Tromafreak
Yes!! They finally got it down to perfection. What a great idea, a refreshing exploitation epic for Generation-X, whether they know it or not. After disasters like Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, and getting screwed by Blockbuster, our hero, Lloyd Kaufman just decided to go for it, stop catering to distributors, and let Troma be all the Troma it can be. Lloyd would make this one the most unapologetic, outlandish and downright hilarious Troma movie yet. This time, Lloyd takes Shakespeare's love story, turns it inside out, Tromatizes it, and adds that long, lost, entertainment value it was always lacking. Entertainment value, such as Lemmy Kilmister (the narrator), Debbie Rochon (the cook), Joe Fleishaker (the fat guy), and of course, brutal mutilations and toilet humor. Tromeo And Juliet is the definitive edition of a rather lackluster story, and the crown jewel of the Troma universe.Years ago, in Tromaville, N.J. business partners, Monty Que and Cap Capulet start a film company called Silky Films, which would produce supposedly tasteful, soft core films. Monty considers Cap his friend, but Cap is out to screw the poor sucker out of his share of the company. On paper, and in books, it appears that Monty gave away his life's work for free. Fast forward to mid-90's Manhattan, we have two families who are extremely displeased with one another, it's to the point that they're just looking for a reason to take a limb, or preferably, a life. Monty has a son, Tromeo, nephew, Benny, they, with their friend, Murray Martini, who's just a little too excited about all the carnage, wage war on the incestuous Capulets, except Monty, he's too drunk to care. Like in the original, there is a confusing situation, leading to Tromeo falling for Cap's daughter, who he has never met, or never even knew about. Unfortunately, Cap is a sadistic pervert, who, not unlike Tromeo's dad, has a thing for the bottle, and this would of course, lead to daddy's little chenshaw melon being physically, and emotionally abused, and molested, and kept in a Plexiglas cage, off and on, depending on how foul of a mood Cap is in. Cap is also forcing his vegetarian daughter to marry London Arbuckle, a billionaire butcher, who, would make just about anyone uneasy, with or without the raisin loaf. With all these inconveniences, the young lovers feel that eloping would be the best decision, but how will this effect the big feud? It might, or might not, go a little something like the original, but figuring out how this one ends up is just simply not going to happen, you'll never see it coming."The one with Leo" is downright sleep-inducing compared to Tromeo & Juliet, but if watered-down, over-directed, big-budget, Hollywood, Garbage is what you've been programmed to go for, then by all means, go for it, but if you're in the mood for something a little more colorful, something that really packs a punch, and doesn't follow the "normal" movie pattern, and if you happen to have a rather abnormal sense of humor, then you just might not hate this movie. Tromeo And Juliet gives the finger to all that is mainstream. Full-blast exploitation with as much mean-spirited humor as anything from a young John Waters. Along with some badass acting, Tromeo And Juliet flaunts a thunderous score which includes the legendary Motorhead, and not to mention, much input from James Gunn, that really brought this one together. For more awesomeness from James Gunn, check out Lollilove, and for more excellence from Lloyd Kaufman, check out his next vision, Terror Firmer. Tromeo And Juliet is jaw-droppingly priceless Exploitation for the 90's brought to us by the one, and only, king of the B-movies. Thank's, Lloyd. 10/10
Paul Andrews
Tromeo and Juliet is set in present day New York city where Tromeo Que (Will Keenan) & Juliet Capulet (Jane Jensen) meet by chance at a party held by Juliet's Father Cappy Capulet (Maximillian Shaun), they quickly fall in love with each other. Unknown to them Cappy & Tromeo's Father Monty Que (Earl McCoy) have had bad business dealings in the past so when they find out about their offspring's blossoming relationship they are far from pleased. Add that to the fact the two families are at war with each other & Juliet is engaged to a geekish meat factory worker named London Arbuckle (Steve Gibbons) Tromeo and Juliet discover that the course of true love never runs smoothly...Co-written, co-produced & co-directed by Lloyd Kaufman Tromeo & Juliet is Troma studios attempt at adapting William Shakespeare's most well known play. The script by co-director Kaufman & his fellow co-director James Gunn takes the basic well known love story & adds that individual Troma touch. Lesbianism, farting, pee drinking, huge demon penises, body piercing, tattooing, murder, gore, mayhem, nudity, sex, perversion, bodily fluids, porn, child abuse, a slaughterhouse & a live mouse that is eaten whole by a lizard coupled together with bad acting & low production values. But does it work? Well in my humble opinion no it doesn't, I'm not a fan of the Troma way of doing things & I don't really like their films. Tromeo and Juliet is slightly slow going at times & I actually found it quite dull. I never laughed at any of it, the character's are up to the usual low standards set by Troma & the dialogue is irritating & stupid. If you haven't already guessed I didn't like Tromeo and Juliet that much, apart from a few effective scenes there is little here to get excited about.Directors Gunn & Kaufman didn't have much of a budget to work with & it shows, this has all the low production values, poor special effects & moronic ideals that most Troma films suffer from. There really isn't much about Tromeo and Juliet that I can praise, if anything. As usual for a lot of Troma films keep watching the end credits as they are just about the funniest thing about the film. I found the gore somewhat disappointing, there's a scene when someone loses an eye, some poorly staged fights, someone has a couple of fingers cut off, some bulging eyes, some blood splatter, a decapitation & severed arm, some pig carcasses & while it sounds gory it's all rather flat & not as extreme as I was expecting.With a supposed budget of about $350,000 it shows, Tromeo and Juliet is a pretty badly made film. The cinematography is static, the special effects are poor & it has low production values. The acting is terrible & these people shouldn't go anywhere near a camera ever again.Tromeo and Juliet is an interesting take on Shakespeare to say the least, but that doesn't mean it's any good. It's probably just about worth a watch as it's different but it didn't do much for me overall, disappointing.
