THE GRUESOME DEATH OF TOMMY PISTOL (2012)

Directed by Aramis Sartorio
Written by Aramis Sartorio
Starring Mia Tyler, Aramis Sartorio, Caleb Emerson, Kimberly Kane, John Karyus, Vincent Cusimano

Gross out comedy is not for everyone, but if it’s your bag, you’ll most likely find a lot to like about THE GRUESOME DEATH OF TOMMY PISTOL. Though the comedy is quite broad and downright goofy most of the time, I did find myself laughing quite a bit at writer/director/star Aramis Sartorio’s gory opus.

The story goes like this; Tommy is a typical slacker who says his mind and often gets fired for it when he does so at his job. After losing his most recent job, he returns home to a disappointed wife and child. After they leave him, vowing only to return when he starts to think of his family, future, and stability, Tommy slips further into depression. Six months later and he still has no job, life, or prospects. He shifts through a dirty house, pops a microwave hotdog in the microwave, and falls asleep while pumping his penis growing pump while watching porn. The rest of the film follows Tommy’s feverish and disturbed dreams of stardom and fame in the entertainment industry.

Though these three vignette dreams all share the same theme; the ugly side of the entertainment world, they do so at different stages of Tommy’s dream of stardom. Story one follows Tommy recruited fresh off the bus with stars in his eyes by some shady filmmakers into making an underground snuff film. Story two follows Tommy a few years later and a bit wiser as he desperately tries to sneak onto the set of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s newest workout video to get a job as his assistant. The third and final story finds Tommy directing porn and finding his cast riddled with STDs that turn them into zombies.

I admire the way this film handled Tommy’s character through all of these stages of his life. Though the treatment is somewhat riddled with cliché, it’s the acknowledgement of these clichés that make them so funny. The filmmaker is also willing to go places, both gory and self-effacing that few are willing to go. Bodily fluids are squirted, slipped on, and licked. Girls are tortured, ridiculed, and cheese grated. Hell, any film where the star skins Arnold Schwarzenegger and then wears his skin around trying to fool people he’s the Governator is a winner in my book.

The acting, at times, is pretty amateur and the film looks like the cast was made up of the filmmaker’s family and friends, but despite all that, it’s still a decently made film. The effects are quite good, relying on goofy gore to carry the film most of the time. Though broad and full of goof, if you have a sense of humor and a gag reflex, I’ll bet both will be tickled by THE GRUESOME DEATH OF TOMMY PISTOL.

Check out the trailer here!!