Mix gratuitous sex, violence, and gore and shake; do not stir. Bring to a boil; after 90 minutes, reduce to a simmer for another hour and a half. Sprinkle with a ridiculous amount of cheese, garnish with a 70s twist, serve smokin’ hot, and you’ve got the recipe for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s delicious new concoction, Grindhouse.
The film is a tribute to 70s-style exploitation films that typically featured bizarre, perverse plots and were made so cheaply that they were shown as a two-for-one, or a double feature.
Believe it or not, Grindhouse, rated R, is fairly tame compared to its predecessors with triple-X ratings, but with flesh-eating zombies, booty shots, and extreme stunts, its still worth the $7 or $8 price of a movie ticket. (By the way, Hollywood Theaters gives a dollar discount when you present your TAMIU ID, one ID per ticket.)
The first feature, Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, is a zombie movie. Set in a rural Texas town, a toxic gas is released into the air, infecting the residents and transforming them into zombie-like creatures thirsty for blood (are there any other kind of zombies?).
Rose McGowan stars in this film as Cherry Darling, a scantily clad go-go dancer who loses her leg in a zombie attack. Freddy Rodriguez plays Cherry’s love interest, the bad-ass, “I never miss,” gunmen El Wray, who replaces Cherry’s stump with a custom-made M4A1 carbine assault rifle/M203 grenade launcher as a token of his love. Other stars making cameos include Jeff Fahey, Bruce Willis, and Stacey Ferguson, better known as Fergie, and of course, Tarantino.
The following feature, Tarantino’s Death Proof, features a crazed car stuntman only known as Stuntman Mike. Played by Kurt Russel, Stuntman Mike seeks out young women as potential murder victims; his weapon of choice is his “death proof” stunt car. When Stuntman Mike picks the wrong ladies to mess with, he definitely feels their wrath.
Abernathy (Rosario Dawson), Kim (Tracie Thoms), and Zoe Bell (as herself), a group of friends working Hollywood careers, get revenge and kick butt, while Bell performs awesome extreme stunts, making her the star of the movie. Also appearing in the film are Vanessa Ferlito, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Eli Roth. Stars reappearing from Planet Terror include McGowan, Tarantino, Marley Shelton, and as proof that nepotism is alive and well, Rodriguez’s twin nieces Electra and Elise Avellan.
If these outrageous plots don’t sound like finger lickin’ fun, I don’t know what does.
Adding to the 70s double-feature feel, the directors included vintage touches like strategically placed “missing reels,” cigarette burns, and bad splicing. And, make sure to stock up on munchies and hit the restroom beforehand because you won’t want to miss the previews or the intermission, a series of star-studded trailers directed by Rodriguez, Rob Zombie (The Devil’s Reject’s), Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), and Eli Roth (Hostel) advertising fake, raunchy flicks of the “Grindhouse” genre, with titles like Machete, Werewolf Women of the S.S., Don’t, and Thanksgiving, possibly the most memorable (and disturbingly hilarious) trailer. Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, and Nicolas Cage are among the many stars appearing in these trailers.
If you’re looking for a movie with a deep plot and character development, I’ve heard Blades of Glory is actually pretty good (go figure). Grindhouse isn’t exactly a movie people can relate to; however, if you’re the kind of person who goes to the movies for an escape from reality, with its over-the-top twists and turns, Grindhouse will take you on a trip.
Remember, Rodriguez and Tarantino were imitating a genre of movies that were typically bad, and they do an excellent job indulging in guilty pleasures, making the film “delightfully tacky,” like Hooters. It’s also important to keep in mind that the duration of the film is approximately 3 hours, a long enough time for your butt to fall asleep. Ask yourself, are you up for the challenge? I was, and I enjoyed every cheap-thrill-filled minute of it.