Let's Go to Prison

In Bob Odenkirk's laxly directed dim-bulb farce, which tries to poke fun at every cliché of prison movies, standup comic Dax Shepard stars as John Lyshitski (a surname that signals the level of humor throughout), a repeat offender looking for revenge against the judge who sent him to the slammer many times. When the judge suddenly dies, Lyshitski frames the magistrate's son and then gets himself jailed in order to make sure junior suffers. The judge's son (Will Arnett) is a self-centered jerk, so you don't mind seeing him played like a fish while the laidback Lyshitski explains his machinations in overlaid narration reminiscent of the running commentary that Jason Lee delivers in My Name is Earl. Unfortunately, Shepard and Arnett are hardly an inspired comedy team, and they're surrounded by a bevy of flatly-written supporting characters, most notably a tough dude (Chi McBride) with an amorous eye for Arnett. I'll skip the tedious description of Lyshitski's schemes to humiliate his victim, or how the tables are turned, or why the two must learn to work together. Suffice it to say that the big finale, which follows a stream of dumb gags (many with a particularly odious gay subtext), is about the lamest thing imaginable, except perhaps for the musical sequence that accompanies the final credits. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include both the R-rated and unrated versions on the same disc, a six-minute “Soundtrack Session” featurette, two deleted scenes (5 min.), a four-minute alternate ending (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a lame comedy.] (F. Swietek)