As Howard Stern more successfully achieved with Private Parts, Jerry Springer attempts to recast his image as the scourge of western civilization. The result is a film even more contemptible than his TV show. The "Jerry" in this film comes off like Claude Rains in Casablanca ("I'm shocked, shocked to find out there is gambling going on here"). The "compassionate" Jerry is pained at the messed-up lives of the guests his show exploits. Wearing a perpetual confounded grimace, he presents himself as a man who only wanted to be Walter Cronkite but is a prisoner of his infamy, besieged by waitresses for advice, heckled by strangers and hit on by adoring nubile fans. Ringmaster is supposed to be a fictionalized account of what goes on behind-the-scenes of the most outrageous show on Earth. Former B-movie action hero Michael Dudikoff appears as a trailer park slob cheating on his wife with his slutty stepdaughter. To borrow from Jerry: here's my final thought: Not recommended. (K. Lee Benson)
Ringmaster
(Artisan, 95 min., R, avail. Mar. 23, <b>DVD</b>) Vol. 14, Issue 2
Ringmaster
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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