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The title of this column is misleading. Taken literally, it means that I would be embarrassed by films I like that are deemed terrible by others. I have no shame, though. I’m not embarrassed by any film I like, and I’m damn proud of it. My pleasures aren’t guilty at all.

I’m pretty strict in my belief that a film should stand on its own. If I go to see Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too without having seen the first one, I should be able to catch up pretty quickly without offending the “lucky” people who say the first one. I was surprised how well Kevin Smith pulled that off with his View Askewniverse; Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was the first Smith movie I saw and I found every joke, including the millions of meta ones, hilarious. It’s a sign of a talented writer.

Much like every rule, however, this one too must be broken occasionally (like running with scissors. I’d recommend it sometime; it’s quite thrilling). Even though I should accept the terrible TV-movie version of The Shining on its own terms, there’s no way I can’t compare it to the novel or the Kubrick version. Todd Haynes’s I’m Not There probably could work if someone didn’t know who Bob Dylan is. Confusing, yes, but it could work as a film. However, the previous Bob Dylan movie, Masked and Anonymous, would probably be considered a failure if the viewer didn’t know who Bob Dylan is. Then again, many Bob Dylan fans who have seen Masked and Anonymous consider it a failure.

Dylan had mostly stayed out of the film business ever since his disastrous mid-'70s film Renaldo and Clara (besides Hearts of Fire, not found on DVD) until Masked and Anonymous in 2003. It’s co-written (both under pseudonyms) with Larry Charles, making his directorial debut. Strange to see what Charles, one of the lead Seinfeld writers, has made afterwards (both Sacha Baron Cohen films and the Bill Maher documentary Religulous); nothing too similar to Masked and Anonymous.

Masked and Anonymous is what I’m Not There was attempting to be. It’s a Bob Dylan song in a movie (while I’m Not There was about his life as well, it was told in a Dylan-esque way) perfectly. Dylan songs are at times literal, impenetrable, deceptive, and subtly knowing, and in separate instances, Masked and Anonymous is all of them. In the same manner as mid-'60s songs such as “Like a Rolling Stone,” there’s some existing world that we know only little about which drives a plot forward. The world is a hell-hole, perhaps a totalitarian one, and John Goodman and Jessica Lange are in charge of a benefit concert. The only performer they can get is Bob Dylan’s Jack Fate, who’s basically Dylan if he stopped after “Mr. Tambourine Man” and somehow ended up in a South American jail with Cheech. As they prepare for the concert, Goodman’s Uncle Sweetheart and Jack Fate meet up with characters played by Val Kilmer, Mickey Rourke, Luke Wilson, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, and others.

Much like some other Dylan songs (“Sara”, “Fourth Time Around”, “Day of the Locusts”), Masked and Anonymous is also self-referential in its subject matter. Dylan’s character is a version of himself whose musical output was probably similar to his actual output (a tribute band in the movie is called “Simple Twist of Fate”), and when he plays songs in the film, they’re his actual songs. At the same time, though, many inconsequential things happen in the film, much like in some of his most popular songs. How does Dylan know Luke Wilson’s character and why is he such a douchey bartender? What he says makes no sense, but neither does the line “jewels and binoculars hang form the head of the mule.” Sometimes, the individual scenes, like lines, make no sense, but in the end they kinda do.

There’s no reason for someone who likes Bob Dylan to dislike Masked and Anonymous, since it’s the perfect Bob Dylan movie. But what about people who don’t know anything of Bob Dylan?

Certainly it’s got a fantastic and fantastically odd cast (this may be my favorite John Goodman role; it also reminds me of his role in the Talking Heads movie True Stories). You never know who’s going to show up next (Southland Tales style), and they all put in strange, nuanced performances. What’s surprising too is that despite the fact that everyone took pay cuts to star in the “Bob Dylan movie,” it never seems like they’re sleepwalking. They all actually understand the concept of the film and don’t go through it either sleepwalking or in pure admiration. Their interesting performances don’t ostracize – if anything, they would intrigue unfamiliar viewers about what make up Bob Dylan media.

While obviously the narrative is not of a typical structure, it’s shown pretty early on that that is the case. The story has different aspects and messages to it, and it brings them all about in a way that is unique and yet obvious. Yes, true, some of the setting and plot doesn’t really make any sense in the story, but think about, for instance, any other movie that has a moment that doesn’t make sense. You overlook it. Masked and Anonymous’s strange parts aren’t pretentious or self-indulgent. It is what it is. And overall, no matter your knowledge or like of Bob Dylan, it is a successful film.

I’m proud to love Masked and Anonymous.