Irish helmer David Caffrey directs a quintessentially American tale starring Johnny Knoxville as real-life roadie Phil Kaufman who, in 1973, pilfered the dead body of country'n'western legend Gram Parsons. But this isn't a gross-out comedy à la Weekend At Bernie's, rather "a modest indie charmer" that follows Kaufman as he drives to Joshua Tree National Park to cremate the singer in accordance with his (drunken) wishes. Never destined to be a blockbuster, this whimsical yarn has instead earned a dedicated cult following.

The Road To Ruin

Parsons travels light on DVD with just a selection of cast and crew interviews, plus audio commentary by Phil Kaufman and David Caffrey - oh, and not forgetting the all-important theatrical trailer.

Knoxville gives the most in-depth interview of the batch, explaining how he slipped into character and telling a vaguely amusing anecdote concerning his meeting with the real-life Kaufman. Apparently he dressed in full hippy costume for their dinner together and even grew a ratty handlebar moustache - a gesture which Kaufman appreciated but which ended up with Knoxville being taunted on a bustling New York street by a bag lady. Now that's gotta hurt.

Directors are often garrulous people, keen to chat about the depths of their genius. Not so David Caffrey, who comes off as, well, quite dull really. His interview runs at barely two and a half minutes, the bulk of which is taken up with mindless gushing over Johnny Knoxville. "I can do all the ass-kissing I want," he says before proceeding to do just that.

Playing Dead

True to form, Caffrey barely says a word for the audio commentary, instead content to sit (and sleep?) through the pregnant pauses sandwiched between Phil Kaufman's nostalgic ramblings about those ker-azy days. In fact Kaufman offers the only interest, pointing out the fictionalised aspects of the movie and dropping a bombshell when he asserts, "It's my opinion that the autopsy was bogus." Even Caffrey seems to stir at this point, but frustratingly, Kaufman refuses to elaborate for "legal reasons". In case your eyelids are also feeling heavy at this point, you can play a game by counting the number of times Kaufman namedrops Keith Richards.

The tagline says, "It's better to burn out than fade away," yet Caffrey seems intent on lulling us into a coma with this half-hearted DVD.

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