Traxx - Scharfe Waffen, heiße Kekse

So what if it's ULTRA-80's!!! It made me laugh for at least an hour after I was through seeing it. If you like "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka" then this will be right up your alley. If only it had been successful... Oh well. Shadoe Stevens is my new hero!

This film is very funny, although it is currently our of print. If you desire a cheesy 1980's film that puts a mercenary into the competitive cookie business...this is your film. Shadoe is hilarious! Precilla Barnes is also very good as the mayor of the town that Shadoe Stevens tries to "tame" in order to fund his cookie business. The only problem is that he can not cook! This film is classic overdone male machismo, wrapped up in cookie dough. Yes, it is predictable, but very funny nonetheless. As far as I know, this is the only film where Shadoe Stevens is the star. He became famous for doing the voice tracks and announcements for the original Hollywood Squares.

The only funny part of this movie that I can remember is when the Guziks are in the back of a limo and the reactions on the driver's face in the mirror is just CLASSIC! Unfortunately, he winds up dead and Robert Davi kicks him as he asks what happened. The original credits listed him as "Eric Tilley... Dead Limo Driver". Why isn't he listed in the credits here? Maybe he thought better of it after he saw the finished product...

You're not getting art here, you're getting a comic book and at times it really works well and is super funny. Some jokes just do not land, but that's okay because there will be ten more before you know it. An acquired taste, but worth TRAXXing down...

The production is low. The acting is bad. The cookies are horrible. But that is what makes Traxx such a great film! The plot is not overwrought and deep, but it holds its own. What you are left with is over-the-top action and campy fun. Each of the characters is unique and quotable. This film remains probably the most oft-quoted movies of all time between me and my family and friends.

There was no attempt to make this movie low budget, naturally. That is what makes the entire package worth multiple views. Unlike the trendy, big budget "under the radar" releases today that try to fit the low-budget profile (and all the while most remain overrated and under deserving), Traxx succeeds because it is the real deal. It is underrated and most deserving. Watching the main character (Traxx) almost break character and begin to laugh as the one-shot-only pyrotechnics go off around him (you cannot script that). The Guzik Brothers hit squad is so brutal and self centered, yet they do not have to demand more screen time from the viewer: you will demand it of them.

This movie is the only reason I still have my VCR hooked up.