DIRTY COP, NO DONUT

(a.k.a. LOW DOWN DIRTY COP)

Written and Directed by Tim Ritter
Edited by Steve McNaughton
Produced by Twisted Illusions, Inc.

Staring Joel D. Wynkoop

**** ˝ (of 5)

Damn, did I dig on this flick! It is, perhaps, the single most dead-on COPS parody I have had the pleasure of watching.

DIRTY COP – NO DONUT bills itself as a “Shockumentary,” but it’s more a “Mockumentary,” and I must admit, I have a weakness for mockumentaries. SPINAL TAP and DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY come to mind as two of the best ever made. Some would even add THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT to that list and the black comedy, DIRTY COP – NO DONUT is every bit as fun as this past summer’s blockbuster.

There really isn’t much plot, in fact it’s pretty simple. Joel D. Wynkoop stars as Gus Kimball, a man who spends his time pretending to be an officer of the law. Gus’ kid brother videotapes him over the course of a night as he deals with the local “perps”. Essentially episodic in nature, the film is a series of Kimball’s run-ins with some of the area criminals including a drug dealer, a prostitute, and a rapist.

For me there were two highlights, the first was a sequence where Kimball pulls over a drunk driver. It’s wonderful to watch the scene build and finally culminate with Kimball destroying the motorist’s vehicle. The second involves partying-teenagers who Kimball plans to bust for underage drinking. Kimball ends up distracted by the young girls and decides to share some cocaine he took from the drug dealer. As Kimball attempts to prosecute offenders, he himself crosses the line farther and farther.

The entire film is shot COPS style complete with car-banter where Kimball shares his feelings about the nights proceedings. Most of the dialogue seems improvised, and sometimes it does show, but not often. Some of it is down right hysterical and seems as if it IS taken directly from COPS. Wynkoop receives a credit for Additional Dialogue and more often then not his diatribes work well, occasionally they do run long and repetitive.

As an actor, Wynkoop is far better than he needs to be as the disillusioned sociopath. He reveals bits of background about the character piece by piece over the course of the film and you learn from where his tendencies stem. But I can’t give that way, I have already revealed too much of the film. What makes a “Shockumentary” fun is the surprise of what the filmmakers will the show next. I guess that means I can’t give away the cool “where are they now” titles at the end….

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You can order DIRTY COP, NO DONUT by going to the SUB ROSA STUDIOS website. Twisted Illusions, Inc Dirty Cop Online