White trash hero?

>> Jerry Springer's feature debut is less entertaining than his show

by MATTHEW HAYS

Perhaps I don't get out enough, but I don't recall there being a great outcry for the need to make a movie version of the Jerry Springer Show. If people really want more of this, there are always the numerous uncensored videos for sale via a toll-free number. But greed undoubtedly got the best of dear Jerry, who's now busted into the wonderful world of movies with Ringmaster.

Unlike Howard Stern's Private Parts, Ringmaster doesn't really set out to tell us much about Springer; there are utterly no revelations here. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised: this is a man who's revelled in making heaps of money by catering to the rock-bottom lowest common denominator for years.

Ringmaster unravels much like an episode of The Love Boat. There are the regular cruise directors (Springer and his show's staff) and then there are two sets of guests: a white trash family and a black couple, all of whom are having fidelity problems. The film reveals the behind-the-scenes build-up for these fictional characters as they head off to Los Angeles for a free weekend and their own personal 15 minutes of fame.

Naturally, Springer makes himself look really, really virtuous in this movie. When a moral crusader stands up during the taping of one show, Springer confronts the uptight Christian fundamentalist. The man is an elitist, charges Jerry. In fact, we constantly hear about the trials and tribulations of the wealthy--Jerry's show is merely a way of levelling the playing field, of letting the poor have their say too, of giving a voice to the downtrodden.

It's a weird argument. In fact, what the Jerry Springer Show has done is neatly reinforce every nasty sentiment the upper and middle classes have ever held about the American working class, be they black or white trash. Barely literate folk hurl chairs at each other and get into fisticuffs over cross-dressing, infidelity and, occasionally, incestuous situations--what empowering images!

Unlike American moral crusader Bill Bennett, I don't really care if Jerry Springer stays on the air, or if this film is a hit either. Ringmaster offers very little variation on the theme of the TV show; that the characters are fictional is the only major difference (and that's not such a switch, if the nasty rumours surrounding the show's authenticity are true). Staying at home and watching the show for free is probably the best advice I can offer--unless of course you're really desperate to know what the guests are saying beneath all those never-ending bleeps.

Ringmaster is now playing