Rock Slyde is a comedy about private eye Rock Slyde. I had to watch this because the role seemed just right for Patrick Warburton, whose wry, clueless delivery was hysterical in the short-lived super hero series The Tick, and steals the show in his current TV series Rules of Engagement. As it turned out though, Warburton’s character in this film lacks the witty writing and assertive personality that make his other roles so hysterical. Instead Slyde is a listless divorcé who can’t seem to be aroused to anger or passion by anything.
The movie’s most inspired humor is found in the villainous “Bart” played by Andy Dick. Bart is the founder of “Bartology,” a cult which brainwashes its converts with spiked cookies while cleaning out their bank accounts. Despite global ambitions Bart is fixated with taking over Slyde’s office space so he can control the entire office building that houses his headquarters.
I got through it and had plenty of laughs along the way, but the slow pacing and emptiness of the title character, especially during act one, almost had me reaching for the fast forward button so I could get to more Bart scenes.
I give it 3 out of 5… pediatricians.
