Freaked

I was part of a test audience for this movie. I thought that the version that they showed us was MUCH better than what was actually released. Unfortunately, they must've changed it based on the comments of the oh-so-intellectual psychology grad students sitting in front of us. I rolled my eyes as they talked about the immaturity of the film and sight gags. Hello? If the movie is titled "Freaked" (or at the time "Hideous Mutant Freaks"), it's not going to be a historical drama. Gimme a break, this movie was full of funky good/bad jokes which had me howling! It's really too bad that this movie wasn't released a few years later, given the success of Dumb & Dumber, et cetera. It is good for what it is, a movie for people with warped senses of humor.

It's a very punk rock sort of film, not unlike something Alex Cox would cook up. This film is essentially an environmentally-themed comedy along the lines of THE APPLEGATES, only this movie is about toxic chemicals and not deforestation (and there is a nice bit about styrofoam). But watching this film made me a bit sad as well, because I realized that Hollywood isn't going to give people the carte blanche needed to realize unique projects like this again during this age of endless remakes and sequels to films nobody liked in the first place.

The digital effects, although over 11 years old as I write this, still look great, and the make-up, especially close to the end, is very inspired, and resembles a live-action Basil Wolverton cartoon. I am eagerly anticipating the DVD, as well as watching Alex Winter's follow-up film, FEVER.

One good way to judge a film is considering if they had enough ideas to fill up a feature length film. Alex Winters's Freaked goes above and beyond that measuring system- every scene, every FRAME of this film has something clever or laugh out loud funny in it. To name a few of this film's throw-away gags- Mr. T in a dress, sideshow freaks playing Hollywood Squares (with the skeleton of Paul Lynde in center square), air stewardesses helping terrorists, a two headed chicken, a farting clown (classier than it sounds), Keanu Reeves as a Dogboy, and Calvert DeForest! And that's just the THROW-AWAY gags! The main jokes and characters are even funnier! Even a simple "I Like Ike" sign is used cleverly. The directors (who also created the best Mtv show ever, Idiot Box) are a wealth of idea, and it's a shame this didn't get a major theatrical release. The bad taste humor is actually kept to a minimum (at least by my standards) and I'd recommend this to comedy lovers and special effects make-up lovers everywhere.

Starring the other half of Bill & Ted Alex Winter alongside William Sadler, Brooke Shields, Randy Quaid, Bobcat Goldthwaite, Mr T & a cameo appearance by Morgan Fairchild this bizarre horror comedy is better than it should have been.

What I mean by that is it's stupid really really stupid.

It tells the story of an actor who sells out and becomes the spokesperson for an evil chemical company. Somewhere along the way he and his friends fall foul of a twisted freakshow owner who doesn't find his freaks, he makes them!

Full of slapstick humour this will appeal to people who like the old Airplane (1980) movies. If you don't like a joke then fear not because another will be along in a matter of seconds.

The humour is purile but it works very well as one of those take your brain out pieces of entertainment.

With "Freaks" like the dog boy, beast boy, the worm, the nose, sock man, and the crazy frogman (Which is a guy in a diving suit) *Badamstish* the creature effects are excellent and deserved the awards they won.

If you're seeking something harmless but stupid this right here is for you.

The Good:

Creature effects

Some jokes really hit the mark

The Bad:

Painfully dumb in places

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Being half cocked isn't what it's cracked up to be

I can't look at Randy Quaid anymore without seeing him humping his wife while she's wearing a Rupert Murdoch mask

Bobcat Goldthwaite makes everything better

A young entrepreneur and former child star (Alex Winter) travels to South America for his corporation and tries to get a nasty chemical sold there. Instead, he stumbles upon a freak show and ends up becoming one of them -- deformed due to exposure to (what else?) the very chemical he was trying to market.

This film has everything going for it. I thought this was going to get a nine out of ten, and the folks from Netflix thought it would be the best film I ever saw. Randy Quaid, Alex Winter, that guy from "Blossom", Keanu Reeves, Bobcat Goldthwait, Larry Bud Melman, Brooke Shields and William Sadler. What a cast!

And the jokes are pretty funny (the airplane joke is hilarious and the Ramada Inn joke was priceless). Even the company name EES (Everything Except Shoes) was amusing. What went wrong? Two things failed for me. First, the jokes from the first half didn't continue into the second half. Many of the more clever moments were used up right away. Actually, I can't recall a good joke from the second half to be honest. And second, the movie relied almost exclusively on the "freaks" to be the entertainment. I didn't find them very interesting. Sure, the makeup department did a fine job. But it's just overkill. They didn't even give Keanu Reeves credit for his role, which I think would have helped the marketing and reception a great deal (you know, it's like a "Bill and Ted 3" or something).

Luckily the film is really short (like 73 minutes) so by the time it goes downhill, the movie is nearly over. But the film cannot rely on Brooke Shields to carry it and some of the jokes are just obscure (I liked the racist Frogman joke, but my friend Jason didn't get it). Rent this if your curiosity gets the best of you, but otherwise don't. Ten years from now, this will be even more forgotten than it is right now (if that's possible).