Wednesday, November 25, 1998
Voyage to wacky world of TV’s Jerry Springer
FILM:Icon for prostitutes, cheating lovers everywhere makes
movie debut with satire of notorious talk show By Michael
Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Contributor
As ritualized as Kabuki theater, everyone knows what to expect
from "The Jerry Springer Show." Someone’s wife wants to be a call
girl, the guy’s really a girl, and someone else throws a chair. If
the movie based on the popular talk show fails in one crucial
aspect, it is that not once Âout of all the audience shots in
the movie  does anyone stand up and say, "You got to dump his
ho ass and get yourself a real man."
This is far from the only thing wrong with "Ringmaster." The fun
part of "Jerry Springer" is that it gives people the chance to mock
real-life idiots. In making a fictionalized movie, "Ringmaster"
deprives its audience of this pleasure.
There’s plenty of gratuitous swearing and some brief nudity but
the sad part is that it’s neither as interesting nor as outrageous
as the stuff you see on the show. The lesbian stripper scene is
rather funny, but it’s so close to the reality of the show that
it’s hardly satire.
The film’s threadbare plot tells the story of two groups of
typical guests on "The Jerry Show." Angel Zorzak (Jaime Pressly) is
a white trash nymphomaniac having an affair with her stepfather
Rusty (Michael Dudukoff), much to the dismay of her donut-mobile
mom Connie (Molly Hagan) and dim-witted fiance Willie (Ashley
Holbrock).
Meanwhile, shrieking Starletta (Wendy Raquel Robinson) discovers
that her unfaithful boyfriend Demond (Michael Jae White) has been
sleeping with her two best friends, Vonda (Tangie Ambrose) and
Leshawnette (Nicki Micheaux). And it’s all up to producers Troy
(William MacNamara) and Natalie (Dawn Maxey) to deal with their
guests’ feuding. No Neo-Nazis or vampires, though.
There’s a lot of potential for great campy comedy in this
premise, but the film has no follow-through. Events happen
randomly, people sleep around, there’s a completely non sequitur
airplane rap scene, and Jerry sort of floats around in the
background. Blow jobs complete with comical sucking noises are only
funny so many times.
The guests are all ugly caricatures but somehow we’re supposed
to sympathize with them. Maybe the filmmakers were trying to make
some point because the only marginally decent person, Willie, ends
up taking the most abuse. Luckily, everything works out fine in the
end and everyone goes home happy, despite the fact that nothing has
changed and that Jerry really hasn’t done anything.
"Ringmaster" is either the most subtly ironic or the most
blatantly self-serving movie ever made. Instead of giving us the
Jerry we’ve come to know and love (the shameless trashmonger who
knows how awful he is), it paints him as a sort of hero of the
proletariat, giving the oppressed underclass a forum for their
complaints.
It’s hard to decide how to read the film’s portrayal of Springer
himself. One minute he’s protecting rednecks, the next, in a twist
you’ll see coming a mile away, he’s humiliating his producer on
national television.
In a completely pointless scene, Jerry waxes philosophical,
remembering all his glorious accomplishments. His checkered past is
completely glossed over. Disguising Springer as Jerry Farrelly is a
pathetically obvious attempt to deflect this inevitable
criticism.
"Ringmaster" shows us many new sides of Jerry; Jerry the
sympathetic ear; Jerry the love machine; Jerry the singing cowboy;
Jerry the benevolent protector of all trailer trash everywhere.
Really.
And after all’s been said and done, we’re assured that Jerry
will always be there to fight for truth, justice and the American
way. Amen. Artesian Entertainment
Nicki Micheaux (left) and Tangie Ambrose (right) flank Jerry
Springer as Jerry Farrelly in his new movie, "Ringmaster."
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