Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of The Toxic Avenger; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.75
TOTAL: 7.00 out of 10.00
The Toxic Avenger surprised everyone with the reception it got when it was released. Though it was a low-budget B-Movie, nearly everyone fell in love with it. I think it was down to the brass balls of the project. The Troma team weren't below making fun of everyone and everything - even the vicious murder of a paperboy. These guys don't mind scraping the barrel's bottom for their gags - and that was, and remains, hilariously funny.
Lloyd Kaufman and Joe Ritter bring the audience the tale of lowly mop boy Melvin Junko who cleans the floor of the local gym - a five-stone weakling in the temple of testosterone. Ridiculed by the patrons: Melvin is the brunt of their jokes and pranks. One of which dumps him into a passing barrel of toxic waste. Hours later, Toxi is born. And so starts the mission of clearing Tromaville of the toxic waste that pollutes the city - the mayor, the cops, and the numerous criminals in the mayor's pocket. Kaufman and Ritter keep things simple: There are no twists or complexities in the story. Just like HULK, The Toxic Avenger simply smashes the bad guys. The gags, which come in every variety of comedic form, and the special effects keep this movie appealing and watchable.
It's Kaufman, along with Michael Herz, who deliver the extra punches that make The Toxic Avenger the cult classic it became. I mean: Who would ever think of making the killing of a paperboy humorous? It starts with the muscle heads out in their muscle car, cruising with their broads. They're shooting the crap when they spot the lad on his bike. Quick as can be, one of the girls yells out the points for hitting him. And don't tell me you've not done this - 10 for a pedestrian crossing the road, 15 if you have to mount the pavement, 20 if they run, and 10 if it's an old fogie! But you never go through with it - because it's just an immature imaginary game. But Kaufman and Herz bring this juvenile pastime to horrific life with more than a slipknot of gallows humour. The kids' insane laughter is contagious. And laughing is as good as screaming to show your fright and disgust. But there's a wonderfully satirical ending to this rather nasty spectacle. The two bints rush out of the car and start snapping away with their Instamatics. I had to titter as I remembered a bloke in a BMW, not so long ago. He was in front of us as we came upon a road accident. He nearly crashed his car because he was distracted attempting to video the scene on his phone. I said, "Look at that pillock!" only to hear my mate's girlfriend from the backseat, "Get ya' phone an' record it. There might be blood. Somebody may be dead." Nothing changes. But not only do they not hold back with politically incorrect content but also with the special effects. This movie is an all-out gross-out - heads get popped, guts get eviscerated, and balls get crushed. But as Kenny Everett used to say, "It's all in the best possible taste."
The cast is terrible, but that works brilliantly with the humour of The Toxic Avenger. I can imagine Kaufman and Herz telling their performers to get crazy and over-act the hell out of their parts. I wouldn't say these guys and galls are hammy, but Toxi is in porcine heaven. There are exaggerated faces and gestures by the bucket load, except for ol' rubber face himself. Mitch Cohen plays Toxi pretty straight, and one of the funniest elements is his voice. Melvin is a whiney nerd of a mop boy, but once he's transformed into the avenger, he speaks with a deep voice and educated tones. It is extremely humorous.
The Toxic Avenger should at least be viewed once. Just remember, it's there to be a satirical comedy parodying modern life in the 80s, though some things are still relevant. Don't think about it, enjoy it, laugh at and with it. And if you're one of these people who's about image and branding, deny everything and hate yourself in the morning.
So far, I'm up to 150 points, but I need a wiz. While I'm watering the lizard, you can check out my IMDb lists - The Final Frontier, Absolute Horror, Just For Laughs, and Holding Out For A Hero to see where I ranked The Toxic Avenger.
Take Care & Stay Well.
Story: 1.25 Direction: 1.50 Pace: 1.25 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.75
TOTAL: 7.00 out of 10.00
The Toxic Avenger surprised everyone with the reception it got when it was released. Though it was a low-budget B-Movie, nearly everyone fell in love with it. I think it was down to the brass balls of the project. The Troma team weren't below making fun of everyone and everything - even the vicious murder of a paperboy. These guys don't mind scraping the barrel's bottom for their gags - and that was, and remains, hilariously funny.
Lloyd Kaufman and Joe Ritter bring the audience the tale of lowly mop boy Melvin Junko who cleans the floor of the local gym - a five-stone weakling in the temple of testosterone. Ridiculed by the patrons: Melvin is the brunt of their jokes and pranks. One of which dumps him into a passing barrel of toxic waste. Hours later, Toxi is born. And so starts the mission of clearing Tromaville of the toxic waste that pollutes the city - the mayor, the cops, and the numerous criminals in the mayor's pocket. Kaufman and Ritter keep things simple: There are no twists or complexities in the story. Just like HULK, The Toxic Avenger simply smashes the bad guys. The gags, which come in every variety of comedic form, and the special effects keep this movie appealing and watchable.
It's Kaufman, along with Michael Herz, who deliver the extra punches that make The Toxic Avenger the cult classic it became. I mean: Who would ever think of making the killing of a paperboy humorous? It starts with the muscle heads out in their muscle car, cruising with their broads. They're shooting the crap when they spot the lad on his bike. Quick as can be, one of the girls yells out the points for hitting him. And don't tell me you've not done this - 10 for a pedestrian crossing the road, 15 if you have to mount the pavement, 20 if they run, and 10 if it's an old fogie! But you never go through with it - because it's just an immature imaginary game. But Kaufman and Herz bring this juvenile pastime to horrific life with more than a slipknot of gallows humour. The kids' insane laughter is contagious. And laughing is as good as screaming to show your fright and disgust. But there's a wonderfully satirical ending to this rather nasty spectacle. The two bints rush out of the car and start snapping away with their Instamatics. I had to titter as I remembered a bloke in a BMW, not so long ago. He was in front of us as we came upon a road accident. He nearly crashed his car because he was distracted attempting to video the scene on his phone. I said, "Look at that pillock!" only to hear my mate's girlfriend from the backseat, "Get ya' phone an' record it. There might be blood. Somebody may be dead." Nothing changes. But not only do they not hold back with politically incorrect content but also with the special effects. This movie is an all-out gross-out - heads get popped, guts get eviscerated, and balls get crushed. But as Kenny Everett used to say, "It's all in the best possible taste."
The cast is terrible, but that works brilliantly with the humour of The Toxic Avenger. I can imagine Kaufman and Herz telling their performers to get crazy and over-act the hell out of their parts. I wouldn't say these guys and galls are hammy, but Toxi is in porcine heaven. There are exaggerated faces and gestures by the bucket load, except for ol' rubber face himself. Mitch Cohen plays Toxi pretty straight, and one of the funniest elements is his voice. Melvin is a whiney nerd of a mop boy, but once he's transformed into the avenger, he speaks with a deep voice and educated tones. It is extremely humorous.
The Toxic Avenger should at least be viewed once. Just remember, it's there to be a satirical comedy parodying modern life in the 80s, though some things are still relevant. Don't think about it, enjoy it, laugh at and with it. And if you're one of these people who's about image and branding, deny everything and hate yourself in the morning.
So far, I'm up to 150 points, but I need a wiz. While I'm watering the lizard, you can check out my IMDb lists - The Final Frontier, Absolute Horror, Just For Laughs, and Holding Out For A Hero to see where I ranked The Toxic Avenger.
Take Care & Stay Well.