Run Ronnie Run!

Plot

Ronnie Dobbs (David Cross)—a redneck petty criminal whose hijinks are caught on tape by a Cops-like television show called Fuzz—is noticed by failing infomercial personality/inventor Terry Twillstein (Bob Odenkirk), who notices Dobbs's popularity with lowbrow viewers. He promotes the idea for a Ronnie Dobbs show to television executives entitled "Ronnie Dobbs Gets Arrested" in which Ronnie is arrested in a different city each week. The show becomes a phenomenal success leading to a level of fame & fortune that dramatically changes Dobbs' life.

Cast

Many of the regular cast members of Mr. Show made appearances in the film, such as Jill Talley as Dobbs's occasional wife. Unlike on Mr. Show, where they each played a wide variety of characters in each episode, Odenkirk and Cross portrayed a single character throughout the film, with the exception of a brief appearance by R&B duo Three Times One Minus One. Jack Black starred as a chimney sweep who sings "The Golden Rule Song".

Many well known celebrities had brief cameos in the film, such as Trey Parker, Matt Stone, John Stamos, Rebecca Romijn, Ben Stiller, Jeff Goldblum, Blaine Cartwright, Mandy Patinkin, David Baddiel, Jeff Garlin, Scott Ian & Kathy Griffin.

Production

The film premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Bob Odenkirk initially publicly criticized the film’s studio (New Line Cinema) and even went as far as releasing the personal email addresses of Robert Shaye (Chairman) and other principals of New Line Cinema to his fans in an effort to get the film released. He later went on to blame the film’s failure to director Troy Miller who, as Odenkirk claims, denied him and David Cross the right to do a final edit of the film. Cross and Miller would later reunite when Miller was hired to direct several episodes of Arrested Development.

Reception

The film was reviewed favorably by most critics, but was dismissed by others including those in Mr. Show’s fan base, most likely based on Odenkirk's comments. Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 75% fresh rating. Bob Odenkirk has been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the edit, while David Cross has stated it is ultimately the film that they wrote.