Jerky Boys

The Jerky Boys are prank callers extraordinaire, back in the day before *69 and prevalent Caller ID ruined all the fun. Using several personas, including Frank Rizzo, an irate tough guy, Sol Rosenberg, a slightly senile old man who comes off as your slightly senile grandmother, and random Indian cab drivers, the duo were underground until they signed a record contract and started churning out album after album of tracks like "Terrorist Pizza", "Roofing", and the classic "Drinking Problem".

Once you realize that this is The Jerky Boys and not Godard, you can sit back and enjoy every Jerky reference up to that point (they still had a few albums forthcoming when this appeared) including non-sensical yet inexplicably hilarious insults such as (and I'm sure [Amazon.com] will edit these out) "sizzle chest", "milky licker", and references to potato-hurling tennis ball machines and their use.

The two self-described "lowlifes from Queens" play themselves. On the one hand, we have Johnny B, aka Johnny Brennan, who is pretty much the whole Jerky franchise in my opinion. I don't care what people say, or even that he describes himself as a "lowlife", this guy has talent. Honestly, this guy has more talent than most Saturday Night Live alum these days and we still have to be punished with the Deuce Bigolos and the Corky Romanos. At least Chris Farley had the decency to check out not that long after it was realized that he just wasn't that funny.Riding his mullet is the less impressive Kamal. Folks, when you have to PLAY YOURSELF and you still can't act, there is a problem.

The "story" involves Johnny B, as Rizzo, prank-calling the Mob and getting into a lot of trouble. In a jaw-dropping turn of casting, Alan Arkin plays a mob boss and honestly looks like he's trying not to laugh as he delivers dialogue. We also get a pre-Sopranos Vincent Pastore doing a stretch and playing a mobster. Since being offed on the Sopranos I can only guess that he's hoping there's a Jerky sequel in the works.

There isn't.

If you're unfamiliar with The Jerky Boys, this might go right over your head. If you like The Jerky Boys, it's on the so-bad-it's-good level, occassionally slipping into just plain bad.

...

And, as if you needed more recommendation points for tracking this masterpiece down, Ozzy Osbourne has a walk-on cameo sporting an unstructured, mauve sports jacket and appearing befuddled that his bands' crew have been hired away by The Monkees.


Hey Toughguy, buy this flick fruity!   October 25, 2003
johnnyitalian@aol.com (Bergen County, NJ USA)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Jerky Boys Johnny and Kamal go from the audio crank calling world to Hollywood. This movie is basically just about the guys hanging out and doing what they do best: acting like wackadoos. A must watch movie for goombas like me! The movie was co-produced by Tony Danza and Emilio Estevez (an odd couple, what else have they teamed on I wonder?) Anyway, when the guys from Queens make a few calls to the wrong people they end up in the world of the New York mob. Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore is perfectly cast here playing the character he's best known for. Also noteworthy for those who love the fictional mob world, Johnny's mom is the same woman who plays Carmela's mom on Sopranos and before that she was Karen's mom from Goodfellas. For all you other goofy fruitcakes out there, Ozzy Osbourne (whose lines are a little more understandable than on his MTV show--although not much), Tom Jones and many others make appearances in this wacky wild and hilarious film. The only missing cameo was by The Diceman.


This movie is awesome!   April 2, 2002
Harrison Hunt (College Park, MD USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

There is no denying that The Jerky Boys are going to have a place in American culture history. This movie is an example of the best they have to offer.

This movie has no real plot, theme or real purpose. But, it is as funny as most comedies out there. Kamal and Johnny's interlopings with the likes of Lazarro, Brett Weir, and Tony Zamboni - I mean Scarboni - fills in for a plot. But its the Jerky Boys one liners and quibbles that makes this movie great.

If you want to see a movie that will make you laugh at things mindless and stupid, but make you laugh none the less, this is a very good way to go.


Lame, Predictable Cash-In From The Jerkys   July 12, 2006
Morgan Carlson (West Hartford, CT)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful

If there's one thing America can be counted on to provide, it is this: slapped-together movies looking to quickly cash in on the latest fad. Once in a while, this phenomenon can produce something truly special. (A Hard Day's Night, for example.) Unfortunately, you usually get stuff like The Jerky Boys, a cinematic train wreck featuring amateurish acting, a lifeless and predictable script, and tons of shamelessly recycled material from the Jerky Boys records.

You really have to love Hollywood. Who in the world thought that a couple of guys who make prank calls for a living would make viable movie stars? It boggles the brain. Prank calls depend on improvisation and the element of surprise; after all, most of the humor comes from the fact that the person being pranked isn't 'in' on the joke. So when you build a movie around guys making rehearsed prank phone calls to actors pretending to be offended, you've negated the elements that made the Jerky Boys funny to begin with. Just listen to some of the later Jerky albums, where the material got really weak and many of the 'victims' obviously knew what was going on and simply played along for their own amusement. It's dreadful stuff. It doesn't help that the Jerkys rehash many of their old calls in the movie; honestly, is there an audience for this film besides hardcore Jerky fans who already have that stuff memorized? The Jerkys couldn't be bothered to make all-new material for a full-length movie? Unbelievable.

Amazingly, it gets worse. The screenwriters (assuming any were involved) manage to shoehorn the Jerky Boys (Johnny B. and Kamal) into a silly, paint-by-numbers story where they get mixed up with the Mafia, and try to prank their way out of it. Alan Arkin plays the lead mobster, and let me just say this: Alan, man, if you really need money that badly, E-mail me. I'll try to help you out any way I can. I hate to see a good actor sink so low. Honestly, is there anyone outside of first-year film school hacks that still thinks that using the Mob as goofy movie villains is remotely funny or interesting? Desperation drips from every frame of this film. Johnny B. can come up with all kinds of funny quips on the spot on the albums, but he couldn't think of something interesting to do with a full movie crew and a decent supporting cast? What a waste.

If anything redeems The Jerky Boys, it's some solid acting here and there. Arkin is good, as always, and Johnny B. has enough comic timing and quirky charisma to slap together a passable performance. He doesn't have the chops or looks to be a leading man (or even a major supporting player), but he could have a profitable career doing Funny Sidekick or Voice of A Cartoon Animal roles. His partner Kamal, however, is dead weight. He was pretty useless on the records, too, but he at least provided a sporadic chuckle now and then. On camera, though, he is a total non-entity. Completely devoid of any kind of charisma or acting ability, Kamal just sort of wanders through the movie, looking bewildered. Oddly enough, Kamal will go to great lengths to tell people in interviews that HE was the talented one of the duo. I wonder on what he bases this opinion. The fact that Johnny's characters completely dominate all of their records, and have 98% of the good lines? The way he'll fill in dead spots during a prank call by randomly shrieking or screaming, because he can't think of anything funny to say? Or maybe his performance in this movie, where he could've been unconscious and had the same level of screen presence? Let's just chalk it up to delusion, I guess. (You'd think that the lesser half of a washed-up prank-calling duo wouldn't have diva issues, but such is the life of the quasi-famous.)

Not only was this movie a complete disaster, but the tacky "sell-out" feel of the whole project completely destroyed whatever edge the Jerky Boys had left. Arkin and Johnny B. earn the extra star rating; the rest is a mess. Avoid at all costs, unless you're an aspiring filmmaker and need a full-length example of filmmaking pitfalls to avoid.


If you're a Jerky fan!   March 4, 2000
B Eliot H (Right There, baby.)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful

If you like the Jerky Boys prank phone call albums then you will probably like the movie. If you don't like em' then don't watch the movie, tough guy. Ya hear me?...open up your ears sizzle chest!