DICK DICKSTER -- DVD Review by Porfle

If you have ninety minutes or so to kill, the comedy mockumentary DICK DICKSTER (Indican Pictures, 2018) will definitely kill them for you.  Whether or not they die with a smile on their face is entirely up to your tolerance for crude, lowbrow humor that runs hot and cold in the laugh department but is never boring.

Co-writer (with Nick Bird) Robert R. Shafer of "The Office" stars as Dick Dickster, the most obnoxious, rude, pushy, irresponsible, foulmouthed, lecherous, egomaniacal, and permanently plastered director in Hollywood.

This fat slob has hit the skids, with nothing to his name but a sometimes well-remembered cheapo horror flick called "Cult of Doom" which he watches repeatedly in the privacy of his livingroom like Howard Hughes solo-screening "The Conqueror." 

When a student filmmaker decides to do a documentary on Dick, we get a sycophant's eye view of this colossal bastard's everyday life, which includes dealing with a witchy ex-wife he met during a lap dance, an Italian loan shark who wants either his nads or a juicy part in his next picture, and an offer from porn star-turned-producer Coco Hart (Jan Broberg) to direct her creepy son's script, which is a porn spoof of "Cult of Doom" entitled "Cult of Poon."

Dick is offended by the offer (he urinates on the script in Coco's office) but his manager, Sammy Davas Jr. (Tim Russ of "Star Trek: Voyager"), urges him to bite the bullet and do it lest Dick's mob debts get him killed, leaving Sammy with 10% of nothing.  But when the perpetually horny and hostile Dick is let loose in the world of porn filmmaking, the result is non-stop chaos.

But chaotic as it is, DICK DICKSTER isn't all that funny most of the time.  With the exception of a few amusing gags here and there, it's mostly just a series of outrageous incidents in which Dick does the most shocking and antisocial things possible in response to whatever situation he finds himself in. 

The thing is, though, that after a while it doesn't really matter that the movie isn't totally belly-laugh funny, because gradually Dick's character becomes rather interesting and even somewhat fascinating to observe as Shafer plays his "obnoxious bastard" qualities to the disgusting hilt.  Watching him run roughshod over various porn-business types and other leeches is even somewhat gratifying, even if you can't stand the man himself. 

The story gets rather interesting as well, with one auditioning actress named Peaches Ripen (Cela Scott) hinting that Dick may in fact be her illegitimate father, and colorful conflicts between the director and other actors, as well as growing bad feelings between him and Coco, begin to resolve themselves in satisying ways until finally the story's surprise climax is both shocking and entertaining.

Direction is by Christopher Ray (aka Christopher Douglas Olen Ray), whose father Fred shows up in interview segments along with such familiar faces as Richard Grieco (FORGET ABOUT IT) and Richard Gabai (BIKINI DRIVE-IN, NIGHTMARE SISTERS).

The cast is also stocked with what I understand are several actual current porn stars such as Bonnie Rotten.  The Italian loan shark, Tony Baritoni, is played by Tim Abell of WE WERE SOLDIERS, INHERITANCE, and ATTACK OF THE 60-FOOT CENTERFOLD.

But DICK DICKSTER is Robert R. Shafer's show, and although he lacks the comedy timing and finesse of a skilled comedian, he blusters and bullies his way though this well-mounted comedy documentary like a bull in a china closet, with equally destructive yet perversely watchable results. 


Tech Specs
Runtime: 90 mins
Format: 1:78 HD
Sound: Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English
Country: USA
Language: English
Website: http://theywantdickdickster.wixsite.com/twdd
Genre: Comedy, Thriller
Extras: Deleted scene, Indican trailers