No doubt that playing the minstrel in There's Something About Mary gave Jonathan Richman the greatest exposure of his career. But don't expect success to spoil him: I'm So Confused--which includes that movie's "True Love Is Not Nice," if not the title song--finds the charming if offbeat pop-folkie singing the same simple-minded odes he's been doing since disbanding the Modern Lovers way back when. Produced with negligible effect by Ric Ocasek, Confused is mostly of a romantic nature, although with the occasional surprise. "The Lonely Little Thrift Store," for one, digs deep with arresting lines like "The avocado-green appliances with the smell of domestic violences." Perpetually quirky, Richman is nearly the definition of cult artist. No role in any blockbuster film's going to change that. Neal Weiss
