Sweet sacrilege

Considering the straight-to-DVD-caliber comedies that are released each year, "The Ten" stands out like a fresh daisy in a pile of rhino crap. From the writer-director who brought you "Wet Hot American Summer," this movie borrows the same brand of perverse, non-sequitur hilarity. And as director David Wain's mother says in the audio commentary, "The Ten" is funny about 70 percent of the time.\nPaul Rudd stars as Jeff Reigert, your average all-American adulterer who is torn between his hot wife Gretchen (Famke Janssen) and girlfriend Liz, played by Jessica Alba, whose presence in this movie is completely inexplicable. For no apparent reason, Reigert's duty is to introduce the movie's audience to each of its 10 stories related to the Ten Commandments. In between widely varied vignettes, Rudd deals with his issues -- an effective way to tie the movie's pieces together.\nThe great thing about this movie is that for the stories that miss -- like Winona Ryder falling in love with a ventriloquist dummy -- there are at least two more that hit -- such as old heroin addicts explaining the lying rhino, which wears short shorts and whose No. 2s produce fresh flowers. \nWith all these different scenes and various types of humor, this movie will definitely need more than one viewing to get all the laughs. \nThe bonus offerings on the DVD are nothing unique, except that the cast and crew of this movie are hilarious. An otherwise ordinary commentary turns into a must-listen, as Wain, co-writer Ken Marino and Rudd are joined by a jazz bassist and Wain's parents via satellite from Cleveland, Ohio. The deleted/extended scenes, which showcase the ensemble's improvisational talents, are almost as funny as the film. The only complaint is that there is no play-all function for these extras. A clip of "Wainy Days," a making-of feature and an interview with Wain, Marino and Rudd round out the extras. \nAlthough the humor of Wain and his buddies may not be everyone's cup of tea, the bottom line is that this movie is funnier and more original than most of the so-called comedies that trickle through the theaters.