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What might one
expect from a movie called “Bitch
Slap?” Well, it certainly has its
share of bitches and more than a few slaps…
strike that… you mostly get punches,
explosions, boobs, lesbians, profanity,
blood, guts and a fair bit of confusion.
Think Russ Meyer on acid and you get the
idea. The bitches come in the form of Trixie
(Julia Voth), Hel (Erin Cummings) and Camaro
(America Olivo), all of whom are introduced
to us in the middle of a desert. The three
are obviously both looking for something
and are on the run, with a man (Michael
Hurst) locked up in the trunk of their car.
Needless to say, unless you live in Texas
this isn’t a normal situation for
three women to find themselves in.
“Bitch Slap”, on the surface,
is intended to be a throwback to the old
70’s exploitation flicks. We have
women on the run, who are fighting amongst
themselves as well as ‘loving’
amongst themselves. The entire look of the
film seems a bit over the top, with slow
motion fight scenes and opportunities to
see out three leads pouring water over each
other in the hot desert.
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There is even an attempted nod to “Pulp
Fiction” as the story is told out of sequence,
with plenty of flashbacks utilized to try and
explain just what you are seeing. It is a dark
comedy that is unfortunately, not very funny.
I have to give the filmmakers a lot of credit
for making a film that looks good, from a cinematography
standpoint, and is able to so richly deliver the
blood and guts that one might want from a film
like this. They were even lucky enough to throw
in a few interesting cameos, such as Kevin Sorbo,
Lucy Lawless and Zoe Bell (stuntwoman extraordinaire),
who along with Michael Hurst makes the film feel
like a Hercules/Xena cast reunion. But where they
failed was in the plot that drives the movie.
It meanders endlessly, to the point that the final
scenes are rendered incomprehensible. I mean,
you sort of understand what happened, but it didn’t
make much sense.
As far as acting goes, the three leads do a fine
enough job of beating the crap out of people,
as well as each other. And the scenes where they
are supposed to be in the heat of lesbian passion
are relatively believable, if not a bit tame.
They can even spit profanities at each other in
ways that would make a sailor blush. All in all,
they deliver everything these characters should
in order to sell the movie, but in the end they
are all rather unlikable and to be honest I can’t
imagine wanting to spend this much time with them.
On the other hand, there is a revolving door of
assassins and bad guys that the ladies go up against,
and almost all of them are more fun than the leads.
20th Century Fox’s DVD release of “Bitch
Slap” does offer a decent transfer that
allows you to appreciate the movie’s positive
points. The cinematography, as I mentioned, looks
great and it comes across well here. The sound
mix is equally well done. There are two commentaries
offered, the first by the filmmakers where they
discuss the direction they were going with this
movie. The second features the three lead actresses
who are… interesting to listen to…
just not for long. There is also a making of featurette
which shows just how much fun the movie was to
make.
“Bitch Slap” is not a terrible movie.
As a matter of fact it is actually kinda fun,
in that ‘check your brain at the door’
kinda way. It hits a lot of the right marks in
its intention to be a throwback to the old grindhouse
flicks; it just tries too hard to be funny without
fully succeeding.
Directed by: Rick Jacobson
Starring: Julia Vith, Erin Cummings, America Olno,
Ron Melendez, William Gregory Lee, Minae Noji,
Michael Hurst
Extras: Building a Better B Movie; Audio Commentaries
with Filmmakers & Cast
Specification: Widescreen (2.35:1); 5.1 Dolby
Digital
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 3/2/2010
MPAA Rating: Unrated
http://www.foxent.com/
We'll give a Bitch Slap a C+.
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