What I'm Watching: Father's Day

I'm sitting here wondering if I have ever reviewed a movie from the infamous Troma Films company.  The guys who made Toxic Avenger!  Like Full Moon, they filled a lot of my VHS watching days, and their cheese is very special.

So it's great that I finally get to look at one of their movies, the newest release, Father's Day.  No, this is not a sequel to their other infamous holiday movie, Mother's Day.  Not even close.

If anyone is going to do a grindhouse homage, it should be these guys.  The blood, the gore, the sleaze...all of that are hallmarks of both grindhouse and Troma.  This is a good fit, in theory.

The movie is about a killer who likes to go around killing fathers, hence the name of the movie.  He is being hunted by a priest and the son of one of his former victims, amongst others.  But it's mostly about Father John and Ahab.

Part of the movie concerns Father John's quest to find Ahab, then his reintroduction to society and finding his sister whom he abandoned is now a stripper, and culminating in a final battle with the Fuckman, who keeps things gory while they're doing their thing.

Yes.

The bad guy of this movie is called The Fuckman.  Also known as Chris Fuckman.  And the Fuckmanicus.

That kinda sums up the movie right there, doesn't it?  This does not take itself seriously, not in the slightest.  The movie is downright insane at times.  The dialogue is bizarre in a good way, with Ahab trying to sound wise and insightful, but you know it's bullshit.  And the other characters know it's bullshit.

I loved watching this.  I knew going in this was going to be grindhousey, just by being Troma.  I was not disappointed, and the quality of humour while still maintaining a sensible story was a welcome change of pace from some grindhouse homages that are just gibberish.

The final act where the characters end up in hell trying to find the Fuckmanicus and end its threat forever maybe gets a bit too cutesy and referential, but on balance things work out.  You don't expect things to be serious, so it's not a jarring tone, just maybe a bit too much during a proper climax.  I could've done without a slave Leia and Jedi homage that was SO on the nose, as well as a slam on the Hollywood movie meat grinder being a bit much.

Actually, nevermind, I kinda liked the slam.  It was maybe just the wrong place for it.

I especially loved the lengths they went to, to make this seem like a late night movie found on some cable access channel.  It has bumpers to lead into it like you would expect, and a great cheesy trailer for another movie that doesn't exist but I want.  I love silly things like that, in these sorts of movies.

This might be my favourite Grindhouse homage right now.  Drive Angry, Hobo with a Shotgun, now this...it's a good time to be a Grindhouse fan!

Where ELSE are you going to see maple syrup being used as a weapon against a demon from Hell?

What I'm Watching: Guns, Girls, & Gambling

This is a bit different, but feels right at home.

I came across this movie pretty randomly when I was seeing what was coming out this month, and it instantly caught my eye as just being...odd.

And the more I looked into it, the odder it got.

And the more awesome and tempting.  So yeah, I had to get this.

We've got Christian Slater, Powers Booth, Gary Oldman, and a lot of familiar character actors all hunting down an Apache war mask (or is it?) stolen from a Native American casino by one of any number of Elvis impersonators.

No one can be trusted, everyone lies, everyone has secrets, everyone has greed in their hearts.  These are the themes in the movie, and they are explored as the mystery unfolds with a ton of laughs and just utterly insane circumstances.

The plot is very grindhouse, in its over the top ideas and execution of them, although it never goes for the grindhouse style in the filmmaking, which is probably for the best.  We saw how well that went with Modus Operandi.  But the DNA is still clearly there, in just the right amounts.

This movie is IN SANE.  Just...crazy.  It takes a bit to get going, but once it does, it does not let up.  I am sure there are plot holes large enough to drive a bus through, that only get wider as the final act reveals twist upon twist, but it still adds up pretty well.  And is fun enough that I do not care.  I was along for the ride 100%.

The movie is far from perfect.  The acting is cheesy, the plot is insane in bad ways too, maybe a little too crazy, but this is likely entirely intentional, much like Hudson Hawk.  So I don't hold it against the movie, and in fact, it is part of the charm.  But the flaws might not be for everyone.

I absolutely had a blast watching this, and it is surely worth a look for anyone who is a fan of a good, if insane and maybe not entirely coherent mystery.

And how can you go wrong with a bad-ass woman quoting Edgar Allen Poe at every turn?