The film follows the adventurers of Selwyn (Fitzgerald) a talented baker who slums at a erotic cake shop. Selwyn also is... well, there is no other way to put it, a total pussy. His psychotic girlfriend Becky (Pamela Gidley) routinely abuses him physically and mentally. He finally has her arrested for domestic abuse but fears when she will be let out of jail in a few days. So, he runs off with his neighbor who manages No Use For A Name and becomes their roadie/resident whipping boy.

He endures their insults and pranks for awhile, but, when he does stand up to them, he is left on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, shoeless. He is taken in by a roadside diner owner (KG) and finds love with a crippled, wheelchair-bound girl, who supports Selwyn's dream of going to France and participating in the cooking show Bakers of Steel (the winner is crowned Master Baker). But, crazy Becky is still out there looking for him. Dum-dum-dum!

When it comes to comedy, you don't have to have much of a plot. I mean, for instance, look at The Jerk. Cake Boy doesn't have much of a story to stand on but it is peppered with some good, crude, no-brainer jokes. Selwyn goes to a domestic abuse center support group meeting, which is a room full of bandaged and bruised housewives who tell him, "Grow some balls you half of a faggot." Patton Oswalt's cameo as a perv after a vagina cake is a high point. Scott Aukerman as the tyrannical band manger has some moments, spouting lines like "Per Diem is a Latin term meaning 'one dollar a day.' Being one who's gone to many a hole-in-the-wall club for indie rock shows, little jokes like the thin crowd with the lone mosher gave me a giggle. Selwyn's idol is a culinary artiste who coined a movement called "Bakenetics." So, that is some of the good stuff.

But, Cake Boy is sloppy. There are limitations in terms of budget and execution. Considering its scale and DIY aesthetic, much of this is forgivable. But, the script isn't exactly too tight, and the direction and acting is often amateurish. Selwyn isn't exactly too endearing, largely due to Fizgerald being unable to shoulder the film's lead role. Though she certainly was cute and had some funny bits, the whole crippled girlfriend angle seemed a bit too Freddy Got Fingered. It's kind of un-PC, gross out humor obviousness makes some of the jokes fall flat. It has its moments but is pretty witless and not surprising. Being a punk production, the movie is padded with a lot of musical scenes and montages set to skate punk tunes, so, if you dislike the style of the music, it will grow really tiresome (I'm not a punk rock fan, but grew up with it regardless, so I've built a tolerance).

The DVD: Kung Fu Records

Picture: Full-screen, standard. Shot on 16mm and 35mm, the film is pretty rough. The budget for the film was low, I think they mentioned somewhere between $30,000-50,000. There are some scenes that are terribly washed out and grainy. The quality level goes up and down, some scenes appearing relatively sharp and colorful (particularly a great dream/nightmare sequence), others swimming in grain and muted tones. Again, I cannot give them too many minus points because they were working under constraints. Technically, the disc has some compression artefacts.

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, with optional English, Spanish, or Song Identification subtitle tracks. Sound quality is good. The dialogue and fx has some low budget quirks (badly recorded bits and stock fx) but is otherwise okay. The film score is wall-to-wall punk music which gets the most robust treatment in terms of sound presentation.

Extras: 15 song cd soundtrack featuring songs by No Use For A Name, The Vandals, Audio Karate, Piebald, Jackson, Useless ID, The Bronx, Underminded, Yellowcard, Ozma, and Hunter Revenge.— Commentary by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald. Fairly good and light-hearted. The usual anecdotal stuff.— Deleted Scenes with optional commentary.— Trailer, plus other Kung Fu Records trailers.— "Making of" featurette (24:30). Very good behind the scenes look at the making of the film which goes into the details of the hurdles one faces with a shoestring production.

Conclusion: The good thing about the film is that it is an indie, punk rock, comedy with a couple of good laughs. The bad thing is that it is an indie, punk, comedy with only a couple of good laughs. I found it pretty funny in spots, but there is little doubt the film is a bit thin. Still, punk rock kids looking for a funny, cheapy priced (and made), gross out humored flick could do worse, and the extras are pretty good. For its audience, a recommended casual purchase, for everyone else it makes for a decent rental.