Ringmaster (film)

Ringmaster is a 1998 American comedy film starring Jerry Springer as a fictional version of himself named Jerry Farrelly, host of a show similar to his own called Jerry.[1]

Ringmaster
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNeil Abramson
Written byJon Bernstein
Produced byGary W. Goldstein
Starring
CinematographyRuss Lyster
Edited bySuzanne Hines
Music byKennard Ramsey
Production
companies
Distributed byArtisan Entertainment
Release date
  • November 25, 1998 (1998-11-25)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million
Box office$9,257,103

Plot

There are three ongoing plots in the film. The primary one surrounds a white trash, trailer park family in which the Angel, the daughter, is sleeping with her mother's husband, prompting the mother to constantly try to outdo her promiscuous daughter's behavior out of spite, including sleeping with her daughter's boyfriend.

The secondary plot revolves around a black woman called Starletta whose boyfriend Demond is sleeping with her two best friends, but the three are united against Demond when he eyes up Angel. He spends the rest of the film trying to have sex with Angel, while his jealous girlfriend Starletta tries to stop him. Unfortunately for Starletta, Angel manages to sneak Demond into her hotel room. Starletta stalks the hotel corridors desperate to stop her boyfriend, but is unable to stop Demond and Angel's night of pleasure.

The third plot revolves around Jerry and the show itself, detailing the difficulty Jerry faces in trying to come to terms with his rather dubious claim to fame, and the staff's utter amazement at the bizarre stories they must deal with.

A minor sub-plot involves a producer on the show who mistakenly picks up one of the guests, a self-proclaimed "man-by-day-woman-by-night."

Cast

Reception

The film had a generally negative reception. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 21% approval rating, with an average rating of 3.8/10.[2][3] The website's consensus reads, "A crude, idiotic mess of a film."[4] The film won a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star (Jerry Springer, tied with Joe Eszterhas for his small cameo in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn). The film was a box office bomb, grossing back less than half its budget.

Soundtrack
Main article: Ringmaster (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on March 23, 1999 by Lil' Joe Records. It peaked at number 80 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

The film also features the single Talk Show Shh! by Shae Jones which peaked at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. A music video for the song was made to promote the film and featured Springer. However, the song was not included on the soundtrack album.

References
  1. Siskel, Gene (1998-11-27). "Ringmaster Just Another Springer Circus". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  2. Thomas, Kevin (1998-11-25). "Ringmaster Presides Over a Lively Circus". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  3. Johnson, Steve (1998-12-02). "Circus Ringmaster". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  4. "Ringmaster". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2023-04-27.


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