Masked and Anonymous

Director: Larry Charles
Year Released: 2003
Rating: 1.5

An imprisoned musician (Bob Dylan, as "himself" ... quotes necessary) gets freed by some TV people in order to perform for a benefit concert for a culturally decaying "America." Basically a string of cameos, a threadbare plot and some overacting (except for Dylan, who mostly stands around and observes the oddness he co-wrote with director Charles) - it's neither politically advantageous nor funny, and even the usually reliable John Goodman and Jeff Bridges fail to provide much punch. Zimmerman completists will want to mine this for what they think is a kind of autobiography, though Bob's always been good at covering up the facts (a lot of mystery never hurt any major artist).