January is an absolutely dire month for films, and this year's lingering holiday blockbuster constipation is even worse than usual. The pickings are slim, but you could try "Phatman: Theory of the Leisure Class," which is a rare film indeed -- an American indie flick that is opening in Japan but not the States. It's easy to see why: It's never clear whether this whacked-out view of hicksville Arizona is parody or tragedy.
"Phatman" is one of those films which disappears over the horizon of irony, leaving you wondering whether you're the jerk for laughing or for not laughing. Does director Gabriel Niccolo Bologna have a secret weakness for white trash culture, or is he -- like so many of his indie peers -- sneering at the coupon clippers and cowboys?
Imagine the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple" remade by Todd Solondz on Ritalin, and you'll have some idea of the confounding nature of this small-town tale of murder, burgers, and bad TV. Tuesday Knight plays Callie Wright, a femme banal who's cheating on her husband with biker Barlow Jones, and cheating on him with dyke bartender Julie (Athena Stensland). Callie's greatest desire is to be the smiling co-host on a kitschy TV shopping network, which isn't gonna happen unless she ditches her hubby and two kids.