TROMEO & JULIET (1997)

Streaming on Tubi!
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman & James Gunn
Written by Lloyd Kaufman, James Gunn, Jason Green, William Shakespeare
Starring Jane Jensen, Will Keenan, Valentine Miele, William Beckwith, Steve Gibbons, Sean Gunn, Debbie Rochon, & Lemmy from Motorhead as the Narrator
From Troma, of course!!!

Though Troma’s version of love might not exactly coincide with the general populace, you can always count on Troma for three things: a lack of taste, lots of boobs, and tons of gore. If that’s the type of thing that you look for in films, you’ve probably already checked out quite a few of Lloyd Kaufman’s gems.

For the lovers of literature in the house, I present TROMEO & JULIET–a loose translation of Shakespeare’s classic about star-crossed lovers. The acting? Not so good. The directing? Pretty straightforward and uneventful. The story? Well, it’s Shakespeare, so it has that going for it.

All in all, this isn’t a great movie. It’s tedious in spots with lame jokes and even lamer dialog. Then again, there are some real nuggets of gold sprinkled throughout that redeem the film mainly because of the tireless quality that Troma possesses that they know that the stuff they are doing is shit and they roll around in it unabashedly. No one here is shooting for an Oscar. They’re just having fun, which is why Troma films are so undeniably bad yet infectiously good.

I mean, how can you not love a film narrated by Lemmy from Motorhead? Or be fascinated by the forced lesbian scene and gratuitous T&A? Or laugh your ass off when one character gets his brains knocked out of his head when he falls into a fire hydrant, only to try to shove them back in and fix himself seconds later? TROMEO & JULIET has all of this and more.

As usual, Troma films follow the plot right up until the last act, then kind of pour out over the edges into what looks to be a full-on party with little to do with sense or plot. Because this film is structured after the bard’s famous work, the ending of this film feels a bit more contained than the usual Troma ending blowout. That said, you can tell that a lot of fun was had making this film, and fans of the original tale will not be able to hold back a smile seeing these freaks, miscreants, and deviants reciting these famous lines. Monty Que’s recitation alone, set to uncontrollable farting, had me rolling.

Those with a loose interpretation of what is entertainment will definitely find a lot of fun in TROMEO & JULIET. Plus it’s James Gunn directing before he went mainstream. It’s not high art. It’s Troma. And I love every depraved minute of it.

Check out the trailer here!!