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It’s the latest no-budget wonder by underground madman Mark Pirro, who previously brought the world films like POLISH VAMPIRE IN BURBANK, CURSE OF THE QUEERWOLF, and a few other oddities that sporadically popped up on cable TV at 2 A.M. during the ‘80s. His latest effort, not exactly a change of pace for this director, is a freewheeling, anarchistic comedy, part Troma and part Zucker brothers. The movie recklessly dredges up all kinds of taboo material—ethnic humor, homosexual priests, Muslim suicide bombers—and somehow makes it work more often than not.

It’s crass and nihilistic, but in a curiously innocent way, probably because Pirro, despite his mania for scatological humor, doesn’t seem to be pandering to the low-brow elements in the audience. He’s just larking around, with whatever materials he can get his hands on. The movie includes such nutty inventions as a Japanese scientist with a “speech impediment” (his lines are—intentionally—badly dubbed, in the grand kung-fu tradition), a female detective who literally thinks she’s Jodie Foster, and a singing girl-duo who comment on the action like a Greek chorus. (“Our story is true,” they croon. “If you doubt it, fuck you.”)

Sometimes the director settles for lazy jokes, and a couple scenes might have benefited from sharper comic timing. Still, it’s hard to dislike a film so cheerfully screwy.

As I write this, RECTUMA is playing in what could be termed extremely limited theatrical release—exactly one theatre in Los Angeles. You can check Mark Pirro’s official site (http://www.pirromount.com ) for upcoming play dates.

link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=9245&reviewer=223
originally posted: 04/10/04 21:19:18
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