Bobcat Goldthwait is not who you think he is. Or maybe he is, if you’re picturing a laid-back, left-leaning multi-hyphenate, who shrinks from the spotlight more often than not.
But for skeptics who still think of Goldthwait as the hyperactive attention-seeker from “Police Academy” movies and chaotic late-night appearances — or even fans who respect him best as the creator of “Shakes the Clown” — “Joy Ride” may come as something of a revelation.
That’s not to oversell this shambly documentary, because its considerable charms come from its deceptively low-key approach. Goldthwait has proven himself a provocative filmmaker with notable range, thanks to movies like the cultishly beloved “Shakes,” the darkly prescient “World’s Greatest Dad” and the pointedly unsettling “Willow Creek.”