Windy City Heat 2003

Perry Caravello believes he has landed a once-in-a-lifetime chance to star in Windy City Heat, a crime film about a “sports private eye” named Stone Fury. Yet the entire project is revealed to be an elaborate prank orchestrated by Don Barris and Tony Barbieri, with the help of producers Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, all while a parade of real celebrity cameos drops in to shuffle the situation. The supposed stars include Carson Daly, Dane Cook, Tammy Faye Bakker, and William Perry, each appearing as themselves or in oddball guest slots that blur the line between reality and mockumentary mischief.

The audition sequence thrusts Caravello into a chaotic audition with Daly, who is dressed exactly like him, only for the process to be interrupted repeatedly by Barris and the disguised Mole. After a tense and ridiculous process, Caravello eventually wins the role over Daly. Early on, the film even shows a wall of stars who were considered for the project, including A-list names that never actually join the cast. The entire premise centers on a dubious plot about Fury tracking down the actual refrigerator of William “Refrigerator” Perry, with Perry himself appearing in scenes as part of the elaborate ruse. The on-set dynamic is insistently chaotic, with Caravello sharing almost every scene with Barris and the actor who plays Mole, the Chicago Outfit gangsters “Big Lou” and “Brock.” The directors’ chair is occupied by Bobcat Goldthwait, who is both the director and the onscreen guide, speaking through a bullhorn and wearing distinctive jodhpurs as the fake director.

Caravello is followed around by at least fifteen cameras, some hidden, and he is told from the outset that he is being documented for the film’s DVD extras. The pranks run the gamut: he’s dumped into a dumpster filled with manure, served a milkshake made of coffee, Chinese food, raw egg, pizza, and beer to create multiple takes of a scene, and even subjected to a staged sex scene filmed by a stunt double. The relentless meddling from Barris and Mole pushes Caravello to his limits, often provoking a high-pitched scream as he tries to hold his composure. Barris continually presses him with the refrain to “Unleash the Fury!” and the onlookers around him nudge him toward an over-the-top commitment to the madness.

Throughout production, Caravello is introduced to a string of figures presented as real collaborators, each sharing a name that nods to famous people or historical figures. The English producer “John Quincy Adams” is played by Tony Barbieri, the casting director “Roman Polanski” is portrayed by Dane Cook, and the studio receptionist “Susan B. Anthony” is portrayed by Lisa Arch. The reel also features the money man “Hiroshima Nagasaki” played by Toshi Toda, the limo driver and aspiring musician “Travis Bickle” by Dave Sheridan, the set photographer “Ansel Adams” by Toby Huss, the production assistant “Frances Farmer” by Laura Silverman, and the merchandising duo “Sacco and Vanzetti” portrayed by Scott Hartman and Wayne Wilderson. Even as these cameos swirl around the production, Caravello encounters other names in the mix, including the attorney “Sol Stienbergowitz-Greenbaum” (portrayed by Sal Iacono) and Santiago, played by Tom Kenny, a wardrobe assistant who inadvertently riles Caravello. The film even toys with a deception around a Charlton Heston look-alike Bob Legionaire, who refuses to leave Caravello’s trailer until a cameo offer finally lands with comedic results.

As the production spirals, the movie-within-the-movie climaxes in an intentionally bungled race to a one-time screening. The Big Three—delayed repeatedly by a string of absurdities—finally arrive to discover that Caravello’s name is misspelled on the marquee, a running gag that the film itself seems to celebrate. What is shown of the internal film features deliberately ridiculous special effects, dialogue that feels borrowed from classics like Casablanca, Chinatown, and Gone with the Wind, and absurd character names such as “Jiggly Wrigley,” capped by a dinosaur that is inserted at the insistence of Tom Stern as the film’s new financier, the Romanian producer known as Yurgi. After the screening, Caravello is met with applause from the audience and presented with a grand trophy by the apparent “President of Show Business,” Geoff Pierson. The movie closes with a montage set to Louis Prima’s rendition of “When You’re Smiling,” leaving Caravello to reflect on the surreal, boundary-blurring experience he endured.

Unleash the Fury!