Crazy Animal (2007 Review)

Published on January 13, 2009 by Greg B. · 1 Comment

Cast: John Birmingham, Anise Fuller, Danica DeCosto, Atom Gorelick, Lene Pedersen, Maria Zyrianova, Anthony Mongiello, Steven McCloskey II, Bryan Kimmel, Meghann Scully, Ron Jeremy, Lloyd Kaufman, Brinke Stevens

Official Website / Myspace / Troma Website

The only real criteria I have for enjoying an indie movie is that it must NOT be boring. It doesn’t have to be the most technically sound or have Oscar worthy performances or even make sense. If there is something that keeps me entertained then that’s all I really need as a viewer. Violence, boobs, gore, sex, boobs, action, weirdness, boobs; these things make an enjoyable movie. And being that they (the indie film makers) don’t have to answer to a mega studio for their content, this leaves the door wide open for potentially some of the most offensive, shocking, raunchy, and over-the-top movies ever filmed. Look to people like Toe Tag Pictures and Jonathan Yudis (Pervert! The Movie) as templates to making great indies. Now I have someone else to add to that list; John Birmingham.

A group of girls lure some frat guys to the country with promises of a wild, sexy time. Little do the guys know that they are being set up. It seems that Jeff, their apparent “leader”, raped one of the girls, Jen, while she was in a drunken stupor during a fraternity party. So she and a few of her girlfriends plan on getting a confession on tape in hopes of prosecuting him. With the help of their disturbingly “glam” friend Ricky, they plan on tying up Jeff and his boys in order to torture him until he owns up to his vile actions. The torture? Glam Rock Ricky is going to sing to them in his purple and pink vinyl pants until they crack! But Jeff is a much badder boy than anyone knows and he is about to become a crazy animal when cornered by his accusers.

Does that sound weird? Well, that doesn’t even scratch the surface. You have to see it for yourself in order to get the full force of the absurdity. The “Ricky” character (writer/director John Birmingham) is one of the most memorable and demented in recent memory. He runs around with a long wig on and outrageous ’80s hair band garb while belting out the oddest ode to Cinderella ever. Birmingham also did most of the original soundtrack to this film, which can only be described as an offensive, musical morality tale on acid. The score is so kitschy and almost ethereal that it gave me the creeps. I think if I was being tortured with it I would tell them anything they wanted to know.

At times I was a little confused as to what Birmingham was going for. The movie is set up like a teen sex comedy with its offensive humor and plethora of tits, but delves into strange melodrama and an almost preachy editorial on things like rape, friendship and child rearing. It’s very jarring going from enjoying a nice set of hot tub tits or a dick joke to a poor girl getting sexually assaulted while unconscious. But once I just went with the flow of the LSD trip, I began to enjoy the lunacy on parade in front of me. The film maker, along with his cast & crew, obviously had loads of fun while making this and it shows. They rattle off their often ludicrous lines with gusto and eat up their respective roles. My favorite line: “It’s time to get GAY!”.

I had loads of fun watching this and I think any open minded viewer will too. Hopefully Troma does this one right and promotes the hell out of it. The last release date I heard was March 31, 2009 so be on the lookout for it on the Troma website and in the Cinesploitation DVD Updates.

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Readers Comments (1)

Bjarni Gautur says:

January 25, 2009 at 2:29 pm

A very nice review!
I can’t wait to get my very own copy of the film, I’ve been waiting for the release date for awhile now. The last I heard about it, they had it being released in May, I do hope that the March thing is correct so I can add Crazy Animal to my collection.

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