Fred Adelman
"My son is a crapper. He craps in the bed, he crapped on his mother's leg and he crapped on top of the TV!" Every once in a while I find a strange film in my mailbox. I get sent many films, usually the ones that aren't worth the plastic they are recorded on, but every so often something comes along that is so unusual, so twisted, that you can't help but sit up and take notice. This is one of those films. Not only did it make me think long after I watched it, but I actually had a nightmare about it the night that I did view it. I can't say that about many films. You don't usually see me mention the words "cult" and "films" in the same sentence (I think that the audience makes it a cult film, not the filmmakers) but this is guaranteed to be a cult film in the years to come. You'll think the same thing once you see it too. It hits all the right notes, will make you want to retch at some of the visuals and doesn't shy away from anything, This is early John Waters territory, if he were on LSD (that is a good thing). The acting comes from another planet. but it works beautifully within the confines of this film, there are lines of dialogue that will make you laugh out loud (it is all in the delivery) and there is graphic full frontal male and female nudity (the filmmakers said that all of the penises in this film were prosthetic, but they are still disgusting!). Rather than giving my regular spoiler-filled review (I would rather let you discover it), I'll just touch the surface of this instantly memorable film (which was produced by of all people, actor Elijah Wood!). A brief description: Beer-bellied and man-boobed Big Brayden (Sky Elobar; who delivers his lines like he comes from an alternate Earth) and his cranky, big man-boobed, balding white-haired father, Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michael; whom you may remember was the star of THE VIDEO DEAD - 1987), run a tour of closed discos in the Los Angeles area, where daddy makes up stories about the Bee Gees, Michael Jackson and John Travolta (He tells his son that back in the 70's , he was a disco king that hobnobbed with all the big disco stars!). They have four paying tourists on this walking tour and when an Indian tourist (Sam Dissanayake; who does an extremely funny bit a little later in the film when he mispronounces the word "potato") asks for verification of his story, Big Ronnie says, "What are you a bullshit artist?!?" (you'll be hearing that word a lot in this film, but it never grows old) and pulls down his pink disco shorts and farts in their direction (The pink outfits that both father and son wear shows their nipples protruding from their man-boobs! They almost look like transsexuals!). The tourist also mentions that free drinks were mentioned in the brochure and Big Ronnie yells out "No Free drinks!" Another tourist, Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo; she was "Maria" on the funny HBO Comedy series EASTBOUND & DOWN) catches Big Brayden's eye and they start a romantic relationship, much to Big Ronnie's displeasure. He tries to ruin the relationship by any means, even parading around naked in the house (Big Ronnie has a huge penis, while Big Brayden has a tiny one!). There is also a serial killer on the loose known as The Greasy Strangler who chokes people to death and eats their eyes. We know almost immediately That Big Ronnie is the serial killer, as we watch him kill the three tourists that gave him the most trouble on that morning's tour. He throws the Scandinavian tourist (Holland MacFallister) through the glass of a vending machine, rips the face off the Senegalese tourist (Abdoulaye NGom) until all that is left is the back of his head (!), and chokes out the Indian tourist (who says, "Am I dying?"). Big Ronnie is slathered in cooking grease and he gets it off of him by walking through a car wash totally naked, where the blind proprietor, Big Paul (Gil Gex), thinks that Big Ronnie is getting his car washed. He tells Big Brayden that he is the Greasy Strangler, but he doesn't believe him, saying "I call bullshit! You're a bullshit artist!", but it is rather obvious that he is because he likes cooking grease in his coffee, on hotdogs and even on his morning grapefruit! He is a grease junkie. While there is plenty of violence, it is all done for comedy effect, such as when he chokes out a hotdog vendor (Mel Kohl) for not putting grease on his hot dog ("I could lose my job!") until his eyes pop out! He grabs the eyes, fries them up and eats them. While this film contains some scenes that will likely make you wanna puke (Check out Big Ronnie disco dancing with his huge penis shaking in the wind while a spotlight follows him around), it is basically a love story at heart. Even though Big Ronnie always tells people Big Brayden is a "crapper" (there is nothing he hasn't taken a crap on, even though none of it is true), he loves his son and you will be thinking about that long after the film ends. How they deal with the romantic triangle proves that love. There is no bond as strong as that of a father and son. British director/co-screenwriter (with Toby Harvard) Jim Hosking also directed the "G Is For Grandad" segment of THE ABCs OF DEATH 2 (2014), but God only knows where he got the inspiration to make this weird and wonderful film (Maybe in a fever dream?). The dialogue will make you laugh out loud (really!) because he found the perfect two people to portray the father and son. They deliver their lines like you have never heard before and they do it with such pinaché, you'll be laughing at their delivery as soon as they open their mouths. You will hear such precious dialogue as: "You claim her pussy, but you'll never claim her heart!", the violence and gore looks like it came out of a child's cartoon (including the sound effects) and the music soundtrack, by Andrew Hung, sounds like early-80's video game music, but everything that should fail hits on all cylinders here. I haven't laughed this hard in a long, long time; my mouth was hurting when the film ended. Highly recommended for people who like something totally different than anything they have ever seen before. A strong stomach is also recommended. Also starring Joe David Walters as "Oinker", a man who walks around with a pig nose; Dana Hass as "Big Heinie", a movie concession worker; Carl Solomon as "Danny The Crooner" (must be seen to be believed!); and Sal Koussa as "Ricky Pickles", the man who stole Big Brayden's mother away because he had six-pack abs. He has his ears ripped-off and his eyes are roasted over a campfire like marshmallows!
iainyg
Absolutely loved this movie. At the time of watching I hadn't heard much about it except it was highly rated by empire magazine. So when I watched it late at night in the dark thinking I was about to see a horror/slasher movie, I was a bit taken back when I realised it was a comedy I was watching!, And maybe it was because I was expecting a completely different type of movie but I was taken by surprise how funny it was. Now I completely understand why people don't like it, in fact I've recommended it to so many people some of which blatantly refuse to watch it and others who have, and of those who have I don't know any who did like it! It certainly is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy there humour off the wall and lines you'll be able to quote for years to come, give it a chance. And by the way after RE checking empire magazine, the movie won empires comedy of the year!!!!
jennathephotographer
I loved this movie. But not at first. At first, my reaction was similar to the other reviews on this page, something to the tune of "What the hell have I gotten myself into??"But toward the end of the movie, I began to remember some of the things I learned while studying film.I believe, and I could be wrong, but I believe the entire movie is a metaphor. Now, for what I can't say, or I would have to use the spoiler tag. What I want to say is this: give the movie a watch, because it's campy and amazing. The costumes are great, the locations and the lighting are well done, and the lines are funny at the very least. If you like Harmony Korine, John Waters, or Napoleon Dynamite (which I didn't, but it didn't stop me from enjoying THIS movie), I would say this movie is for you. If you like art house films, weird movies, or movies with an underlying deeper message (that is pretty wonderful once you look at it that way), you are in for a treat.
