Mule Skinner Blues

Everyone has dreams, some bigger than others. Thankfully for Jacksonville resident Beanie Andrews, his turned out to be attainable -- it seems his lifelong goal was to crawl out of the mud in a gorilla suit. After a brief brush with fame in a music video as an extra, he and his local pals decide to film the dream coming true. Stephen Earnhart's documentary lovingly covers the process (no mule-skinning, alas), veering between pathos, inspiration and mockery (the pathos really kicks in when we finally see how god-awful Andrews' film actually is). Amid dead, cocaine-addicted dogs in the freezer, mail-order brides and Craftmatic adjustable beds, we get some truly unique character studies and a cross-section of Americana that Hollywood couldn't possibly fictionalize and be believed. Clive Barker produced, proving that his mind has returned since last year's insane recommendation of Jeepers Creepers.