Film

Ringmaster

Name: Ringmaster
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1998
Cast: Jerry Springer, Jaime Pressly, Molly Hagan, William McNamara, Michael Dudikoff

Comedy

Jerry Springer plays a talk-show host trafficking in tabloid chaos and human dysfunction for ratings. It's a broad satire of exploitation television that swings wildly between comedy and cringe, built on the premise that everyone's willing to air their worst self for attention. For fans of '90s comedy that doesn't apologize for being dumb.

TMDb rating

2.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like broad, shameless satire aimed at tabloid television, where the wreckage of confessional talk shows is the whole joke and the crass set pieces come fast.

Skip it if you need a tightly plotted story, since this is a loose string of crude sketches and its raunch can grow tiresome well before the credits.

What it asks of you: Ninety minutes, a brisk sprint with little patience for quiet moments; it is loud, bawdy and mostly a series of escalating bits you either ride or sit through.

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