Too many fans seem to be blown away

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I didn't think this film had any particular motives until I saw the "Aww Pharmacist Dad, drugs aren't the answer, you can just heal people by adjusting their spine!" scene. That's when I knew we were in it deep.I have been to 3 separate chiropractors in my life (2 the wacko kind, like the Naked Man, who claim that all sorts of emotional and physical illnesses can be fixed by spinal adjustments- not medically possible) and luckily 1 who knew that, well, a chiropractor is simply there to help you with SPINE PROBLEMS. Not to fix your cruelty and rage, not to restore health to other body parts, but simply to IMPROVE THE BACK.If you think I'm on a high horse you're right, but frankly, it's only in opposition to what the movie would have you believe. The truth is that A. chiropractors do not go to medical school and are not in any conventional sense 'doctors' and B. there is no evidence that chiropracty can solve non-spine-related issues. Oh, and C. this movie is bad. Not so bad it's funny, or so bad it's good, just BAD.

I admit it - the reference to Ethan Coen on the sleeve of this straight-to-video oddity secured a rental. I wasn't disappointed.The Naked Man bears all the hallmarks of a Coen-penned script - albeit from the more fantasy oriented side of their cadre (see also The Hudsucker Proxy and the Sam Raimi directed Crimewave). Also, the very first sound you hear is a man screaming - another Coen favourite.This is not to detract from J. Todd Anderson's direction. The whole production has a surreal air. He places events in a small town in middle America, but it doesn't seem out of place. You never forget this is supposed to be a fantasy.Look out for it next time you're in Blockbuster. If you don't expect something as masterly as The Big Lebowski or The Hudsucker Proxy, you'll love it. A lo-fi Coens flick, if you will.

Of course, this isn't a Coen brothers film, but it does have a strong connection to their films with Ethan Coen contributing to the script (but not producing) and with the Coen's storyboard artist J. Todd Anderson directing and also co-writing. As to be expected, it's not as good as a full Coen brothers effort, but worth a look for anyone who is a fan of the Coens (as I am).That said, it's not a great movie. It does have a pretty funny central concept, but to me, it never seemed to completely get off the ground. J. Todd Anderson directs the film in a similar style to Joel Coen, but he isn't near as good as writing funny dialog. There is some stuff here that people with a weird sense of humor (like me) will appreciate, but mostly the film is meandering and pointless.Definately not on the same level as the Coen brothers' classics, but worth seeing for anyone who likes the Coens, or weird comedies in general.

The director has, on a low budget, created a tight script, with beautiful timing. Rapaport plays a pro wrestler (whose persona is "The Naked Man")/chiropractor who is thrust into responding to an attempted gangland takeover of his small town. Wonderfully acted from the chain smoking cynical cops, to the paraplegic gangster, to his Elvis impersonating enforcer, and finally to the biker girlfriend follower. All the little bits were perfect and the movie was a hilarious comedy.