The Bride of Frank

I worked on The Bride of Frank and if memory serves, I was present during the shooting of every scene. Whether or not you like this movie obviously depends on your taste in movies - some love it, some hate it. But please don't expect it to be anything it's not. The people who deride BoF for its production values just don't get it.

The original idea for the project was that Steve Ballot, the writer/director, wanted to shoot a movie that combined the sickest things he could think of, and use the various characters in and around the Newark warehouse where he worked as his actors. The plot, as it was, merely stitched these scenes together. Most of it was shot on weekends. Steve usually sketched out the dialog and storyboarded the scenes on Friday night, then we shot them on Saturday.

We used the best equipment we could get at the time, high-end consumer and low-end professional analog video and audio gear of the early 1990s. It's easy to make a great-looking amateur movie now, with HD and digital editing available to everyone for next-to-nothing, but back then it was almost impossible. Steve spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to, for example, save one generation of tape in the editing process. That it looks as good as it does is a near-miracle.

Those who see this as some sort of sad exploitation of Frank are dead wrong. I can promise you that Frank had a fantastic time making BoF. He used to spend his weekends sitting alone in the warehouse watching TV (exactly as depicted in the movie). Shooting BoF got him out on the weekends, gave him a lot more social contact than he was used to, put a lot of great food in his stomach (Steve paid the actors mostly in good lunches), gave him the chance to touch women's breasts and asses, and gave him the chance to be revered and loved for exactly who he is.

Trash BoF all you want, but this cheap little movie was released in the U.S. and eight other countries. It played at festivals in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Italy, Switzerland, and England - and those are just the ones we know about. Frank came along for most of these, and after the movie screened people would go up to him and greet him like he was Clint Eastwood.

Sadly, many of the people involved in BoF have passed on, including the director. If I may speak for him, let me say to all his detractors ... well, nothing he would have to say to you would be printable. And it would all be correct.

THE trash masterpiece; an absolutely unconventional, idiosyncratic, hilarious ode to the working man. Unlike anything you'll ever see; I can guarantee that. If you're into the films of Troma, Harmony Korine, Takashi Miike, John Waters, and Giuseppe Andrews, this should be right up your alley... The first scene in the movie is a little girl getting clubbed with a metal pipe and her head rolled over and then Frank eating her brains. Let's not forget a scene with a 90 year old man knocking someone's head off and defecating down this guy's throat. If all this sounds awful to you, then you may want to avoid. But I was laughing through every scene.

The whole thing is filmed really stylishly, with some psychedelic visuals, a bizarre and evil score, and some of the funniest and weirdest actors I've ever seen in a film. I especially love one actor who juggles and sings opera while confronting Frank.

Highly recommended. One of my all time favorite films.

I love this movie. It's sick. It's twisted. Worst acting ever. No redeeming social values. It's the New Jersey that I know. There are scenes in it that will make you laugh until your sides hurt. There are scenes that will repulse you in ways you may not have been repulsed before. This movie must have been made with a lot of heart in it, and I have to give it 9 stars.

It's basically the store of Frank, a homeless guy who gets adopted by a bunch of guys working in a north New Jersey warehouse. He helps around the warehouse, and gets to live there as his reward. Soon, he starts panging for love. The movie is essentially about his search for love.

If you like Troma, you would love this movie.

An homage to the workingman disguised as an exercise in sickness and depravity. Filled with biting humor and priceless genuine characters. I've seen my share of no budget gross out flicks and they all sucked. Bride of Frank is proof that a talented person can produce something riveting with a camcorder, a few locations, and a troupe of 'common people'. Although technically very rough (shot on video) the movie is more creatively photographed than a lot of other higher-budgeted fare. There are other flaws, but not worth mentioning. This is a must-see.

In 1972, John Waters made "Pink Flamingos". He was a child of rich parents embracing the lower class. In 1996, Mr. Ballot created "The Bride of Frank", a film I see as the "Pink Flamingos" actually made by the lower class. And I don't mean that in a bad way in the least. Mr. Ballot and his associates have created a shot-on-video film definitely worth a look. Frank is an elderly homeless man hired as a watchman and stock-boy by Mr. Ballot's trucking company. Frank grows tired of his lonely, mundane life and seeks a wife through an ad in the paper. Hilarity and mindless violence ensue. His momma taught him at an early age "It's all right [to kill people] if you warn them first!" And that's exactly what he does! One of the most notable scenes involves Frank warning "the Nerd": "I'll cut off your head and [poop] down your neck!" And you can guess what happened! Some scenes border on porno, but you learn in the behind-the-scenes footage it was all done with the help of prosthetics. Most notable stand-out in the cast is Chick Carter, who played 3 roles: "the Nerd", a transvestite, and "Bob". Bob is hideously deformed in a rather unconvincing makeup job, and is the master of over-acting. You get the feeling that all the people are really just playing themselves, which was part of the appeal of "Pink Flamingos". I'm not putting this on-par with "Pink Flamingos" but it will definitely cross your mind upon viewing. See it NOW!