John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body (2004)

Perhaps the most endearing thing about the late John Ritter was his willingness to humiliate himself in the name of comedy, which is why this soul-crushingly flat DVD is such a crime. Someone dug up a best-forgotten 1980 television special, whose sketches range from bad (Ritter as Nick Anger, a washed-up punk rocker who bears an unsettling resemblance to Ryan Adams) to worse (Ritter as an Ed Grimleyesque movie-theater manager who attacks thugs with lines from Star Wars). What might once have been harmless laugh-track fun now leaves the taste of exploitation thick in the mouth. There's no reason to release John Ritter: Being of Sound Mind and Body except to capitalize on tragedy. And that's just awful. EXTRAS None. Entertainment value: C. Profiteering: F.

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