The Jerky Boys (1995)    Touchstone/Comedy    RT: 82 minutes    Rated R (pervasive language and vulgarities, some violence)    Director: James Melkonian    Screenplay: James Melkonian, Rich Wilkes, Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed    Music: Ira Newborn    Cinematography: Ueli Steiger    Release date: February 3, 1995 (US)    Cast: Johnny Brennan, Kamal Ahmed, Alan Arkin, William Hickey, Brad Sullivan, Alan North, James Lorinz, Suzanne Shepherd, Vincent Pastore, Brian Tarantina, Peter Appel.    Box Office: $7.5M (US)

Rating: ***

 It’s time to test your 90s pop culture trivia knowledge. What do the following names have in common- Sol Rosenberg, Frank Rizzo, Jack Tors, Frank Kissel and Tarbash, the Egyptian Magician? They’re all characters created by The Jerky Boys, a comedy duo from Queens, NY whose act consisted of making prank telephone calls to unsuspecting victims. They were briefly popular in the mid-90s with a few top-selling albums (I owned the first two myself). It was only a matter of time before they tried out their act on the big screen.

 Unfortunately, by the time The Jerky Boys movie reached theaters, their success had waned. It played for about a week or two before leaving multiplexes. The few that saw it commented that their act didn’t translate to the big screen. Always one to dissent, I liked it. Yes, it’s mindless and idiotic, but I’ve always found prank calls funny. As a teen, I pulled off a few myself. My favorite was calling KFC and asking, “How big are your breasts?” (it only worked if a woman answered). Nowadays, thanks to caller ID, you can’t get away with making such calls which makes The Jerky Boys dated. Even Bart Simpson had to stop doing it which I’m sure makes Moe the bartender very glad.

 We first meet the Jerky Boys- Johnny B. and Kamal (playing themselves)- as a couple of kids that like to screw around on the phone. Posing as “the super across the way”, they get the nice kid across the street (Brett Weir for the uninitiated) in trouble with his mother. Johnny’s mother (Shepherd, Goodfellas) smacks them and tells them to knock it off. It doesn’t work because they’re still doing the same thing twenty years later.

 A couple of unemployed slackers, they still live at home and have been fired from every job they’ve ever had for their antics. Mrs. B demands they get jobs and an opportunity presents itself when their old pal Brett (Lorinz, Frankenhooker) brags about having connections to the Mafia. Johnny prank calls the Mob, claiming to be connected to a fictional crime boss from Chicago named Frank Rizzo. He doesn’t exactly endear himself to local Mob boss Ernie Lazarro (Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine) by referring to him as “liver lips”, “sizzle chest” and “fruity ass”. Long story short, the boys quickly get in over their heads and find themselves running for their lives from pissed-off gangsters and corrupt cops.

 The Jerky Boys isn’t a great movie, not by any stretch of the imagination. But it is good silly fun in the right frame of mind. And by that, I mean with your brain in the OFF mode. These guys are a couple of idiots who do silly voices. They’re quite good at it too. There are a few hilarious moments mostly involving the boys doing their shtick. One of my favorite bits from the first album is “Sol’s Glasses” and they manage to work some of it into the movie. In fact, they manage to work quite a bit of the album material into the movie. The fans at the pre-release screening I attended seemed to love that.

 I suppose the best way to describe The Jerky Boys is lowbrow. It’s kind of in the same vein as Dumb and Dumber and Billy Madison. Director James Melkonian (The Stoned Age) aims low and hits the mark each time. Johnny and Kamal make a decent on-screen duo; they’re like a 90s version of Cheech & Chong minus the drugs. I guess I’m not surprised this gig turned out to be a one-shot deal for them. They do have a limited appeal.

 I’m really surprised to see high-caliber actors like Arkin (he won an Oscar a decade later) and William Hickey (Prizzi’s Honor) here. How did Melkonian manage to pull that off? There are cameos by Tom Jones, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul) and the hardcore rock band Helmet. Also, look for Jorja Fox (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) who shows up briefly as Arkin’s girlfriend.

 Sure, The Jerky Boys is tasteless and moronic; some might even say it’s offensive. I just think it’s funny as hell. It works best if you watch with low expectations. This one is a true guilty pleasure, jerky!