Harry here... New Line... I hear you're thinking of releasing this this year again. GOOD MOVE! I recommend September, so that College Kids are back on campus, they love their RUN RONNIE RUN / Mr Show people. And they don't even know about the Hillbilly Bastard character yet... He's aces, if I do say so myself.... Here's that drunken east coast saltlicker, Quint with blow down on RUN RONNIE RUN!!!
Ahoy there, squirts! 'Tis I, everybody's favorite crusty ol' seaman having a champagne jam! Why? Because I've seen the long awaited Mr. Show movie, Run Ronnie Run and I'm here to tell you that it's fucking hilarious!
I saw Run Ronnie Run at the amazing CineVegas film festival and all I gotta say to you Mr. Show freaks is you're going to lose your mind. The screening I attended was packed, as was the other show that started half an hour after ours, and it was the perfect way to watch this movie. As with most comedies, it's always better to see them with an audience where infectious laughter can cause even the most stone faced moviegoer to crack a smile and let out a guffaw. That audience absolutely loved the movie.
The movie is about Ronnie Dobbs, one of Mr. Show's best and funniest characters, a redneck with a "talent" for getting arrested. His elaborate stories he tells the coppers to avoid being arrested are matched only by the quality and originality of the insults he slings. David Cross is always funny, but he really comes into his own in this film, carrying it with an ease that I've never seen in him on the big screen before.
The movie is about Ronnie being discovered by a failed inventor of infomercial items (one of his items was a device that turns vomit back into food) named Terry Twillstein, played by the Abbot to Cross's Costello, the Laurel to Cross's Hardy, the just plain ol' talented Bob Odenkirk. Twillstein gets Ronnie his own show, which launches him out of his trailer and into Beverly Hills. Hilarity ensues.
Run Ronnie Run is what Joe Dirt was trying to be, but failed at. I walked out of Joe Dirt with a headache. I walked out of Run Ronnie Run with aching ribs. What does that tell ya'?
So, we know that Bob and David are funny. Great. What about the rest of the cast? Absolutely perfect. I'd like to single out David Koechner. Koechner plays one of Ronnie's best friends and narrator of the film to boot. If there is anyone in this film who could even come close to stealing a scene from either Bob or David, it is Koechner. His redneck is pure genius. "That's alright Ronnie... I was a little bit drunk my own self." He's great.
You also have a butt-load of cameos from the funniest goddamn people in the business right now. Andy Richter, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Garry Shandling, Mandy Patinkin, Scott Thompson (his gay conspiracy bit is unbelievable... even more unbelievable is he's trying to convert Moriarty... The phrase "preaching to the choir" comes to mind...), Dave Foley, Sarah Silverman, R. Lee Ermey (yes, that R. Lee Ermey) Jeff Goldblum and the god that is Jack Black to name a few.
Of all the above Jack Black and Mandy Patinkin's cameos are the ones that stand out. Black does a musical number that is going to be a bootlegged MP3 in many a geek's music library for a long time to come. Patinkin also has a great song in the film, full of such raw emotion... It'll choke you up. Those familiar with Mr. Show already know this song from Fuzz, the Musical, but you haven't really heard this song until you see Patinkin perform it in Run Ronnie Run.
The next big question: Will someone who isn't a big Mr. Show fan enjoy this movie? Well, I wasn't very familiar with Mr. Show when I saw this movie. I had seen a few sketches and enjoyed them, but they didn't blow me away. I fell in love with the movie straight off the bat. Matter of fact, the movie got me into Mr. Show to the point where I can now quote Druggachusettes with the best of 'em. So, yes. This movie plays well to the fan and the non-fan. Of course the fans of the show will get a few in-jokes, but the movie isn't about in-jokes, it's about the broader comedy.
Now what about release? That's a bit trickier now. I'm sure you folks know about the much publicized pissing match between Bob and David and New Line... I'm not going to delve back into it, but I do think New Line is stupid if they keep this film in the can for much longer. The fruit is ripe, the movie is funnier than every other studio comedy I've seen this summer (with the exception of Undercover Brother) and it's going to play like crazy to the college crowd.
New Line, take it from me... There's at least 1 person in every dorm room on every college campus in America that has every episode of Mr. Show on tape (or now DVD... Thanks HBO!!!) and has gotten the rest of his dorm hooked on Bob and David's humor. If you get this flick out by the start of school... maybe send it out with Bob and David to a few campuses... You'd clean up. It'd just be bad business to let whatever personal feelings that you guys have get in the way of the success this film would achieve with a good trailer and word of mouth.
I've got my ear to the ground on this film, folks. I'll keep you guys updated. I'm gonna have to wrap this up now, but I just want to commend director Troy Miller (the guy that does all those great Academy Award shorts) and his cast for a truly hilarious film. I also want to thank Trevor Groth and Suelin Lee at CineVegas for putting together a great fest and for being amazingly gracious and accommodating to this lowly seaman.
Well, that's it from me on Run Ronnie Run. I'm working on setting up some interview with a few of the creative minds behind the film, including Bob and David, so keep your eye on the horizon, squirts! Many goodies coming your way, complements of this crusty seaman. 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
email: Mail Me: A house made of International Cheese and a Beer Babe to fuck!
