Calling this film "weird" is like calling The Exorcist "gloomy". "Circus Maximus" is one of the strangest comedies I've seen in a while. The premise is that a well known writer/director has 1 weekend to write an entire feature script. Even worse, the producers complicate matters by changing the original idea from a romcom to something gritty, vulgar and twisted. What follows is the desperate product of a writer's-blocked mind.
The script he writes blends into the plot of the movie we're watching, and thus the reality of the writer's life blends with the utter bizarreness of the fictional stories he writes. In the DVD extras, writer/director Tommy J La Sorsa, talks about how he enjoys milking the absurdity of that place where reality & fiction cross paths. He certainly accomplishes that here. In the film, three hastily-conceived subplots flow from the writer's mind as in a stream of consciousness. If you've ever slapped a homework assignment together just before the due date, you know the result can be a mixed bag of amazing creativity and utter rubbish. And that is the key to all the fun. Oddly enough, the script of "Circus Maximus" is very clever, extremely creative, and the stories themselves carry depth and meaning below the surface. And they're just plain fun.
What follows is somewhat like "Pulp Fiction" meets "Analyze This". Meaning it has the surreal, quirky presentation of Tarantino's "Pulp" but with more sharp-tongued comedic dialogue like Billy Crystal's "Analyze". While this is a dark comedy with creepy themes of murder, perversion and fecophilia, the violence and grossouts are cleverly handled off-camera. To me that makes it even funnier. Be forewarned, there are poop jokes, various political incorrectnesses and a scene involving a man being violated with a taser where the sun don't shine. But there's also a lot of witty dialogue and priceless characters that bring the movie to life.
Just listening to Rachel Finestein's crazy Italian(??) accent as she rattles off barrages of butchered clichés is worth the price of admission. Kevin Corrigan fans will get a kick out of his performance as the sexually confused detective who wears thong underwear ("because tighty whiteys leave lines"). Bianca Hunter plays a great deadpan role as "the therapist" to Joe D'Onofrio's poop-obsessed character. And who can overlook the supporting performances from Mario Cantone (from Sex & the City), Joseph R. Gannascoli (from The Sopranos) and Sal the Stockbroker (from Howard Stern).
"Circus Maximus" is not a comedy for everyone. But if you like offbeat comedies like "Buffalo 66", "One Night at McCool's" or an unknown gem called "Septien", don't hesitate to give this a watch.
