June 25, 2004 in Seven

‘Reno 911’ takes no prisoners

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“Reno 911: The Complete First Season”

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Question: How do you parody a parody? The Comedy Central comedy show “Reno 911” targets “COPS,” and its satirical aim is dead on. But take care: This is not for the timid. The department, which is supposed to be Reno’s finest, has sluttish women and racist men, sexually ambiguous men and domineering women. Their utter incompetence is matched only by the stupidity of the public they serve. There is no political correctness here. And the DVD pack has deleted scenes. Imagine that. (DVD; 14 episodes; not rated but equivalent to an R for language, sexual suggestion, drug references.)

“Bad Santa”

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Billy Bob Thornton stars as a thief who takes a job as Santa every year so that, with the help of his small-person partner (Tony Cox), he can rob the stores that hire him. Things change, ever so slightly, when he stumbles onto a kid (Brett Kelly) who gives him a chance to, shudder, do something good. Hilarious and joyfully obscene, this Terry Zwigoff film might be just the cure for typical holiday pap. (DVD, VHS; 1:33; rated R for pervasive language, strong sexual content and some violence.)

“Secret Window”

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A successful writer named Rainey (Johnny Depp), haunted by a taciturn stranger (John Turturro), and tormented by his ex-wife (Maria Bello) and her new lover (Timothy Hutton), ends up stepping into a world that only Stephen King could create. Too bad the story is so obvious, which leaves Depp as the only thing worth watching. His twitches and tics and mumbled self-criticisms make Rainey as ultimately creepy as he is believable. (DVD, VHS; 1:36; rated PG-13 for violence/terror, sexual content and language)

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