, at least a little, for it to work all the way through.
All of that being said, I'd like to say there are some very good jokes here. The biggest laugh in the entire thing is the infomercial Terry Twillstein is partaking in the first time we see him. Another bright spot is seeing Scott Thompson partaking in the secret gay conspiracy everyone knows he is a part of. A scene where a bunch of board members, including Sarah Silverman, Scott Foley, and Andy Richter, decide on the future of the Ronnie Dobbs show is a classic piece. However, the best sequence in the film is Ronnie seducing a Hollywood playgirl, one where the payoff is priceless. These are a few diamonds in the rough, though, as everything that corresponds to the main premise seems entirely disposable.
I could mention many jokes that do not work in the film, but the most inexplicable is the odd "Survivor" parody, which doesn't even seem to have a joke behind it. Since they started filming the movie long before "Survivor" ever aired, one has to suspect that this was a last minute effort to make the film seem more relevant and prescient in our culture. However, since there have been so many "Survivor" parodies already aired on so many shows, it just makes it seem lamer and tired. Also, it timestamps the movie from being from this era and will make it age very quickly.
One more note: Mr. Show fans should at least rent this film, as there is a hilarious video by Three Times One Minus One on it that rivals anything from Mr. Show. It's nice to see that they still have got it, at least in sketch format. And Bob Odenkirk has apparently made a brilliant film on his own (Melvin Goes To Dinner), which suggests they even have a future in movies. It's just unfortunate that it couldn't start here. 4/10
But, where are they? The jokes. The laughs. The Ronnie Dobbs sketches always seemed like the weakest ones on the show, and it always seemed like Bob and David had an affection for them (even as the audience didn't laugh). The main basis of the show was taken from a sketch from their pilot episode, and it was one of the least funny in the entire duration of the show. They were so unfunny, they actually had to cut an entire scene out, the only time they have ever done so on the show.
So, it didn't work as a sketch, so they made it into a movie. Conceptually, what an awful idea. The idea of "Cops" following anyone around is the most lame brained premise for a comedy, and the only inspired version I have seen of this idea in a DECADE is the Comedy Central gem, "Reno 911". They actually know all the "Cops-Sketch" clichés, and avoid them by making the scenarios absurd, beyond the bounds of its Cops-like premise. "Run Ronnie Run!", on the other hand, runs into every Cops cliché in the book, and the basis of most of the dramatic scenes are weighted back in sketches that were 5 years old when they started filming. It's also a shame as David is actually a very strong dramatic and comedic actor, but he is stuck in an unbelievable accent and an unlikable character, which is never a smart move for a full length feature. You need to sympathize with the main story line, at least a little, for it to work all the way through.
All of that being said, I'd like to say there are some very good jokes here. The biggest laugh in the entire thing is the infomercial Terry Twillstein is partaking in the first time we see him. Another bright spot is seeing Scott Thompson partaking in the secret gay conspiracy everyone knows he is a part of. A scene where a bunch of board members, including Sarah Silverman, Scott Foley, and Andy Richter, decide on the future of the Ronnie Dobbs show is a classic piece. However, the best sequence in the film is Ronnie seducing a Hollywood playgirl, one where the payoff is priceless. These are a few diamonds in the rough, though, as everything that corresponds to the main premise seems entirely disposable.
I could mention many jokes that do not work in the film, but the most inexplicable is the odd "Survivor" parody, which doesn't even seem to have a joke behind it. Since they started filming the movie long before "Survivor" ever aired, one has to suspect that this was a last minute effort to make the film seem more relevant and prescient in our culture. However, since there have been so many "Survivor" parodies already aired on so many shows, it just makes it seem lamer and tired. Also, it timestamps the movie from being from this era and will make it age very quickly.
One more note: Mr. Show fans should at least rent this film, as there is a hilarious video by Three Times One Minus One on it that rivals anything from Mr. Show. It's nice to see that they still have got it, at least in sketch format. And Bob Odenkirk has apparently made a brilliant film on his own (Melvin Goes To Dinner), which suggests they even have a future in movies. It's just unfortunate that it couldn't start here. 4/10