Tromeo and Juliet

Once upon a time, Troma, the company that brought us cinema classics such as: The Toxic Avenger, Rabid Grannies, Poultrygeist, Redneck Zombies and Surf Nazis Must Die, decided long ago to adapt Shakespeare's famous play, 'Romeo and Juliet.' This adaptation decided to spice up the story by adding kinky sex, extreme violence, genital monsters, body piercing and incest and it succeeded in creating a bizarre yet hilarious film. Anyone going into a Troma production should know what to expect, and that is irreverent and perverse comedy with plenty of political incorrectness. Expect plenty of nods to other Troma films and plenty of re-used gags (flipping cars and head squashing). Many may think it sounds like utter crap that only morons would find funny...they may be right, but at the same time they may need to lighten up and enjoy the insanity and mind-numbingness that is Tromeo and Juliet.

With a great cast, a funny script (by James Gunn and Lloyd Kaufman), a fitting soundtrack and plenty of great visual gags, Kaufman has yet again succeeded in turning what is right upside down and grossing the hell out of everyone. Get some popcorn, grab a beer, invite your friends over and enjoy Tromeo and Juliet for what it is, a Shakespeare adaptation with plenty of balls. The end.

4/5

Tromeo And Juliet is a funny movie. It's a good movie. It's a cool movie. And even a perverted and violent movie. But above all it is a weird movie. Bill Shakespere wouldn't just roll over in his grave if he saw this he'd probably spin like a top. There's a lot to be said for a movie that has a person in the credits under the title "stunt nipple". The found a peanut bouncing head is hilarious, but not as funny as the guy picking up his brain and futily trying to put it back in his head while crying. The religious hymn of "Job We Gather At The River" each time someone dies brings happy recollections of the opening moments in The Wild Bunch. This is definately a good movie. Watch it sober your first time around however.

I've recently became curious about the Troma film industry. I wanted to keep an open mind to its quirky, crude, tasteless, brainless, gratuitous, violent, disgusting style (if you can call it that). These are the type of movies that make great cult flicks. And I have nothing against cult flicks, in general, but this one wasn't completely...up to my taste.

There's lots of nudity and gratuitous violence. There's a steamy lesbian sex scene which is worth rewinding and hitting the slo-mo button on your remote. You can tell this movie was going straight towards "guilty pleasure" territory. However, half of the scenes in the movie are so repulsive, ugly and vomit-inducing that I had a hard time pleading guilty. This is sick, twisted entertainment that is DEFINITELY not for all tastes!

I have to admit I laughed at some scenes, was stimulated by gratuitous nudity and just found some portion of the movie to be oddly appealing. I can't help but appreciate a movie that's different. I'm tired of seeing this standard mainstream Hollywood crap, and I crave for originality--but "Tromeo and Juliet" just doesn't the type of originality I crave. It doesn't have that "Seinfeld" show-about-nothing type of originality. It has that sick, David Lynch type of originality, sometimes used as an excuse to display the evil fantasies that lurk deep down inside and express them on screen. The effects are generally gross--though obviously fake--and the humor is generally stupid--and not the "funny stupid."

I'm sure I'll get fried by the Troma Fans Union of America, but if you pay close attention to my review--like you should--I'm NOT panning this movie on account of EVERYBODY on the face of this Earth. I'm saying what I THINK, and as far as I know--that's the intent of these message boards.

Troma fans will love this movie! Others...beware!

My score: 4 (out of 10)

A very bizarre bringing to the screen of William Shakespeare's tragic love story.

The Que family and the Capulet family have a long running hatred of one another which often results in violence. The hatred has something to do with a film company and the fact that everyone is pretty much crazy. In the middle of all of this insanity are Tromeo and Juliet, literature's most famous "star crossed" lovers that fall for each other at first sight and problems arise when they realize whose family the other belongs to.

The film follows the basic plot of the original play remarkably well and key scenes even use the original, or close to original, lines. But the infamous Troma bizarreness pervades the film from beginning to end. That makes for a movie that is definitely not for all tastes, but it is nonetheless pretty inventive. Tyrone (Tybalt in Shakespeare) has a particularly funny death scene. 7/10

Many differently edited and rated versions exist. Each contains violence, profanity, drug use, and sex, all with a big dose of bizarreness.

I know very little of Shakespeare's personality, so I haven't a clue as to how he would've felt had he seen this masterfully perverse retelling of his work. I don't much care either. I firmly believe he would have liked this one better than the Leo and Claire version. I also firmly believe that Troma will never cease to amaze us all. Every time they make a film they work with a budget smaller than the life-savings of a third-world peasant, and the cast is dominated by more amateur actors than a school play, and yet, the film flows smoother than wine, and the performances are like platinum. Troma will likely never be surpassed in terms of cult following with a feel that is endearingly John Watersesque. If you like Troma, don't pass this up. If you've never seen Troma, let this be your first. If you hate Troma, then s***w ya.