Masked and Anonymous

A remarkable number of well-known faces--including Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Luke Wilson, Val Kilmer, Angela Bassett, and Mickey Rourke--have been persuaded to appear in this loony vanity vehicle starring folk icon Bob Dylan as a character portentously named Jack Fate. As near as one can tell, Fate is the son of the president of a devastated portion of the southwestern United States that's become a separate country, and he's sprung from jail to topline a televised benefit concert for some unnamed cause. Most of the picture is composed of pretentious but impenetrable babble, through which the star sleepwalks like some cadaverous cowboy messiah, reciting his lines in a dreary monologue and rousing himself only for the musical numbers. Dylan devotees who revere the singer's every enigmatic lyric as the equivalent of holy writ may be willing to give this movie the benefit of the doubt, but most will recognize it as self-indulgent twaddle, and find it sheer torture to sit through. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Larry Charles, the 15-minute “making of” featurette “Masked and Anonymous Exposed,” five deleted/alternate scenes, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a small, forgettable vanity project.] (F. Swietek)