gavin6942 A down and out private detective (Patrick Warburton) engages in a turf war with a upstart quasi-religious cult, run by the Blessed Guru Bart (Andy Dick).What I liked about this film was that Warburton had a role that was not terribly different in humor from "The Tick", possibly his best character ever. He has a wonderful voice and when used for comedy it really hits an audience in a way no other actor's voice can.I also liked Eric Roberts being here. While he has fallen harder than almost any celebrity (his appearance in "The Dead Want Women" is lamentable) he does a great cameo here and I think it might almost be the last good comedy performance he has had (as of 2013).

MBunge Writer/director Chris Dowling is not funny. He might be able to pick funny out of a police lineup. Funny may have said "hi" to him in the office, one day. He may have even taken funny out for a drink. But after watching this film, I can say with absolute authority that Chris Dowling is NOT funny.Now, he might be clever. I could believe that Dowling was one of those guys who floats along the edge of other's conversations and chimes in every so often with a pithy quip. There are a couple of notions rattling around inside this script and a few moments where you can tell that Dowling has at least put some thought into they way he's telling this story. But just as Tina Fay and the folks at 30 Rock have bitterly learned though years of poor ratings, clever is not at all the same thing as funny.A meandering spoof of the 1940s private eye flick that turns into a toothless satire of Scientology, virtually every laugh, snicker or smile produced by this motion picture happens in spite of Dowling's efforts. Once you get beyond the basic concepts of the story, the writing is incredibly lazy with jokes that aren't so much told as put out of their misery. The plot is atrociously structured, with the first half of the movie turning out to be nothing more than an exercise in killing time. The cast is clearly giving it the old college try, but are far too often left to flounder around on screen by Dowling's witless direction.Rock Slyde (Patrick Warburton) is a private investigator who looks, acts and self-narrates like a character out of a Raymond Chandler novel, except when the movie needs him to arbitrarily abandon those conceits for ever worsening punchlines. Sadly, within 30 seconds of watching him it become obvious that Warburton could be great at this kind of role. He's got the physical presence and total sincerity to make a guy like this really funny, which makes it doubly painful to see Warburton slide into lackadaisical indifference because Dowling hasn't got a clue what to do with him.Slyde is hired by a beautiful woman (Rena Sofer) to find out who's following her, while also dealing with the bothersome cult leader (Andy Dick) who wants to evict Slyde from his office. Throw in Slyde's secretary getting brainwashed by the cult, a pointless scattering of celebrities in supporting roles and the use of gay pirate musicals as a major plot point, and that's the whole shebang.I can't think of a single way that Rock Slyde could be considered a success. It sucks at making fun of 1940s private eye clichés. It sucks at making fun of Scientology. There are barely any laughs in it at all. It never looks any better than some low-rent sitcom.Let me leave you with an example of how bad this thing is. There's a character here who is supposed to be funny because he has a German accent. That's it. He doesn't say anything particularly humorous or have any other comedic traits, not even a love for David Hasselhoff. He just has a German accent and that, by itself, is supposed to elicit guffaws from the viewer. Unless that sort of thing tickles you, take a pass on this film.

firemanmatt23 Saw this recently, and absolutely loved it! Cannot believe this is the directors first effort, shows the marks of an established and confident director...great script, great actors, hilarious set pieces - a movie to watch over again and again in order to pick up all the little throw away gags. Andy Dick was fantastic, and as has been mentioned in other reviews, Patrick Warburton plays the title character as a perfect straight comedy character.Mixing two great story strands works well and keeps you interested all the way through, along with the great sight gags. Will have to look out for more from Mr Dowling in the future!

cwair13 "Andy Dick and Patrick Warburton appear on screen in top comedic form in the Independent feature, Rock Slyde, which premiered at the AFI Dallas Film Festival this past week.The idea for the off-beat film was inspired by the handsome director's mother, Chris Dowling noted on the red carpet, with a sly smile on his face."Can't you make a movie that doesn't have any violence or gratuitous sex in it," she pointedly asked the talented screenwriter one day.The Clark Kent look-a-like rose to the occasion by penning a script that hits the funny bone more often than not.Patrick Warburton (private dick Rock Slyde) adeptly plays the role to the hilt - with a droll unaffected approach, mind you - that ultimately takes a poke at the film noir genre it sprang from.Andy Dick - who sports a beard in this part - is hilarious in a zany role that is decidedly off- beat.Part of the reason the cult figure the TV personality plays on screen succeeds so admirably is due to inpeccable timing on the part of Dick and his innate ability to create a character that resonates with its own truth within a specific context.Unfortunately, Rock Slyde - the movie - lags at times.Although Dowling is a competent writer with original ideas, the script should have been tightened a smidgen, to ensure lazy minds didn't wander a tad.In fact, when I exchanged notes with a couple of other industry-types, they admitted they - too - started to snooze a little about three-quarters of the way through Slyde beneath the floodlights.In its current incarnation, the full-length feature tends to lurch and burp a bit; then, roll over and die a second or two, before unexpecedly picking up again as it races to a hilarious finale.In many respects the entertaining piece of fluff is uneven - but fixable - in my estimation.For a low-budget feature (shot on an old soundstage at Sunset Blvd & Gower Street in the heart of Hollywood) that wrapped in a six short creatively-stuffed weeks, I found the production values to be surprisingly rich.Warburton and Dick also manage to rise above the material and make it an inviting popcorn movie film buffs on the edge of the mainstream may be able to warm up to.Teens may guffaw a lot, too, quite possibly transforming the little-movie-that-could into an unexpected hit come the lazy days of summer.Of course, such a scenario is only within reach, if distribution is forthcoming, and a visionary studio backs Rock Slyde with eye-catching promos geared toward the market, of course!1 thumb & 1 half-knuckle up!"-Julian Ayrs, The Tattler