In the movie business, the customer is always right. Whether the customers are the terrified teens inside "The Ring" or the middle-aged attendees who have made "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" the most profitable indie film of all time, it behooves a critic to consider the mobs as well as the snobs. Which is why I found myself at a suburban megaplex this week, where beer-swilling truants were chortling at the sight of Johnny Knoxville attaching electrodes to his testicles.

        "Jackass: The Movie" is the latest sleeper hit to blindside pundits. Paramount Studios unloaded it before Halloween without screening it for critics, because this is the kind of commodity that defies analysis and eludes the uninitiated. Yet after the movie earned $22 million in its opening weekend, this conscientious critic had to see for himself if the lump of coal contained a diamond.

        It would be easy to say that "Jackass" is a cheaply made, mean-spirited piece of garbage that portends the end of civilization as we know it. But that's a given.  Anyone who's seen the MTV show on which it is based already knows that "Jackass" is little more than a series of stunts in which some slacker dudes, led by the smirky and resilient Knoxville, endanger or humiliate themselves and the people around them.

        It's far easier to dismiss such a movie than to analyze it, but I consider it part of my job to see through the eyes of the audience.  I call it reviewing a movie on its own terms.  It's no more appropriate to attack "Jackass" for being tasteless than to dismiss "Saving Private Ryan" for being humorless.  If a film lives up to own intentions - whether to titillate or to educate - it is a success.  And that success becomes evident at the box office, where word of mouth attracts the target audience (over the
        pip-squeak objections of critics who want to shape the world in their own image).

        At the West Olive Cinemas, the Tuesday matinee of "Jackass" was populated by yours truly and a handful of teenage boys who had smuggled brewskis into the theater. Without the slacker soundtrack of pop tops and wisecracks, I might not have realized how dreadfully funny the film was. I'm a grown-up, and I cringed whenever Knoxville's crew pulled a hateful prank (like totaling a rented car or destroying what looked like the coolest miniature golf course in the world); but thanks to the kids in the audience, I at least partly understood the movie's appeal. In "Jackass," the ostensibly professional daredevils try to impress and outdo each other, just like buddies do in back yards across America. Sure, most guys won't eat a snow cone flavored with their own urine or attach a baby alligator to their nipples, but anybody who doesn't appreciate the artistry of self abuse isn't invited to the party.

        Granted, it's possible that some kids are going to die after imitating stunts they see in this movie. But viewed on its own terms, "Jackass" is a fascinating train wreck, a macho big brother to the "Anna Nicole Show." As in the diabolically clever new thriller "The Ring," once you're in front of the screen, you can't help but watch.

        One realm in which it's vital to appreciate a movie on its own terms is homegrown cinema. We can't reasonably expect a low-budget indie to have the technical heft of a studio release, but there are filmmakers in our neighborhoods who are every bit as talented as the people in Hollywood. And thanks to digital video and the profusion of film festivals across the country, it is easier than ever for apprentice directors to attract attention.

        The St. Louis International Film Festival, Nov. 15-24, will showcase numerous local films, but none may be as shrewdly funny as "Living in Missouri," which screens this Sunday evening at Webster University. Directed by Shaun Peterson, a 1993 Wentzville High grad, it stars writer and co-producer Connor Ratliff as an unhappy office worker in Jefferson City who neglects his wife (Christina Puzzo) to debate movie minutia with a schlemiel sidekick (Ian McConnel).

        This bittersweet black comedy was an official selection at the Austin Film Festival, the grand prize winner at the Seattle Underground Film Festival and a deserving winner for Best Acting Ensemble at the Ashland (Ore.) Independent Film Festival. Peterson, who is an editor for VH1's "Behind the Music" series, filmed "Living in Missouri" with a mostly local cast in Jeff City and Columbia for $7,500. Although it has played around the country, he has been eager to get this homegrown humdinger shown in the Show Me State, and because the Webster screening precedes the film festival by a week and a half, it sets a high standard for other local films to match.

        Scratch that - it sets a high standard for contemporary comedies, local or otherwise.

        "Living in Missouri" screens at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Winifred Moore Auditorium at Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Avenue in Webster Groves. Admission is $6. Call 314-968-7487.