Let Ronnie Dobbs see the light

Fans of the cult phenom "Mr. Show," or of decent comedy as a whole, should unite, fight and gripe over New Line Cinema's decision to bar "Run Ronnie Run," the first "Mr. Show" movie, from its well-deserved theatrical release. New Line has no reason aside from simply not knowing how to properly market "Run Ronnie Run" for holding it, which is a shame. \nSure, New Line's done a whole lot for filmmakers and goers as of late. It was the only studio that had the brass and savvy needed to mount a risky trilogy such as "The Lord of the Rings," which thus far has been excellent. And New Line churned-out "Austin Powers in Goldmember," which, for all practical purposes, was miles ahead of its predecessor, "The Spy Who Shagged Me." \nBut this begs the question -- why banish the comedic genius of David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (the brains behind "Mr. Show" and "Run Ronnie Run")? They're currently in the midst of a predominantly sold-out tour of our nation's biggest markets with "Hooray for America," which hits two separate Chicago venues Friday night and should be well worth a look. Also, the DVD set of the first two seasons of their HBO series (which ran between 1995 and 1998) is selling like hotcakes. \nNew Line's doing well enough; the entire "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has been paid off with "The Fellowship of the Rings"' box office receipts alone. New Line's surely made, or is in the process of making, enough crap, i.e. "Jason X" (the worst horror movie/ horror movie parody ever made), the upcoming "Freddy vs. Jason" (featuring the goofy-looking member of Destiny's Child), a teeny-bopper remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and a sequel to "Final Destination" (what, one wasn't enough?).\nWhy not release a film you've already payed for? Sure, it won't make $100 million, but it will make die-hard "Mr. Show" fans happy and is sure to gross more than the paltry $12 million "earned" by "Jason X" during its domestic theatrical run. Plus, it's among the best comedies I've seen this year, and believe it or not, Hollywood, but quality counts for something, or at least it should.\n"Run Ronnie Run" expands on a series of skits seen in the first few episodes of "Mr. Show," in which a good ol' boy by the name of Ronwell "Ronnie" Q. Dobbs (Cross) spends his days being arrested for various acts of drunken tomfoolery. Soon, Ronnie's skill for being arrested is placed on the national stage after frequent appearances on the "Cops"-esque reality show, "Fuzz," and on his own subsequent television program, "Ronnie Dobbs gets Arrested," as produced by a British boob by the name of Terry Twillstein (Odenkirk). "Run Ronnie Run" is the film that "Joe Dirt" (which is still pretty funny) wanted to be. It's smarter, faster-paced and in all respects dirtier.\nSure, I saw the film via an illegal VHS bootleg, and the quality was nothing to write home about (the frame rate ran alongside the bottom of the screen, the digital effects shots were incomplete and the picture was somewhat fuzzy), but if you can enjoy a flick unabashedly under these poor conditions it must rock.\nThis is a film chock full of classic "Mr. Show" moments -- a female infomercial star takes a razor blade in the chest from a faulty food processor, and Jack Black and his chimneysweep entourage sing "Just Another Kick in the Cunt" in a warped parody of "Mary Poppins." The flick also boasts the funniest fight scene and use of bad dubbing in the history of cinema.\nQuite simply, this is a film that needs to be seen by "Mr. Show" fans and the uninitiated alike. Damn New Line for not releasing "Run Ronnie Run" sooner. Hopefully the studio will seek redemption by releasing the flick, whether it be direct-to-video, or, if there's any justice in this world, at a theater near you.