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243 - Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990)
42 Plays15 days ago
“Kabukiman sanjo!”
With a new Toxic Avenger film on the horizon, we’re talking about another Troma superhero who, unlike Toxie, didn’t get a series of sequels! And, along the way, we discuss this film’s aggressively problematic nature and content, Tucker’s frustrations while driving in Indianapolis, our thoughts and histories with Troma films, our thoughts on theatrically-released Looney Tunes films, and Luis Guzmán’s status as a “that guy” actor.
Sure, we may be depressed and we may be confused, but we’re NOT turning Japanese! We ARE on social media on the following platforms:
- @Disenfranchpod on Bluesky, Letterboxd, and YouTube.
- Email us your thoughts or requests to disenfranchpod@gmail.com
- Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!
- Find Stephen at @ChewyWalrus on Bluesky and Letterboxd.
- Check out Stephen’s new podcast with friend of the show Hope Stough - Welles University - on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever podcasts are sold!
- Find Brett at @sus_warlock on Letterboxd.
- Find Tucker at @icenine09 on YouTube and Instagram and @tuck_mugs on Instagram.
- Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content, including bi-weekly episodes of What Are We Watching? at https://patreon.com/Disenfranchpod
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Transcript
Introduction and Nostalgia
00:00:10
Speaker
I'll say good for you.
00:00:22
Speaker
kabuki man san joe this is disenfranchised podcast that podcast all about those franchises of one those films that fancy themselves full-fledged franchises before falling flat on their face after the first film i'm your host steven fox worthy and joining me as always a man as american as apple pie it's tucker hey tucker hello steven how we doing tonight man I'm doing good.
00:00:48
Speaker
i really enjoyed our little ah walk down memory lane there on the pre-record there before started recording.
Driving Anecdotes and Frustrations
00:00:54
Speaker
That's put me in little wasn't a pretty decent mood before. but put me to i'm not I'm not a guy for nostalgia, but every once in a while I like to dip back and talk about old stuff. and I was going to say, we had a 20-minute shoot-the-shit sesh, and it was all about ah all about times gone by yeah in in that great city of Indianapolis. Yes.
00:01:16
Speaker
Yes, indeed. Where you now reside once again.
00:01:21
Speaker
Yes, indeed. All right. How's everybody that drives? I hate that everybody, everybody here drives. They're the worst, the worst drivers ever. i don't know. Have you driven around Chicagoland recently? Cause bunch of shitty drivers up here too.
00:01:37
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. well i Well, I think the last time I was in Chicago was when I moved from North Dakota to New Hampshire, so about three, four years ago. And I told Google i told google Maps not to take me through Chicago.
00:01:52
Speaker
I even routed it myself so that it wouldn't take me through Chicago. But Google Maps does this thing that it it decides, you know, this is probably a better route. And it gives you a little bit of time, a little bit of timer that ticks away. It's like, hey, not much. You're going to take this route instead. Right.
00:02:07
Speaker
And if you don't look, I don't have my eyes glued to the phone while I'm driving because I'm driving. so if you're not paying heavy attention to it, you don't notice it. And it just reroutes you.
00:02:17
Speaker
And I remember when I realized I was in fucking Chicago I was so mad. i was like, well, here I am. don't know how I got here, but here I fucking am. The one place I don't want to drive through.
00:02:30
Speaker
I don't want to be on the loop. I never want to be on the loop. Never. No one wants. Even people on the loop don't want to be on the loop. I don't even like to think about it, man. The loop is death. The loop is death. All that good mood I was in, it's going away because I'm talking about the loop.
00:02:45
Speaker
something of The drivers here, the drivers are so bad. They usually. most and How bad are they? Well, let me tell you, ah every place has its own kind of bad driver that that sticks out.
00:03:00
Speaker
You know, like in New Hampshire, it was people just love to pull out in front of you, like no matter how dangerous it was, they just whip right out in front of you like it was nobody's business.
00:03:13
Speaker
was going to you're close enough to New Hampshire. You're close enough to the mass holes, too. You probably had to contend with a lot of them. Yeah, i I try not to remember my times driving in the tunnels in Boston.
00:03:27
Speaker
but god I hated driving in Boston so much. it is not Walking in Boston is so much better. so much better But see, here in Indiana, well, in Indianapolis at least, um and in Shelbyville, I was in Shelbyville two days last week.
00:03:42
Speaker
And everybody here, they just do all of the things. But the two things that they're the worst at that I fucking hate and I can't stand is number one, tailgating.
00:03:53
Speaker
Get off my ass. um yeah am I am never going to go under the speed limit. Unless some are still getting you unless the person in front of me is going under the speed limit.
00:04:07
Speaker
And then I leave a healthy two car length space between me and that person. And that's the only time you're going to find me driving under the speed limit is when I have to.
00:04:19
Speaker
course, I don't drive any more than two or three miles over the speed limit at any time. sure Sure. But people are just all up on my ass all the time. People have no sense of what the speed limit is.
00:04:30
Speaker
I go down bluff a bit, quite a bit. I go basically from West Street. To um to ah what's that called? South, not Southeastern. um ah Southport Road.
00:04:45
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Of course. Yeah. I mean, daily. Pretty much daily. Southport and Bluff. I know it well. group those My old stomping grounds right around there. And so the speed limit there, most of the way is 45.
00:04:58
Speaker
Now, when you're when you're turning on from West Street, it's 35, and then it's 40, and eventually it's 45 for the rest of the way. Why is it when I'm driving back to Indianapolis on Bluff, when it's 45, people want to go 35? Right. But then when it's 35, the motherfuckers are going 45. Uh-huh. Same people. Same people.
00:05:22
Speaker
ah Why? got to tell ah Why? Why? And the thing that has really annoyed me, because I don't experience this in most places, is that nobody's paying attention at the lights.
00:05:33
Speaker
I have honked my horn at the person in front of me when the light has changed green more in the last two months than I have in my entire life combined. yeah i believe Motherfuckers just sitting there and I see them.
00:05:47
Speaker
I see them when I'm going the other directions. People sitting at the light like this. Yep. On their fucking phone. Mm-hmm. Mm. Watch the light, man, because you know what? there's that I've been at lights where we probably could have gotten 10, 15 cars through, and, like, only three cars got through because nobody's fucking paying attention.
00:06:08
Speaker
Nope. Why start now, Tucker? And it's infuriating. I have
Exploring 'Sergeant Kabukiman, NYPD'
00:06:13
Speaker
more... Well, I wouldn't call it road rage because I don't get, like, physically angry. I don't yell or anything. But I am very upset inside.
00:06:23
Speaker
Yes. it's It's so intense. Your spirit is troubled. It's so intense here, so much more than anywhere else, because everybody here is the shittiest driver. Nobody comes to a complete stop at a stop sign.
00:06:36
Speaker
People get mad at me. People get irate at me for coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. I don't even stop for that long if it's clear. i What I do is I get my brakes, and as soon as I am at a complete stop, I count real fast, one, two, three, and then I go.
00:06:54
Speaker
It's just that quick. oh But nobody, everybody just rolls through that motherfucker. I sit out here on my sister's front porch almost every night and watch people just roll through. Oh yeah. California.
00:07:05
Speaker
We always called them California stops. I, again, i would always come to a full and complete stop at a stop sign, but I can't trust. it i can't trust that anyone else is going to do that. Nope.
00:07:15
Speaker
And that there ah nobody even thinks that they're supposed to. So much so that while a person is coming to a rolling stop, if I stop completely and I don't start going quick enough for them, they'll just keep going.
00:07:32
Speaker
yeah The law of the stop sign is the first person who comes to a complete stop is the first person to go. Correct. That's how that works. And so I come to a complete stop and right when I'm getting ready to go, the other motherfucker just doesn't have enough patience to wait for me to go. they just but i' like oh I will tell you.
00:07:48
Speaker
kind of thought I was first there. if if you think if If you think Indianapolis drivers are impatient, I've seen drivers in Chicago start laying on the horn as soon as like the millisecond a light turns green.
00:08:01
Speaker
Good. Like I'll be sitting there and I will register that the light has turned green and behind me five people are honking. And I'm like, oh, bitches. Now you're wanting me to slow roll through this through this green light.
00:08:13
Speaker
You know, they say that the the shortest the shortest distance between two things is the amount of time um after a light turns green in Chicago before someone honks their horn at you.
00:08:25
Speaker
That's it. It is the shortest distance between any two things. You are not incorrect. I love it. Fantastic. Pay attention. Get going. Get the fuck out of here. i' got places to be safely. ah Yeah, I fuck that. um But yeah, so um but that is not why we called you here today. Dear listener movie, though, there's car chases.
00:08:52
Speaker
There's car chases. we get like a clown on top of a car. We get a guy like falling into a windshield. like there is do We get the the the the the car flip in every Troma film that exists in this movie but for the first time ever. um That's right, dear friends. We are talking, because of the Toxic Avenger coming out, I think it's next weekend, um we are talking about...
00:09:19
Speaker
The 1990 Troma film, Sergeant Kabukiman, NYPD, ah written and written by Lloyd Kaufman, Andrew Osborne, and Jeffrey W. Sass, directed by Kaufman and Michael Herz, starring Rick Giannassi, Susan Buhn, Bill Whedon, Thomas Krunkovic,
00:09:43
Speaker
Larry Robinson, Pamela Alster, Brick Bronski, the best name of anyone ever. What a cast. Tucker, dare I say it? I'm going to say it. Tucker, I'm going to say it. go ahead Go ahead. What a picture.
00:09:59
Speaker
Sure. Yeah. you can so I mean, go ahead. yeah that's I'm really glad that you're a big fan of this. i'm i wouldn't say i'm ah I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of it, but i I would be lying if I told you I didn't have a good time.
00:10:11
Speaker
Well, can I ask, this is something that has always bothered me. um How in the fuck ahha is this movie yeah rated PG-13? Well, there's two cuts of the film, Tucker.
00:10:30
Speaker
I think you may have seen the R-rated cut, because I'm pretty sure that's the cut I saw. Because the cut I saw had titties everywhere. And lots of violence.
00:10:41
Speaker
And lots of violence. And sometimes they were combined because, as we all know and agree upon, rape is hilarious. Fucking hilarious. If the 80s caught us anything, it's that.
00:10:56
Speaker
um Yeah. God. um Much used to be derived from sexual assault. That's what it taught us. john John Hughes has a lot to answer for. That's general creepiness right there, yeah.
00:11:11
Speaker
Right, but I mean, the the the the humorization of sexual assault definitely... I mean, John Hughes popularized that in a way that is... troubling ah in the eighties, honestly. And this is, i mean, they say the early nineties are really just a response to the things that were happening in the late eighties. And that's a hundred. I mean, you got, you've got the kind of Asian exploitation shit that was going on with stuff like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kamen Rider, Power Rangers were all the rage around this time.
00:11:42
Speaker
So it makes sense that we would take this, very Asian idea and make it, you know, very incredibly Westernized to the point of racism. I'm really glad Brett's not on this episode. He would be so pissed off ah that that I made him watch this movie.
00:11:58
Speaker
I told him he was lucky. he didn't have to watch it I mean, fair. um And like all of this bullshit,
The World of Troma Films
00:12:06
Speaker
it is definitely on some old bullshit. um Like it. Yeah. But there were two cuts of this movie.
00:12:12
Speaker
Like hers wanted to make it like more like PG 13, more appealing to teenagers. Kaufman wanted a typical trauma movie ah with hyperviolence and tits and ass. And so they even they each got their own cut of the movie basically. Yeah.
00:12:29
Speaker
Well, and even the R-rated cut, though, a Far Cry from a PG-13, still pretty tame for a Troma movie. Still pretty tame for a Troma movie.
00:12:40
Speaker
Right. And, I mean, this is, of the Troma movies I've seen, which are two, um oh this is easily easily the best looking of them, I will say that, for sure. What's the other one? For sure.
00:12:51
Speaker
Chillers. I don't know if we discussed this on Mike last week. No, you told me you had seen that. yeah I saw that, too. It sucked. my My partner owns Chillers. Look, i Chillers, in fact, does suck. It is worse than this.
00:13:04
Speaker
um But I will say for Chillers, if you can imagine, and i had so much fun with Chillers. I'm like, this is sucks. This is awful. I hate this. But I'm having such a good time.
00:13:15
Speaker
And I feel like I need to see some more trauma. I need to watch the Toxic Avenger films. um Yeah, probably. Probably. Particularly before this new one comes out. I want i want to you know engage with that franchise. And they're all they're all available on streaming. On Tubi at least.
00:13:33
Speaker
I will warn you, Steven, they are exhausting. I'm sure. The fourth one has our boys are Kabuki men in it. so Even as a teenager when I had more endurance for this kind of shit.
00:13:47
Speaker
When I was actually kind of into this kind of shit, I still was like, man, this just much. Yeah. So much. much. this is just this is just so much yeah so man so much Now, the difference I would say between Chiller and this is that, yeah, Chiller is kind of bad in a good way. You can have a good time with it and have fun with it.
00:14:09
Speaker
But I think that this film, generally, my big problem with it is everything is everything is so mean-spirited. The humor is mean-spirited. The violence is mean-spirited. And even though it looks really fake, it's still just upsetting. This movie starts, first scene, child murder.
00:14:28
Speaker
Right. Yeah. And one of those is Kaufman's either daughter or granddaughter. Cool. Like, Kaufman's entire fucking family is in this movie. Like, the drunk, the the wine mom at the birthday party related to Kaufman. Patricia Kaufman is that person's name. Yeah. Which I'm assuming is his wife.
00:14:46
Speaker
But, like, yeah. ah Insane. Like, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. I was telling my mother about the film that we I watched for this podcast. I was telling her today.
00:14:59
Speaker
And I told her, I said, well, you know you know Lloyd Kaufman. You've seen Lloyd Kaufman. Lloyd Kaufman's in one of your favorite movies of all time. Because Lloyd Kaufman is in Rocky.
00:15:11
Speaker
Oh, yes. Because of Death Race, 2000. Because of Death Race, yes. it's It's wild when I think back on like those kind of – because Kaufman is of a certain school of like – and it's it's like him, Stan Lee, and um why did I just forget his name?
00:15:31
Speaker
um Corman, Roger Corman. Mm-hmm. Like all three of those are guys are of the same school. And like they're just – and Kaufman the last of the breed really because both Lee and – Yeah.
00:15:45
Speaker
Lee and Corman, both RIP, no longer with us, but they are kind of the pitch man face of the brand in a way that very few... And it's that kind of acerbic, out-in-front, shoving-the-stuff-in-your-face kind of pitch man style that all three of them had. Like William Castle, even. Castle, too, yes. All of them are of that kind of school. And Kaufman is the last of the great...
00:16:15
Speaker
um the last of the great brand pitchmen honestly yep and he's still around he's still kicking he's still doing conventions and like he's still on his bullshit still directing yeah co-writing still producing he's he's still the face of trauma and trauma's still fucking doing their shit too like it like and and i mean i'm not i've never been a big trauma guy like i've not really gotten into like the like the kind of low cinema thing that they do. And I will say, neither of the movies that I've seen, trauma the trauma films that I've seen are movies that I would call good movies.
00:16:51
Speaker
But there's a part of me that enjoyed various aspects of those films. And I'm sure we're sure we'll get into the Kabukimen of it all so at some point here. But yeah. I don't i have i don't enjoy any trauma film that I've seen. i don't like any of their movies that I've seen. I think they're utter trash. But...
00:17:10
Speaker
Having said that, I do respect the hell out of the brand, and I respect the hell out of Lloyd Kaufman because he knows his audience, yeah and he knows, like Corman did, like Stan Lee did, like William Castle did, he knows how to shove that shit in their face. He knows how to get it out there to the right people. Absolutely.
00:17:29
Speaker
Right. Like, brilliant brilliant businessman. Brilliant. Yeah, and I mean... Even though I don't like it, like, it's not my kind of shit. It never really has been. ah There was a time where I had a little more tolerance for it, but now I've just outgrown all of that shit, really.
00:17:44
Speaker
Which, honestly, still just yeah. Tons of respect. Tons of respect. look so So let's let's I've kind of my history with Troma started just a few years ago during a Halloween marathon. My partner was like, let's watch Chillers. It's not good, but I kind of want you to see it. So we've got like this commonality in this. And and legitimately, the thing I remember most about Chillers is the end sequence where the kid wakes up and goes, now that's scary.
00:18:09
Speaker
i I cackled like a mad king. When that little kid sat up in his bed, i was dying. I thought it was the funniest little stinger on that dumb, dumb movie, but I had a good time with it. It's like, uh, it's an anthology, like a a creep show or a twilight zone, like that kind of a thing.
00:18:27
Speaker
Um, but what is, Tucker, what is your history with trauma as a brand? Which of the films have you seen? You, you've just said you've not enjoyed any of them. So we kind of know how you feel about them, but kind of what's your history with it?
00:18:39
Speaker
So I unintentionally discovered trauma through their foreign film distribution spinoff that they had in the 80s and 90s.
00:18:55
Speaker
Right. They were doing that shit before Tarantino was doing that shit. That's true, and they, before Disney bought the exclusive rights, they were the ones distributing the Studio Ghibli movies in the United States.
00:19:09
Speaker
That's right, I've forgotten. If you can ever get your hands on the Troma dub of Totoro, please do it. Because the voices, the acting is fine. Like, it's not shitty Troma acting, it's actual acting, like...
00:19:25
Speaker
But the sound effects, like the cat bus, I can't even explain to you what it sounds like in the trauma version, but it's so weird. Like, I actually have one of the things that I don't i don't do torrents. I don't go the Pirate Bay very often unless like it's some something I purchased on physical media that got damaged. Yeah.
00:19:45
Speaker
or lost or something or some other reason that, that seems morally right and legal. um but I used to have Totoro on cassette tape when I was a kid, the, the trauma dub.
00:19:57
Speaker
And I did go back a couple years ago and I found that trauma dub on the pirate Bay and I have it. That's if you, you have access to my digital film library that's on my Google drive. That's the version of Totoro that's on there.
00:20:10
Speaker
And I, oh Please check that out. Please. Okay. and That sounds like fun, honestly. if we ever do another What Are We Watching? I'll tell you about my first time watching Spirited Away not too long ago.
00:20:26
Speaker
and So, yeah, I knew about some of the Ghibli movies when I was younger. And then, of course, if yeah anybody who is familiar with this podcast or familiar with me knows that I started out as a really big horror fan.
00:20:42
Speaker
Like that was the the genesis of my my cinema journey started, has its roots in horror. Very, very deeply in horror. Yeah.
00:20:53
Speaker
it's not I still like horror, but i my tastes are a lot more diverse now. my My film tastes have come to match my musical tastes, which are just pretty open. Like whatever is good.
00:21:03
Speaker
you know yeah i like whatever is good. i don't really care what genre it is. 100%. So starting out as a horror fan, of course, Troma was on my radar. And the first film of theirs, ah because do you used to just have to buy shit blind back in the day. You couldn't stream at first and then be like, oh, I like this. I want to buy the Blu-ray of this or the four k or whatever.
00:21:22
Speaker
No, just like records, you just had to buy them blind and hope to fuck that you spent your money well. And I bought a VHS of, this was not a Troma film, but Troma distributed it at the time of blood sucking freaks.
00:21:36
Speaker
o And that's, that's, Probably the most sadistic and mean-spirited movie I've ever seen in my life. Oh my god.
00:21:47
Speaker
I watched it halfway through once, and then I threw it away. Oh shit. Again, not a Troma production, it was just a film that they had the rights to, because, I mean, it did fit their brand.
00:22:03
Speaker
Sure, sure, sure. later I kind of gave up on buying Troma films, so I would ah watch them with friends who had them. So I had seen the Toxic Avenger, which i see I see the potential there. I like the idea of it, and i like the story. But ah just like this film, it's just too much. And like everything...
00:22:25
Speaker
that they try to do, they do badly. Like everything's just bad and like not even in a good way. And then I saw this one probably around 1999.
00:22:37
Speaker
I've seen class of Newcomb high, which I didn't. I guess that's the one that I don't entirely hate, but I still hate it ah bit. If like gun to my head, Troma movie and I have to watch one, it'd probably be class of Newcomb high.
00:22:52
Speaker
Okay. James Gunn to your head? Yes. And I saw... when There was another one. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Oh, speaking of James Gunn, I saw Tromeo and Juliet.
00:23:02
Speaker
Okay, which he wrote. Yes. It's like an early screenplay for him. ah first No, in fact, his first screenplay. i'm looking at his filmography right now, and he was he was a big trauma guy. in the day yeah He got his start like just like oh like Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese and all those guys got their start with the Corman camp. Gunn got his start with the trauma camp. Coppola as well, yes.
00:23:27
Speaker
Yeah. Yes, indeed. how still like ah Lloyd Kaufman still shows up in most James Gunn movies. True. Now, technically, he's not in Superman, but Lloyd Kaufman says he's in Superman.
00:23:44
Speaker
There's a lot of crowds in that movie. He says, I am totally in it. These are pictures of me getting in costume on set. Like, I am in Superman. Yeah. But it's not on IMDs, not in the credits, anything.
00:23:57
Speaker
Right. So, I mean, and but, you know, and Gunn has said, yeah, a lot of the people he regularly collaborates with were just like in crowd scenes, like the the band that performs the season two theme for pun or Peacemaker that's getting ready to come out later this month.
00:24:15
Speaker
um Like that guy's in the crowd
Production Insights on Sergeant Kabukiman
00:24:17
Speaker
somewhere. But like it's kind of one of those like, yeah, they're in the movie. Like if, you know, if you squint and pause at the right point, you can see them. And I'm sure once, now that it's on, like, now that it's actually, like, available digitally, I'm sure people are going to be, like, pausing and going frame by frame to see where Lloyd Kaufman is in Superman.
00:24:34
Speaker
Find Lloyd Kaufman. Speaking of watching Superman, apparently... If I want to fully enjoy and understand Peacemaker season two, I have to watch motherfucking Superman, which means because you best believe I'm not renting it for twenty five dollars.
00:24:52
Speaker
No, which means I'm not going to be able to watch Peacemaker season two until after Superman either comes down to a five dollar rental or begin streaming on HBO Max.
00:25:04
Speaker
Right. Whichever one comes first or if they both happen on the same day. And that is infuriating because Peacemaker season two is i have been waiting for that for a while. I'm very excited about it. um And I know that I'm not going to be able to go on the Internet until I watch it because the spoilers are going be ridiculous. I'm sure of it. Right.
00:25:24
Speaker
And that's going to be a pain in the ass. And I won't know until I watch the first episode. Now, i want to rewatch the first season, but it's one of those things. My partner hates superhero super hero shit, so I kind of have to do it when she's asleep.
00:25:36
Speaker
um Yeah. Which means i have to stay up late. Yeah. Or get up early, and I'm not doing that. um But... um Like, I think it's a lot of the... Like, some of the characters appear... Like, that that are in... i don't know that this the story is a continuation of Superman.
00:25:54
Speaker
So much as I think a lot of the characters... Like, the Justice League characters, I think, are going to appear in Peacemaker. um It officially takes place... It officially takes place two months after Superman.
00:26:06
Speaker
Yeah. Now, what I'm hoping... I'm hoping that they do the reasonable thing and they don't retcon anything because Peacemaker's dad's little door that takes him to different dimensions and universes and stuff.
00:26:20
Speaker
Please use that. Don't retcon stuff. Don't do it. I really loved the flash and Aquaman being at the end of the first season. I thought that was great. I think that is the only scene that he is retconning. Honestly, fuck me.
00:26:36
Speaker
and I think that's literally and the only scene that they are retconning, from my understanding. No, you have an opportunity. Why? You don't have to. You don't have to retcon it. You don't have to. He's apparently, and this is just what I've heard him say, anything that appears in the previously on Peacemaker segments at the beginning of the episodes from the first season, that's canon.
00:26:57
Speaker
And the rest of it is fungible. Oh, so you're saying that it would be easy for me. Sorry, hot flash, Steven. that I was going to say Tucker is stripping on camera, which i mean to be clear, I am not into. and like That's a great farmer's tan right there. That's more of you than I wanted to see. And then white.
00:27:17
Speaker
ah Anyway, um so you're saying that they don't explicitly say it didn't happen. Correct. But that, okay, I can live with that. I can live with that. just like Halloween h two o Like, they don't explicitly say that 4, 5, and 6 didn't happen.
00:27:35
Speaker
And you could headcanon it into that timeline. But officially... it's a sequel to two ah right officially yes we're both doing that finger next to the nose winky face thing but yeah so that is my understanding of what it is and and i think we're gonna see again like nathan fillion's character um like we're gonna see mac uh you know sean gun's like third dcu character or fourth dcu character maxwell lord ah because you he can't make anything without his brother in it so yeah yeah
00:28:10
Speaker
ah For good or for ill, sometimes I i really like Sean Gunn in stuff, and sometimes I'm like, you could have gotten someone else, and it would have been much better. Sean Gunn, the Clint Howard of James Gunn's oeuvre.
00:28:22
Speaker
I love Clint Howard, though. You do love Clint Howard. Future episode of this podcast, The Ice Cream Man. So Ron Howard and Clint Howard co-wrote a book called The Boys.
00:28:34
Speaker
And it is about their life, about their parents and their family and their life as kids in Hollywood and as child actors. And it's really it's a really good read. And I read the physical copy because I own the physical copy.
00:28:49
Speaker
Because even if I buy the audiobook of an autobiography, I have to buy the physical copy because I like the pictures they put in the middle. I want to see the pictures. Sure. So I also have the audiobook. And I was thinking about how much I liked that book the other day. And I was like you know what? I'm going to start that audiobook. I haven't listened the audiobook.
00:29:06
Speaker
And it's just both of them reading their own parts. And I love them both so much. And they both just... ah They're just such... good people like they're kind people who are just nice i like those kind of people they're kind of they're like they're like mr rogers or weird al where like you just you can't find anything wrong with them they're just good dudes yeah just good dudes those howard boys i tell you there's some good dudes good dudes i'm not a big fan of most of ron's movies but i'm sure he's a good dude he's a solid dude
00:29:39
Speaker
he is ah He is a competent filmmaker. but And a fantastic narrator. itake He is a great narrator. like he really is. On the next, The Rest in Development.
00:29:51
Speaker
Oh, shit, Steven. You don't even know how cool Ron Howard is because you still haven't watched the motherfucking studio, Steven, and it's your show. It's a show. They made that show for you, Steven.
00:30:02
Speaker
Much like Schmigadoon, they made it for you. Specifically for you, Steven. And you're just sleeping on it. Like I'm paying for an Apple, Apple TV plus subscription. And I have not logged into that app because I hate logging into any Apple app whatsoever, because every time I log in, they make me change my password again.
00:30:22
Speaker
And then I've got to like go through like 10 different passwords that I've already used I can't use again. I feel that pain because they did that to me for about two years.
00:30:33
Speaker
And then all of a sudden they were like, oh, no, no, no. You can use passwords you've used before. That's fine. Oh, and we're going to stop asking you for it every time, too. I think what it was is when I got back into the when I got my MacBook, when I got back into the ecosystem, they were like, OK, we don't have to punish him anymore.
00:30:49
Speaker
Yeah. And I refuse I refuse. oh I'm telling you, Steven, the studio is worth changing your password again for. Okay. Because they just for you, Steven, they made it just for you.
00:31:04
Speaker
It does sound 100% like my shit. I'm surprised it doesn't say for Steven at the beginning of every episode. And I do want to finish Severance. I want to get caught up on Severance. Oh yeah, please do.
00:31:16
Speaker
I enjoyed what I watched of that show as well. I was listening to Amy Poehler's podcast today and she her guest was Adam Scott. I going to say, again, I feel like she has Adam Scott on all the fucking times. This is the first time.
00:31:30
Speaker
Is it? I've seen a ton of clips on social media of him on her podcast. So I might, i they may have recorded it before and released some shit in preparation. She only started her podcast this year. she only had a handful of guests.
00:31:43
Speaker
i'm I'm just saying I've seen her. I've seen her talking to Adam Scott on her podcast before. That's all saying. It's it's called Good Hang. And i recommend it to anybody because it's really, really fun. And the guests are really cool.
00:31:55
Speaker
They have video clips on on TikTok. You'd know that if you were on TikTok. She does this rad thing um where like before she starts talking to her guest, she talks to people that her and her guest both know. And they talk about that person. And then she gets those people to give her questions to ask the guest.
00:32:17
Speaker
And so before she spoke to Adam Scott today, she briefly spoke to Nick Offerman. And i do love that. Yeah. They were talking about, they said they could he could grow his mustache in 45 minutes just by sheer will.
00:32:33
Speaker
That sounds like Nick Offerman. Yeah. Just, yeah. ah Tucker, I don't think I haven't noticed how you are veering the conversation ever so casually away from...
00:32:44
Speaker
Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD. I'm just taking it where it's naturally going. I don't have a problem talking with Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD because I do have a lot of things to say about it.
00:32:55
Speaker
Mostly negative. Respectfully negative though because like I say as much as I hate these fucking movies I respect the shit out of them. i I get where they're coming from on this. Again, they're kind of responding to a lot of the shit that is in the zeitgeist. Apparently, the idea came when Kaufman was filming ah Toxic Avenger 2 in Japan.
00:33:17
Speaker
And there's apparently a joke in that movie about Kabuki Boy um being in the next Toxic Avenger movie because of Japanese investors. And so he actually did for this movie get Japanese investors, leading to him having ah budget for the first time ever for this movie Namco co-produced this movie Namco is a Japanese video game company Namco invented Pac-Man like Namco is old school fucking Japanese video game company I'm really surprised we didn't get any I'm surprised we didn't get any product placement video games and stuff I'm kind of surprised we didn't get a Sergeant Kabuki Man or Toxic Avenger video game frankly
00:34:02
Speaker
o There is a Toxic Crusaders video game coming out soon, and Sergeant Kabuki Man is one of the playable characters. Toxic Crusaders is probably my first exposure as a kid to the Troma brand.
00:34:17
Speaker
Well, that's where we both forgot to start. We both forgot to start there, didn't we? We sure did.
Sergeant Kabukiman as a Troma Icon
00:34:23
Speaker
um And honestly, my my parents would not let me watch the cartoon, but I caught ah like an episode at like a friend's house when I was like doing a sleepover. i did catch an episode of it, and I was like, this is...
00:34:35
Speaker
weird in a fun way. And I was like, oh, it's in someone's like, oh, yeah, it's based on a movie, but you're not allowed to watch the movie because the movie is rated R. and I was like, oh, man, man x toxic Avenger is rated X. Oh, well, then there you go. See, and i again, haven't seen it. I i will soon. I'm sure and can't wait. I love that for you.
00:34:54
Speaker
i'm I'm old enough to actually watch rated X movies now. ticker so like i Nice. Well, you know, Sergeant Kabuki man in my PD was originally they they originally kind of threw around the idea of making it a kids animated show. And then even after the film,
00:35:10
Speaker
they tried to get a toxic crusaders type show off the ground with Sergeant. ka Yeah. Which makes sense. I saw the like opening sequence of it or like a, like a kind of the it's on YouTube. I'll try to link it in the show notes for this episode. Is it like a, like a rough cut, ah like some ah ah proof of concept kind of real thing much. It's got like Captain Gung Ho.
00:35:33
Speaker
ah They're all like very like stereotypically Asian inspired, but Captain Gung Ho looks a lot like Hulk Hogan. like suspiciously like Hulk Hogan. There's ah like a guy that looks like a sumo wrestler.
00:35:45
Speaker
um Like it's it's it's weird as shit. um As you would expect from a cartoon based on Sergeant Kabuki Man. And he's like, he's got like a Shazam-esque phrase when he transforms. It's like, let the sushi hit the fan and call forth Sergeant Kabuki Man or something like that.
00:36:05
Speaker
ah Really, really fucking weird. um It's super bizarre. It's like a two, two and a half, three minute like concepts. um That's got like how he transformed the different characters that would be kind of with him. But yes, they absolutely.
00:36:21
Speaker
And Sergeant Kabuki man is one of those characters that they would use over and over. Like lots of different actors played Sergeant Kabuki man over the years. um Like, I don't think this actor plays him again.
00:36:33
Speaker
ah except for in an episode of something called trauma's edge TV, uh, on place him in ra citizen Toxie. He's citizen Toxie. It's the same. act oh is the same actor. Okay.
00:36:44
Speaker
Yeah. Um, okay. I guess I didn't realize that, but yeah, I mean, he doesn't have an IMDB page. He barely has like a, or he doesn't have a Wikipedia page. He barely has an IMDB page. Like this actor, he does not have a photo on IMDB. That's kind of how vague this actor is.
00:37:02
Speaker
he's He's not in Citizen Toxie, actually. It's a different actor. like The character is appears, but not... Like, this actor does not play... His next role after Sergeant Kabukiman is an episode of Star Trek Voyager in 96.
00:37:16
Speaker
He's in something called Fatal Frames, also in 96. He does episodes of Carolyn in the City, Hang Time, Felicity, Days of Our Lives, and then he appears in a 2000 episode of Troma's Edge TV, which is his only other appearance as Sergeant Kabukiman NYP.
00:37:33
Speaker
Well, I must have been in a different timeline last night when I looked that up and confirmed it for myself. Yeah. That happens all the time. there you you do so You do tend to jump timelines quite a bit.
00:37:45
Speaker
The character itself, like it became kind of the second mascot of Troma after Toxie, but he never got a sequel. Like there were a couple of sequels that they kind of kicked around even within the past, like sometimes like within the past 25 years, they've kicked a couple of sequel ideas around, but nothing ever got off the ground. There was a Sergeant Kabukiman LAPD, which would have, I'm sure been the um crocodile Dundee goes to Los Angeles of the Sergeant Kabukiman series.
00:38:15
Speaker
And then you've got, what was the other one? Sergeant Kabukiman and the lesbians of bone Jack high, which I'm sure would have been incredibly sensitive. Yeah.
00:38:26
Speaker
And, and, but like that, they started production on that in 2006 and it never got off the ground. So like, like it, this is like perfect for this potty. It's the perfect kind of movie for us to cover, despite the fact that it's a true movie that we don't really want to cover.
00:38:43
Speaker
Yeah. But I will tell you this, a Kabuki Man has remained a strong mascot for Troma because um instead of having another sequel or a complete franchise, he shows up in other Troma films.
00:38:56
Speaker
yeah If there's any promotional material, they had a web series back in the day and he was the host of it. Yeah, he's like hosted a talk show. Mm-hmm. Yeah, he is he is um he's the mascot of Troma in a different way.
00:39:12
Speaker
Yes. Than Toxie is, I would say. Right. And just as like on the same level, just in a different in a different way. In a different capacity. Like Toxie is the one that everyone, i guess, knows.
00:39:25
Speaker
But Sergeant Kabukiman is kind of like the one that the diehards kind of recognize and respect.
Anticipating New Film Releases
00:39:32
Speaker
Yeah. Agreed. Yeah. um And his he's even crossed over with ah something called Mummy Cop, um which is apparently a ah show slash movie about ah a cop who's also a mummy, which was apparently heavily inspired by Sergeant Kabukiman. I know.
00:39:51
Speaker
Seems hard to believe. That's wild. That is wild, Steven. That is wild stuff. um Yeah, because the first scene of this movie, child murder. The second scene of this movie, um sex.
00:40:06
Speaker
Like, it is... Yeah. Like, it's a graph you know ah a couple just... you know yeah It's a couple just in bed and they're just like... Not two minutes into this movie, we're getting tits. And I'm just like, what?
00:40:19
Speaker
I mean, this is apparently this is a trauma film. Apparently, this is what I've signed up for. And then they get murdered um and we get the oh, you can kill me, but you can't kill the power of Kabuki man. And I'm like, I don't I don't know what the fuck is going on here, but this is but fucking bizarre as hell.
00:40:37
Speaker
So this, this is a good time to mention what's the most frustrating thing about trauma films. And this is a perfect example of it. So the setup to this gag is perfect.
00:40:50
Speaker
Those two assholes doing Coke on their car Yes. And the lady like smashes onto one of them and at the end they get barfed on or whatever.
00:41:02
Speaker
But it's just so poorly executed. As is everything Troma does. And some people find that endearing, which I get.
00:41:15
Speaker
But for me, it's just incompetent. Like nothing in this movie is funny. There are parts of this movie that are almost funny, but then they fuck it up because they just, they don't get it or they're too lazy or they don't fucking care.
00:41:32
Speaker
i don't know. Like what was with the fucking cartoon sound effects? i yeah even as like Even as silly as this movie is. And it is, to be clear, it is a comedy. Like, by design, it is a comedy. Whether or not you find it funny, that's between you and whatever god you serve. Don't say you and your god, jeez.
00:41:54
Speaker
Right. But it's it's very... it It is a comedy. But yeah, you're right. The sound effects are very cartoony in a way that I think even Joe Dante is able to like restrain himself in like a Looney Tunes movie from using the car sound effects that are that cartoony.
00:42:12
Speaker
Yes, it's ridiculous. and When he comes be crashing through the window later, and like it's like a window crash, and then he hits the ground, and it's a brrring sound effect. like That's not the sound a body makes when it hits the floor. Bodies don't brrring when they hit the floor. i never i never want to see a movie with boobs and excessive gore that also features the sound effect of a slide whistle.
00:42:38
Speaker
m yes we do get slide whistle here um never i never the time we hear the boy owing sound effect is when uh his co-worker tells him ah invites him to go jogging and tells him she'll be wearing her new spandex shorts and then we hear that boy as he like his eye like we get a close-up on his eyes getting really wide yes his co-worker the one that was hilariously raped She would become hilariously raped later in the film.
00:43:03
Speaker
Yes. Yes. And then unceremoniously murdered for just really no reason. Just to be mean-spirited. Really. One of my favorite lines in the movie, because it is...
00:43:15
Speaker
ridiculously stupid is the doctors are all arguing. The nurses think she's just killed this woman. And the doctor is standing next to screaming. She just had a headache and now she's dead. And I'm like, sir, that is not what she was here for.
00:43:28
Speaker
I was just like, that, that line is so hilariously stupid. um that I could not help myself. I was, again, it's that, that kind of little shit that I find so entertaining about these movies because it is so incongruous because it's clear that they're just like, i don't know, riff.
00:43:46
Speaker
And then they'll just put like the, what they think the funniest shit is in there. And, It boggles my mind and that mind boggling. I would hate it in any other movie, but for some reason in this, I find it hilarious. and I don't know. All of the jokes, all of the jokes are first take improvs by people who are not funny and not improvers are not fucking funny. Yeah, no, they left in chapsticks. Did you check? Did you catch that?
00:44:14
Speaker
Instead of chopsticks, when that guy in the crowd, who is, that's got to be a cameo by somebody, because they featured him way too much for it not to be like. The dude in the suit, yeah. Yeah, and he's like, the guy's he's throwing chopsticks. Hey, hey, come on.
00:44:30
Speaker
Oh, good. it Could also be that dude trying to do his best. um his Nope, I can tell. Nope, it was genuine. He was really that dumb. He really said that. You can tell.
00:44:40
Speaker
You can tell. You can tell.
00:44:44
Speaker
You can tell. Now there is, I'll tell you, there is one part of this movie that I actually genuinely enjoy. hu It's not because it's good.
00:44:55
Speaker
It's because it speaks to me individually so much on accident. It's they're trying to make the joke that guys are usually all over girls and they're always like, no, stop touching me.
00:45:06
Speaker
And it's the big, the the really big henchman guy and the girls all over him. And he says, he says, and I quote, can't you be around me without touching me?
00:45:17
Speaker
Right. And I feel that. I feel that deep in my soul because I'm someone, unless you are a designated person, please do not touch me. Please never fucking touch me ever for any reason.
00:45:30
Speaker
If you can help it, please. And I felt that because I know what it's like to just be like, can you just, can you just fucking not like ever touch me, please? Right.
00:45:41
Speaker
Please? like i I felt that. like I had a moment I had to pause it and be like... I feel sad. Well, and all of that, all of that is in service of the, the, the immediate followup gag where Sergeant Kabukiman comes over and taps him on the shoulder and he goes, I told you to stop touching me.
00:46:01
Speaker
And then Sergeant Kabukiman just comes strolling casually amid all of these henchmen, none of whom are really reacting to him other than going, Oh, wait, is that Sergeant Kabukiman?
00:46:12
Speaker
Like it's just, yeah, Yes, yes, indeed. yeah But I felt truly seen then. i also ah I also thought that the action was pretty impressive, that they got it to look as good as they did. And some of it you could tell, like when that big long part where Kabuki Man's on the hood and the shot is of the windshield from inside.
00:46:37
Speaker
But you can tell that they're shooting it at an upward angle so they don't have to show things going by so they can kind of fake that. But that's still impressive. all the All of the stunts and all of the ah practical effects in this movie are...
00:46:54
Speaker
really really good for what they spent like i was gonna say yes like you can tell this is this is a budget like i think he gets like 1.5 million or something like that from the japanese investors he's able to cobble together basically a total with that money from the japanese investors like 4 million so this is the only trauma film with a budget really I say that's probably still the highest budget of any fucking trauma movie. he Probably. I don't know.
00:47:23
Speaker
I think this new toxic Avenger movie probably has higher, but that's not, that's that's trauma is a producer of that film. It's not a trauma film. sure It is a remake by a different company and trauma is involved, but it's not, it's not this new toxic Avenger is not a trauma movie, not in the traditional sense in the way that we know it.
00:47:44
Speaker
Sure. um And apparently this movie, that movie premiered in 2023 and we're just now getting it So, you know. um ah Well, it was going to be a tax write-off there for a while when everybody was getting rid of the movies they didn't want to fuck with. Not everybody, just Warner Brothers.
00:48:03
Speaker
This was one they got rid of, and luckily, just like the day the Earth blew up, which is worth seeing if you're a fan of Looney Tunes, I saw it. It's so fucking good. It's so good. It's in my top 10 movies of 2025 so far. It's that good. The music is perfect. Somebody did their homework.
00:48:19
Speaker
Somebody knows how to fucking write music for a Looney Tunes. Tucker, I'm going to go so far as to say it is my favorite theatrically released Looney Tunes film. Yes, I like it even better than Joe Dante's Looney Tunes Back in Action. And I really like that movie.
00:48:35
Speaker
I love the spirit of Back in Action, but I don't think it's a particularly good film. I'm I am love you, Dante, but however, I will say that Looney Tunes back in action had prior to the day the earth blew up been the best Looney Tunes film and existed because it is better than both of the Space Jam films by a country mile.
Reflections on Watching 'Sergeant Kabukiman, NYPD'
00:48:57
Speaker
Oh, yeah, yeah. And you know what? i I will say it again. I've said it before on this podcast. Space Jam fucking sucks. You only like it for nostalgia. But if you look at it objectively, it is a shitty movie.
00:49:09
Speaker
I was disappointed at it when I was a kid. So i've I've always been with you on that, Steven. um I agree with you. It is the best Looney tune film looney Tunes film ever theatrically theatrically released that is not a collection of previously released shorts.
00:49:24
Speaker
I don't consider those Looney Tunes films, but yes. I mean, they were theatrically released, but I understand. We understand each other. we We are on the same page. We are friends.
00:49:35
Speaker
But I will say this. um I think that Coyote vs. Acme is going to top that because I'm so excited for this movie. I'm so excited for Coyote vs. Acme.
00:49:46
Speaker
Come on, dude. A courtroom movie where Coyote is suing Acme because all the shit doesn't work and kills him every time. With Will Forte. With Will Forte, you can't fuck that up. You can't.
00:49:56
Speaker
You can. No, I'm praying they don't. Nope. I won't accept it. If they do fuck it up, I'll just pretend the movie never existed. I'll erase it from my memory and we'll never speak of it again.
00:50:10
Speaker
Sounds good. I like this plan. When's that coming Let's go see it together. Steven. Let's go see it. I would love that. Is it coming out theatrical or is it just having a stream? Oh, it better come out theatrically.
00:50:22
Speaker
I'm looking it up on Wikipedia right now. um It is a year from now. August 28th, 2026 is the scheduled release date. I'm not sure wow why, because I was under the impression that it was done, but maybe they need to touch some shit up. I don't know.
00:50:37
Speaker
I mean, they've got a new distributor. They may want to, you know, tweak it a bit. I mean, look listen listen to this cast, though. You've got Will Forte. You've got John Cena, which, I mean, no one's going be able to see him, so I'm not sure why they keep casting that guy in movies. I know. don't know.
00:50:54
Speaker
Lana Condor, who I'm not familiar with, but apparently ah she's... She's been in movies before. he did PJ burn, uh, from my favorite or my up until recently, my favorite final destination film.
00:51:08
Speaker
Uh, he's the guy that gets, uh, the, the, the Buddha crushes his head in the, in, uh, final destination five. Okay. saw that. Uh, uh, Tony bell, Martha Kelly and the great Louise Guzman.
00:51:26
Speaker
Yeah, dude. Remember when he was in the Salton Sea? Remember when watched the Salton Sea a couple months ago and he was in that? I do. I fucking love Luis Guzman. I think that man is amazing. I... If I ever... Dude, come on.
00:51:42
Speaker
Magnolia. Yes. Fucking Boogie Nights. oh He's my favorite. He's so good. but love him so much. That episode of Community that he's on. Yeah.
00:51:54
Speaker
I forgot about that. he's that's That's one of my favorite of his appearances because the whole season they're like, yes, Luis Guzman graduated from here. And then he's just like there. You don't expect him to follow through on it is the thing. really don't. Exactly. And he's like the right level of famous where like most people, like a lot of people haven't heard of him, but you see him and you're like, oh, fuck that guy.
00:52:18
Speaker
Like he is one of the all time great modern that guy actors. Fucking love Luis Guzman. He is great. But he's the right amount of fame to make that joke pop.
00:52:30
Speaker
Like, it's so fucking good. I love Luis Guzman. Have loved Luis Guzman for years. And in fact, I'm pretty sure when Brett and I were still doing the We Got Five On It blog, which is the precursor to this fucking podcast, you we i we did a top five that guy actors. And I think Luis Guzman might have been my number one.
00:52:48
Speaker
that is He is what you would traditionally call a that guy actor. I agree with you, but he has such a unique look that he could never fully be a that guy actor because he's too, too recognizable. So you're just like, oh, fuck. You might not know his name, but still it's like, but I think that that is the defining characteristic of that guy actor is you don't really know their name and you're just, oh, it's that guy from blah, blah, blah, blah.
00:53:15
Speaker
And you can name like five of his film credits, but you don't know his name. The thing is, with the other that guy actors, sometimes I can get them mixed up. You know, like, I know it's silly because it doesn't make any sense, but sometimes I get Joey Pants and Paul Giamatti mixed up.
00:53:31
Speaker
That does not make any sense. And I know that I know who they are. will never get those two mixed up. The only thing they have in common is that they're bald and they have Italian last names. The thing for me that they have in common is they were in a lot of films around the same time. a lot of independent films in the late 90s around the same time.
00:53:50
Speaker
And I was watching a lot Because I was... By the late ninety s i was... I moved on from most just horror to mostly horror and getting into indie films.
00:54:01
Speaker
o and so they were just in a lot of the same places at the same time never really crossing paths but that's why I get them mixed up and I don't really get them mixed up so much as I get who played who and what movie mixed up like if I saw pictures of them I could tell you which was which but looking back all those movies get mixed up and I'm like was that Paul Giamatti or Joey Pants he had a mustache and he was white think he had glasses Well, shit, that doesn't narrow it down very much, does No, it really doesn't.
00:54:33
Speaker
No. I mean, sometimes Joey Pants doesn't have a mustache, but a lot of times he does. And sometimes Paul Giamatti doesn't have a mustache, but a lot of times he does. I'm going to watch American Splendor now. We've been talking about Paul Giamatti for too long.
00:54:46
Speaker
um But yeah, no. Luis Guzman, great. Looney Tunes, great. um Sergeant Kabuki Man, NYPD... Not great. I have more notes. if you're If you're looking for time to fill, Stephen, I made so many notes.
00:54:59
Speaker
I love that you made notes. um No, this, I mean, look, despite, I like this movie in spite of itself and in spite of myself, quite frankly. i knowt again, I will not rank this movie very highly. And I have a lot of issues with this movie. Like there's a lot of things that is, that are done badly, but as a parody of a superhero film of this era, it's,
00:55:22
Speaker
it works surprisingly well. Like this comes out the year after Batman. It comes out the same year as the teenage mutant Ninja turtles film. Like it's doing a lot of the shit that the superhero movies of this era were, were doing and it's doing it.
00:55:38
Speaker
It's, it's parodying them before anyone thought to parody them, which I find really innovative about what this is doing. Well, you couldn't mute your mic in time to cough. No, I meant to.
00:55:51
Speaker
So when I cough, I hit my mute button on my mic. Right. And I pressed it, but I didn't press it hard enough. So the first cough got out. So I'm going to, um, I'm going to put the timestamp down. And even though I'm going to leave all the rest of this in.
00:56:04
Speaker
Okay, good. I'm going to just cut out the cough. I'm not going to beep it. I'm just going to cut it off. So when we start talking about it, people are to have no idea what the fuck. We're talking about it's going to be fantastic. It's going to be riveting.
00:56:16
Speaker
but And since you timestamped it, I might as well go ahead and just mention. Fuck you. yeah You bastard. I wasn't going to beep it though. Now I have to beep stuff. Just this. Just the thing I just said. I do like being reminded of it. I do like that movie. I'll tell you about every third or fourth time I watch it, I'll kind of get sick of it about halfway through.
00:56:37
Speaker
But most of the time time i'm i most of the time, I'm down for it. the hold Sometimes I'll just watch it and I'm not as in the mood for it as I thought I was. Sure. Makes sense. Because it's, yeah, there are plenty times I'll watch it all the way through and I love it. But sometimes I get about halfway through and I'm like, eh, maybe this wasn't what I wanted to watch tonight. It makes sense.
00:56:59
Speaker
By about the third time he spins the bishop, I'm like, oh, I don't know. I don't know. so I don't know. Maybe we do this some other night. I don't know. Fuck.
00:57:10
Speaker
Fucking Fucking A. Fucking A. Fucking A. But yeah. um No, I, but there, and again, like the end sequence is the one for me that I'm like, you can tell I spent money on this shit.
00:57:28
Speaker
Yeah, looks good. Looks really fucking good, actually. The transformation of Bill Whedon into the evil one, which apparently Bill Whedon says the only reason he was cast in this movie is because he bears a... This is his first film role.
00:57:43
Speaker
He bears apparently a striking resemblance to Jack Valenti, who was the head of the MPAA at the time. And of course, as you might imagine, ah the MPAA had problems with trauma.
00:57:54
Speaker
ah So it's kind of like the casting of Michael Lerner in ah the Roland Emmerich Godzilla because they wanted to cast a guy that looks like Roger Ebert so they can call him male Mayor Ebert. like It's the same kind of thing. like There's some beef that needs to be like just doubled down on, and so we're going to cast an actor that looks a lot like the guy that pisses us off.
00:58:17
Speaker
Yes, indeed. Which I find indeed very funny. But yeah, that whole ending sequence is... Again, it it's cheap and it's cheesy, but it it for for the movie this is – in a movie where we've seen like flying effects that look – that are clearly just a guy on a roof dangling from like – with like a board underneath him as flying and like rotating around with a camera following him. Like the that end sequence looks really good.
00:58:46
Speaker
It does, and i think I think the reason that the effects are so good in this with um so little money compared to other films of the time is because it was so much money for Troma at the time. The people working in Troma doing this shit, they were used to doing the best they could on a tiny budget, and you know that shit looks ridiculous, but for on the lower-budgeted ones, for the budget they had, it's kind of impressive.
00:59:11
Speaker
So you get guys that are that talented, and you actually give them a little bit of money, it's going to look fucking fantastic because they're used to working with nothing. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. They're already doing it quick and dirty. And when you give them money and they get to take their time and do it yes like really well and use all of their talents, like, fuck, it just opens up a whole new door.
00:59:34
Speaker
The final design of the evil one, i laughed so hard when I saw it it because it's his hands are two heads that he makes make out immediately. The two heads are immediately making out.
00:59:46
Speaker
He's got like a Gorn from Star Trek kind of like head thing with the nash with like the the like big teeth um and like the reptilian eyes. And then his he's got a fucking caterpillar cock sticking out of his open fly.
01:00:00
Speaker
And that's the thing that really just set me off. I was like, that is absurdly hilarious to me. Like that is the dumbest, funniest shit.
01:00:13
Speaker
The thing I appreciated about that transformation is the transformation looked really, really good. Like, really good. And everything leading up to it did. And then the actual design and costume for the monster was just looked really awful. And I thought that was kind of funny because like they put all that...
01:00:35
Speaker
they made it look so good for it to end up just looking so shitty. yeah And I don't know if that's brilliant or stupid, but i think it's a little bit of both. Honestly, think it's a little bit of both. I don't really like it, but I get it and I respect it.
01:00:51
Speaker
It's brilliant in its stupidity. I think it's so dumb. It's brilliant. Be like, um, sometimes it can be both on purpose or by accident. Just like the end of ah Glass Onion. Spoilers for Glass Onion.
01:01:05
Speaker
Hey. Miles Braun is an idiot. Such an idiot. He's brilliant. No, he's just an idiot. Wait. Like, God, no, it, it, again, like there's so much, there's so much regressive shit in this movie and there's so much of it that I like, I don't like on principle, but it finds a way to make me like engage with it in a way that I enjoy. And I kind of love and to hate it in equal measure for that.
01:01:34
Speaker
I agree with that, Stephen, but my take on it is is slightly different. um It's similar. I think is movie this movie takes a big swing, and I i respect it for that.
01:01:45
Speaker
It's got some good ideas. ah Execution outside of the effects and the stunts is always awful. But when it's when it's over with, even though I hate this movie, when I watch it and it's over and the credits are rolling,
01:02:04
Speaker
I kind of feel like I accomplished something and not in a bad way. Right. and Like I suffered, but not for nothing. You know what I mean? Exactly. I suffered for the few times that I could appreciate what was going on here.
01:02:18
Speaker
Yes. And as much as I hate this movie, I will say, unless I am forced to watch it again, i will never watch it again. But I'm glad I was forced to watch it again.
Childhood Nostalgia and Favorite Films
01:02:29
Speaker
You're welcome. I hated it even more this time than did last time, but I also found more things to respect about it at the same time. And to be clear. Deeply, deeply hating it.
01:02:42
Speaker
I have been looking for an excuse to watch this movie just because I think the name is the dumbest shit I've ever heard in my life. And it made me laugh. I also did a title.
01:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, I did a report. and I did an essay or ah a paper, I should say, because in college you call them papers. But I did a paper in college for my theater history course because I was a theater minor. I did a paper on Japanese kabuki and bunraku theater styles.
01:03:08
Speaker
um And so, like, this movie does not represent kabuki well at all. What they call kabuki is... dumb as shit and not in any way representative of Kabuki as a as an art form. No.
01:03:24
Speaker
No, it is it is the it is the literal bare minimum understanding of Japanese culture. And in that way, it is very offensive, which again, is why I am so glad Brett is not on this episode because Brett is a fan of Japanese culture and he would have some things to say about this movie. i am This movie would make Brett viscerally angry.
01:03:46
Speaker
I am positive of that. wow. Yeah. Oh, oh yeah. brettwood Brett would fucking hate this movie. Like, it is such a good thing he is not on this episode. um I don't like Grumpy.
01:03:59
Speaker
Oh, he'd be... hed beat No, not not not Grumpy. Furious, Brett. Oh, that's even worse. We would see the fury of Brett. In fact, he would probably get halfway through this movie and be like, fuck it, I'm not coming on this episode. This is shit.
01:04:13
Speaker
um I'm quitting the podcast forever. Exactly. um yeah I'll never come out even for guest spots. Fuck you guys. um we wouldn't We would, we would, we and Brett would no longer be friends if we made him watch this movie, yeah um which again, justifiable ah given, given the man's love and respect for the, the country and culture of Jeff, of Japan.
01:04:36
Speaker
ah No, Brett would not appreciate this movie at all. um But, and, and again, completely justifiably like this movie has the barest understanding of Japanese culture and the understanding it does have is executed in such an offensive way.
01:04:52
Speaker
Like all of his powers are just the most offensive kind of stuff. Like, Oh, what are the chopsticks? Sushi? um ah Like but flaming paper parasols. Like it, it's all that kind of shit. Yeah.
01:05:08
Speaker
This is something that and this could have worked. This could have been stereotypical and offensive and it could have worked, but you have to. make your main you can't have the main character you have and do those things your main character basically has to be like a bill and ted or a jay and silent bob type where they're just so like they're idiots so they're so innocent that you can't get mad at them for thinking that you know sergeant kabuki man with their chopsticks you have to the
01:05:40
Speaker
If you really want this movie to work, your main character has to be a lot more sympathetic, I feel like. And the main character just sucks. He does. Everybody in this movie is just the fucking worst.
01:05:51
Speaker
Everybody's like, and every woman this movie is just throwing themselves at this guy. And I'm like, really, this guy? Like, this guy? I mean, ah he's an Indiana five, dude. Exactly. Exactly.
01:06:03
Speaker
And this is coming from an Indiana six. Like I'm not much better off than this guy. Oh, that shit's close. Steven, we better wrap this up. There's a storm in that. I just saw that lightning. and Oh shit. I have an app on my phone. 2.1 miles Northeast.
01:06:18
Speaker
Okay. My location. Lightning. Then in that case, final thoughts on Sergeant Kabukama. I feel like we're organically kind of wrapping up the conversation on the film, but final thoughts on on this movie.
01:06:29
Speaker
ah Let me see my notes. Okay, yeah, i talked about that. That'll come on during the rating. um I thought the the screaming woman ruined the chase scene for me because I really liked the chase scene outside of that woman who would not fucking shut up that was in the car with them.
01:06:47
Speaker
Yeah. That was really annoying. ah was annoying, but there's the initial reveal of that woman in the car did make me laugh. Well, yeah, that's why... go ahead.
01:06:58
Speaker
No, I just they kept cutting back and it kept the more they cut back, the less funny it got. Yes, exactly. That's why when Jim Carrey and Dumb and Dumber ah does the most annoying sound in the world, he only does it for a few seconds because it's only funny for a few seconds to be that irritating.
01:07:16
Speaker
Yes. If you go any further than that, you just actually become just irritating. Correct. Correct. And that was that woman. And now I think that's my, that's it. I think that's all I had in my notes.
01:07:27
Speaker
Rape is hilarious. Child death is hilarious. Chapsticks. Oh, and I do want to amend something I said earlier. The three girls who have a speaker who are in this movie, both the two children murdered at the top and the girl at the birthday party are all Lloyd Kaufman's daughters.
01:07:44
Speaker
And the wine mom in the birthday party scene is his wife and they are still married to this day. Yo, did you hear that though? Because on my I can see on my waveform that the microphone picked up that.
01:07:56
Speaker
I heard the previous one. i didn't hear this last one. Holy crap. That's close, dude. Tucker, I'm give you the call. do you want to do Do you want to do the Japanese release date or do you want to do the World Fest Houston release date of Sergeant Bookieman NYPD?
01:08:12
Speaker
Whichever one has more interesting numbers. um Or even has numbers. I mean, they both have numbers. Sergeant Good Bookieman does not have, is not going to appear on any of these lists because it, I cannot find um any information on any box office site. It's theatrical releases were so limited. They don't even register on either the numbers or box office mojo.
01:08:38
Speaker
I'm going to do the American. i'm sorry. Go ahead. I would say this is only something that would be like, and this is 80, what 89, 90. came out 90. 90. Okay.
01:08:49
Speaker
This was like, steves weren't doing great at that time. And that's where normally you would get your exploitation films. Like even porn theaters where you might see ah maybe some trauma films aren't even really a thing by 1990, unless you're like in New York city or something.
01:09:08
Speaker
Or yeah. Or Chicago or Los Angeles or, yeah or an interstate truck stop. But I don't know. Like, where is this? Who's put playing this? What theaters are playing this? Even on a limited release, this isn't going to art house theaters.
01:09:24
Speaker
No, God, no. And I think this was something like – apparently Kaufman would like screen this at festivals constantly. It did not get a proper limited theatrical release until 1996. Jeez.
01:09:38
Speaker
gez yeah And again, it was made in 90. It has its premiere at the Tokyo International film Fantastic Film Festival in 1990. Yeah. It has ah apparently a very limited release on January 1st of 1991.
01:09:55
Speaker
And then it's Houston. It premieres in Japan, March 2nd, 91. That's when it it releases in Japan. And then in the United States at World Fest Houston, again, touring it around to festivals in april on April 20th, 91. I'm going to do the April one just because I think it's got the slightly better box office fun stuff to discuss.
01:10:15
Speaker
Okay. ah So at number one in on um the weekend of April 20th, 1991, in its fourth weekend of release, we have a little film holding steady at number one. Huge hit for New Line Cinemas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
01:10:31
Speaker
Can I tell you something about that, Steven? Just real quick. A little tiny, teeny tiny thing because we're never going to cover it because it's got so many sequels. Right. So the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie I saw at – do you remember the Eastgate Mall, Steven?
01:10:49
Speaker
Vaguely. Shadeland in Washington. Yep. Eastgate Mall there. ah There was a General Cinemas there. Do you remember General Cinemas, Steven? I do not. know Holy fuck. Okay. There was a General Cinemas there.
01:11:03
Speaker
um Logo was purple and gray. you i mean, I don't know if you saw the logo. You might know it. um But it was it was a parking lot theater in a small parking lot. It was only a two screen theater.
01:11:15
Speaker
And it was in the Eastgate parking lot. And my sister called in to WENS. I remember WENS, yes. 97.1, soft f rock point fucking capital of the world. Like when they play water meals hundred percent they play Waterfalls, it's not the version with the rap.
01:11:35
Speaker
That's for sure. Yes, of course. Right. That's for fucking sure. but Anyway, WENS, which is still around, by the way. um Yeah. Oh, I don't doubt it.
01:11:47
Speaker
One of the few stations outside of WIBC that still exists at the same place on the dial with the same call letters and the same format. Right. no Like that's like the only two in town.
01:12:00
Speaker
yeah I don't think even X 103 exists anymore. Like that's kind of wild. No, probably not. ah But anyway, my sister called in into WENS and I don't remember if she had to be a certain number caller or if she had to answer a trivia or something, but she won us tickets to see the Ninja Turtles movie he yeah at the general cinemas in the shade and parking lot or in the shade in the parking lot in the fucking Eastgate parking lot.
01:12:26
Speaker
Boy, your boy got to... I was so excited for that movie because I was, like every other boy and some girls at the time, just way into Turtles. Turtles was everything in 1990.
01:12:43
Speaker
We were the right age that movie. was eight years old, Steven. was prime Ninja Turtle meat. Like, yeah just... I put me in the in the grinder, man. There I am. I had right had action figures. I watched the cartoon like I was. a The only thing I didn't do was read the comics because those were a little above my and my parents just didn't like me reading. com though You had you had to watch. You had to read the Archie ones because those were the ones that were ah the kids ones based on the cartoon.
01:13:13
Speaker
correct and i did what the mirage shit they kept the mirage shit it wasn't like it wasn't trauma movie dark but like you know it was it was dark enough yeah it was more pg-13 soft r whereas like the arco comics were a a solid g yeah I buy it.
01:13:34
Speaker
I buy it. Uh, coming out number two, ah holding the first three movies, all holding steady at their level, uh, at number two, pretty woman, uh, which has been out for, uh, five weeks and has earned $71.7 million. dollars um And in third place, my favorite movie of this franchise. It's been out for eight weeks. It's earned almost $100 million. dollars ah The Hunt for Red October.
01:13:59
Speaker
Tucker. That's a boat movie. That movie fucking rules. I love The Hunt for Red October. God, that movie is awesome. well Are you going to force me to watch it? Because I'd love to see it. But the only way I'm ever going to watch is if you force me to watch it.
01:14:12
Speaker
I'm going force you to watch it. Okay. I'm into it. I'm down. Right on. I it's, it's one of those I would love to cover for this podcast, but James Earl Jones is in the first three of those playing the same character. oh fuck. yeah That's enough of a continuity to keep us from watching it.
Conceptualizing a New Show Format
01:14:28
Speaker
Do you think that we should do, um every year, Cause I get what four straight ups a year usually. Yeah. thank good Runs out.
01:14:40
Speaker
um What if have specific month and we'll, we'll decide this later. It's a straight up, but it's like you or Brett.
01:14:52
Speaker
I'm up to doing that. I would want to do that as a Patreon thing. I want to make that a little special. Straight up nights. Straight up nights. There we go. And nights. N I T E S.
01:15:04
Speaker
No, K-N-I-G-H-T-E-S. No, how about K-N-I-T-E-S? K-N-I... Okay, it's just silly enough to work, Stephen. Let's split the difference, yes.
01:15:16
Speaker
ah Inspired by this movie, Stephen, it's just stupid enough that we should try it. Absolutely. New Patreon show coming, question mark. And whatever our first instincts are, just go with that, because we don't have time to do anything else.
01:15:32
Speaker
Fuck no. We barely have time to record this show. Are you kidding me? Let alone Patreon content. Fuck. i at number four from Orion Pictures, a movie apparently starring Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin, and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
01:15:48
Speaker
I've never heard of it before. Opening new this week in 832 theaters to $3 million dollars on its way to nine. ah Miami Blues is the name of the film. Oh, yeah. I've never seen it, but i yeah, i've that was... Yeah.
01:16:01
Speaker
I was... yeah In number five, down from number four the week before, speaking of ah the film the the the forbidden film, it's Ernest Goes to Jail. Hey, that's a good one.
01:16:13
Speaker
One of my favorite of the Ernest films, if being real honest. I don't think it's the best Ernest film, but I think it is the best at showing Jim Varney's range.
01:16:25
Speaker
It's Jim Varney's best Ernest film, for sure. I am terrified of the bad guy. Still, I've watched it recently, and I am still terrified of that fucking man. Oh, shit.
01:16:38
Speaker
And I love... Anti-Nelda's appearance in that one is fucking... Oh, yes. Is my favorite Anti-Nelda appearance, too. So, like... Anytime we can get any of the other characters in there from the TV show and the commercials, like, yes, please.
01:16:53
Speaker
Yes. 100%. It is too bad that we only ever get the characters played by Ernest because I do. I do like some of the other actors that are in the show that don't return for any of the films. And I do. do They do. Gaylord Sartain's in a lot of those, though. And I. He's in most of them. Yeah.
01:17:12
Speaker
I love fucking love that guy. That guy is a a may he rest in peace. I think he passed away recently. um Yeah. Yeah. And I, there's a, there is a there is a Gaylord Sartain movie that is on our list that we will cover.
01:17:26
Speaker
so i I will try to get it on before the end of the year, but I don't know if that's going to work or not. It's, it's the, it's the Abbott or no, it's the Laurel and Hardy when they tried to reboot Laurel and Hardy with him and Bronson Pinchot. yeah It's called for love and mummy. I think.
01:17:45
Speaker
It's like the new adventures of Laurel and Hardy and for love and mummy, I think is what it's called. I would be very interested to see that. Put that on sooner than later. If you can, I will. We can look at the schedule after we're done recording, which will be soon because we're wrapping. We're we're nearing toward the wrap up times. We're so wrapping it up, dude. I can't see how much we're wrapping it up right now.
01:18:06
Speaker
in ah In six, we've got the first power. Don't ask. ah Seven, crazy people. Don't ask. Eight, ah the the previous year's Oscar winner, Driving Miss Daisy.
01:18:17
Speaker
In ninth place, I Love You to Death. I don't know. And in 10th place, opening this week, something called Lisa. I don't know. um So there we go. A forgettable. But in number 11, Tucker Glory, the movie for which Denzel Washington won his first
Memorable Movie Performances
01:18:30
Speaker
Oscar. Oh, I like that movie.
01:18:33
Speaker
It's good. That's a good dad movie. Yeah.
01:18:37
Speaker
um I will tell you, there is no Tomatometer score for Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD because it only has three reviews. And it looks like at least two of them are fresh, weirdly.
01:18:50
Speaker
ah But the audience score is a 58 percent. The popcorn meter. popcorn mater is is 58 this movie also does not have any kind of appearance on metacritic not enough reviews to even register on metacritic but tucker i have a very serious question for you what do you think the letterbox score is for sergeant kabukiman nypd oh Oh, fuck.
01:19:18
Speaker
This is a tricky one. This is a very tricky one. This is a tricky one. It could go one of two ways. You're going have to thread this needle very carefully. Fuck. This one is between... Between 2.3 a 2.8.
01:19:32
Speaker
You're close, but you're little 3.0. two point three
01:19:39
Speaker
and a two point a you're so close but you're a little short it's a three point zero Oh, fuck off. I'm just telling you what I'm seeing right here in front of me, Tucker.
01:19:51
Speaker
Don't shoot the messenger. I'm not shooting the messenger. I'm just reacting to this news. I'm not telling you to fuck off. I'm telling you're telling boxed letterbox to fuck off. Fuck off. Please.
01:20:03
Speaker
Forever. Thank you for banning my account for some reason. I didn't even do it. i had never done anything on that account, so I'm not sure how it got banned. Oh, that sucks. I just liked some stuff, never made any comments, never left any reviews, but somehow my my account got banned and i can't I can't get on it anymore. So whatever.
01:20:22
Speaker
There are 16 fans of this film on Letterboxd. The highest, I mean, there are a couple of five-star ratings. here's Let me read a five-star review. like sarge Sergeant Kabukiman was about to win all the Oscars in 1991, but he is so thoughtful that he left them to Kevin Costner. Of course it's a meme.
01:20:40
Speaker
It's a joke. or if It's not a real review. It's a joke. That's how it fucks the numbers. That's how you fuck your numbers when people don't give serious reviews. Okay, here's making fucking jokes. here's it Here's a four and a half star review. um Something about Sargon Kabukiman scratches just the right itch for me and makes it easily one of my favorite trauma movies. It's a great one for introducing people to trauma, being relatively light on their usual shock factor. No incest or cannibalism to be had here.
01:21:03
Speaker
That being said, it's still riotously ah it's still a riotously enjoyable film that delivers in terms of gore and laughs, with trauma putting that Namco funding to good use. Some criticize its tone, which at times feels like a children's movie, and other times feels more like your typical trauma affair.
01:21:19
Speaker
But I feel like this blend creates a perfect sense of earnestness despite the bizarre premise. There are racist jokes to be had, but it never feels like hate speech. There's no squinty-eye jokes or mocking of accents. It's more just like lull sushi and chopsticks.
01:21:33
Speaker
Give this one a chance and bust out the
Impact of Memes on Movie Ratings
01:21:35
Speaker
popcorn. That review from Cameron. Now, I don't agree with anything this person said, but that's a movie review. That's a real movie review. That's somebody's opinion.
01:21:45
Speaker
Like, that's not somebody just trying to make jokes and really fucking with the rating. The first review was Kirk 33. Fuck a Kirk 33.
01:21:56
Speaker
Who did like this film. There is a heart next to it. So there is something. There's a part of me that suggests that maybe Kirk 33 did like this film. You can't trust him. He's writing joke reviews. You can't trust anything this man does.
01:22:08
Speaker
No integrity, this guy. I'll write an occasional joke review. Like my my review for the Alain Delon film Purple Noon is, God, has anyone ever looked as hot as Alain Delon? um No, Steven.
01:22:19
Speaker
See, that's the thing, Steven, is we need we need a website that is specifically for joke reviews. Because as much as I love and appreciate joke reviews, they have no business...
01:22:30
Speaker
In the same space as real reviews because all they do is excuse me all they do is fuck up the numbers and piss off people who are looking for actual insights and thoughts and opinions about a film.
01:22:44
Speaker
i I feel like people can give their... I mean, I give my honest opinion, but sometimes the review itself is let's do let's do a ah Let's make a business venture here and make our own letterbox, but it's just for the meme reviews.
01:22:56
Speaker
Just for the jokes. We'll call it... Memereviews.com? Maybe, but also, may yeah, no, that's probably the best. Memereviews.com, yeah. And then maybe we could call that traffic. Even though we'll just call it Memereviews.com.
01:23:09
Speaker
Memereviews.com, the app. yeah there Oh, Memereviews.com, colon, the app. Yeah, there it is. Srevenge. Yes.
01:23:20
Speaker
Revenge the app. Yes. Mm-mm-mm. But no, I really, somebody needs to make a place for meme reviews because they are funny. and They're funny. A lot of them are really clever and funny, but they just, I can't enjoy them because they're just fucking up what movie review sites and rating sites are supposed to function as.
01:23:43
Speaker
They're just fucking it up. I don't like that. I don't like that at all. Love me reviews. They need somewhere else for them to go. They need to go somewhere else where they, ah their own little field where they can frolic all together It really sounds like I just want to segregate the meme reviews.
01:24:02
Speaker
Now I seem racist against meme reviews. Let's wrap this up, Steven. don't even know what we're doing anymore. i don't think meme reviews are a race, but point taken. they were.
01:24:14
Speaker
Anyway. That's some dangerous rhetoric right there, Steven. This is... This has been our episode on a long awaited episode on Sergeant Kabukiman and NYPD. e long waited for me anyway, if not for anyone else.
01:24:29
Speaker
um And you know what? I had fun watching this movie and I had fun recording this episode. This was a good time. du Yeah. I had fun doing this episode. I do always hate watching this movie.
01:24:39
Speaker
You do. But. as i because I have complained because I knew that I i hate this movie. I knew that I hated this movie when I saw it and I know how much I've outgrown this kind of stuff.
01:24:50
Speaker
So I knew I was going to hate hate it just that much more, which is a lot more. But I will always have a lot to say about this movie. so i was i was Look, I was not psyched for the movie, but I was psyched to record the episode.
Engagement and Promotion on Social Platforms
01:25:06
Speaker
think it went well. I think it did too. If you want to hear us have more conversations just like this, you can head over to patreon.com slash disenfranchpod, where for free you can get these episodes, but you can join the official conversation of the disenfranchised podcast ah by dropping comments under the episodes as they release. And Tucker and I do tend to respond to those comments.
01:25:28
Speaker
Um, and, or for five bucks a month, you can also, uh, get access to our vast catalog of additional content, including, but not limited to episodes of shows like this and five chives, where we count down top five lists, um, shows like unenfranchised, where we talk about movies that killed long running franchises, or even disenfranchised at the movies, which is everything from, uh,
01:25:51
Speaker
doing live commentaries of either films or trailers or movie reviews for films in theaters. And most recently the film apprentice, which Tucker did with our friend, Evan Wilson, or the review that Tucker and I did three years ago on weird colon, the Al Yankovic movie. and And to be clear, not a lot of this stuff is very recent.
01:26:12
Speaker
But in the early years, we did have a lot of time to record some shit. And it is all pretty timeless. And there's literally weeks of it. Like, you could listen. If you paid $5 a month for our Patreon, the content that is there is such that it would take you weeks, maybe even months, depending on your schedule, to go through all of it.
01:26:35
Speaker
We got a lot of stuff there and it's good shit. So, cause we're doing it. So, uh, patreon.com slash disenfranch pod. You can join it either the free or $5 level. We appreciate if you can do either. Uh, and we've got a lot of fans at both levels. So thank you. Thank you to those people. We love you dearly.
01:26:54
Speaker
Um, you can also find us on blue sky letterboxd and, ah YouTube at disenfranch pod. There it is. And um oh, you know what? We did not do Tucker. We did not give our own ratings for Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD. I'm giving it a 1.5. What about you?
01:27:15
Speaker
ah It is a one from me and that's one star. I'm sorry, half a star for the stunts and the effects and another half star for all the stuff that all the accidents I laughed at. The only stuff that was actually funny in this movie was stuff that they didn't mean to be funny.
01:27:37
Speaker
And there was maybe two or three instances where I was like, wow, that's really incompetent. And it wasn't even a joke. And I would just think just the incompetence of it all was just chuckle worthy.
01:27:50
Speaker
And so though those few times I enjoyed myself, myself, despite the movie just actively sucking hard. So that's a one star for me.
01:28:01
Speaker
I respect you, Sergeant Kabuki, man, but I fucking hate you. Fair. Fair enough. um There it is. um And I'm trying to think of anything else that we as a podcast. and No, I think that's it. So I'm your host, Stephen Fox, whether you can find me on at this point, Letterboxd and Blue Sky and only Letterboxd and Blue Sky at Chewy Walrus.
01:28:25
Speaker
ah Don't find Brett on social media. He doesn't like it when you do that. Stop it now. ah Tucker, where can we find you? Wait, Steven, do you still sign into your Instagram, though? Because like i still I send you reels and stuff. do I sign in. I don't really engage with any of that shit, though. You get my reels, though.
01:28:43
Speaker
I get them. I don't always watch them. Okay, okay. No, that's fine. I'm the kind of person who I'll let reels stack up. Like, Jimmy will send me reels for a week, and then like eventually I'll just get to all of them at once.
01:28:54
Speaker
And I'll just take five minutes and like react to all of them, and then be done until he starts sending me more an hour later. And then I wait another week. and then i have I have so many from ah past and future guests of the podcast, Phil Smith, like stacked up on Instagram right now. Like I'm afraid to open that chat thread.
01:29:11
Speaker
um That's got to be a long poop. Like you have to know you're getting in for a long poop before you watch all those reels. That's one of those like food poisoning. Yes. Yes. You're like, I know I'm going to be sick. Let's finally watch these reels.
01:29:24
Speaker
Right. ah Brett got to a point where I had sent him over 100 different TikToks before he checked his thread. And he messaged me. He's like, well, we've done it. Over 100. I was like, good for you. i knew you could do it.
01:29:35
Speaker
And I don't even know if he got if he watched them all. I really don't. But I gave him his own little personalized curated FYP It's a curated feed. That's the thing. That's why I like to do that's why i like to wait. Because like in a week, Jimmy will send me 10 to 20 things.
01:29:50
Speaker
There are so many times, Tucker, where I'm like, oh, Tucker would love this TikTok. And then I remember you don't do TikTok. And I'm like, oh, Tucker will never see this. That's a bummer. Well, it'll it'll get to Instagram. But but i it does maybe not. Maybe it won't.
01:30:02
Speaker
Who knows? And it won't come from you because you don't do that kind of show on Instagram. Correct. But no, that's why I like kind of delaying it. Like when I get a bunch of reels from somebody, um I'll wait about a week just because it's fun to kind of instead of doom scrolling, just like have a curated list of like somebody thought of you when they saw this. So it's probably something you're at least going to be a little interested in.
01:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, better than just like scrolling through like 90% shit you don't give a fuck about for the 10% you do. Right. Which is what I'm normally doing, whether I want to be or not, because it's an uncontrollable habit that scares me to death.
01:30:44
Speaker
Anyway, you can find me on Instagram. and YouTube at Ice909. That's I-C-E-N-I-N-E, the number zero and the number nine. Also, TuckMugs still exists.
01:30:56
Speaker
Tuck underscore mugs. ah Got some plans. i just Honestly, you guys, i just keep the only time I think about it Is when I'm plugging it on the podcast. And then I just forget about it.
01:31:07
Speaker
And like every week I'm like, oh shit. Yeah. Tuck mugs. I'll do something this week. I've got stuff. I've got stuff in my back pocket. I have posts ready to go. Probably, you know, maybe a couple weeks worth. But I just never think of it.
01:31:20
Speaker
I never think of it outside of when I plug it on here. So ah subscribe to tuck mugs on Instagram. Tuck underscore mugs. And be there the moment I realize that it still exists. And actually post something there.
01:31:34
Speaker
um Because that'll be fun. Oh, I should also mention, because I didn't, um my other podcast, Wells University, with friend of the show, Hope's Tao.
Concluding Thoughts and Reflections
01:31:43
Speaker
We just recorded our episode with a friend of Disenfranchise, past future guest Samuel Dumas.
01:31:48
Speaker
Oh, Stephen. the short, Wells' first film, The Hearts of Age. Yeah, he came and joined us there. Stephen, Sammy's face when he realized I wasn't staying. I know.
01:31:59
Speaker
and was he was crestfallen. I wanted to stay just because I was like, oh, Sammy, oh, I'll stay. But I couldn't. I had stuff to do. Like, I wanted to, but I had stuff to do.
01:32:11
Speaker
He was so deflated. i was like, no, it's okay, man. I so was just here to check the levels.
01:32:20
Speaker
Yeah. Um... But yeah, that's our episode. Tucker, I think we did it. That's our episode on Sergeant Kabukiman NYPD. We fucking did it, man.
01:32:30
Speaker
I had a good time. I'm glad you forced me to watch this movie and I hope I never watch it again. I hope both them. I'm glad that you we had this conversation. i'm glad that I was finally able to engage with this film.
01:32:44
Speaker
And most of all, I'm glad that we got a chance to talk about it. for sure. It was a good conversation. I quite enjoyed So yeah, that is our episode for the absent Brett Wright, who would be so fucking furious at this movie. man ah But the very present Tucker, who's not as furious, but still hated it.
01:33:00
Speaker
And me, your host, Stephen Foxworthy. ah This has been the disenfranchised podcast. And until next time we remain depressed, confused and turning Japanese. You know, it's weird because my sister also won a vinyl copy of Stormfront by Billy Joel from WENS.
01:33:19
Speaker
It's like she had a proclivity for it. That's awesome. I won a couple things, from but it was the Christian station. so you know Your mileage was very good. Your Michael W. Smith records don't count.
01:33:32
Speaker
No. I almost won tickets to a Michael W. Smith concert. i was like They wanted like caller 98, and I was caller 97. was there. Oh, dude.
01:33:45
Speaker
And they told you, too. They were like, yeah yeah youre golly hey, you're 97. Well, it was literally, they just answer the phone and go, caller one, caller two, caller three, caller four.
01:33:57
Speaker
So I was like, caller one. And then I kept trying to call back. And then I was caller 97 and it was like caller 97. And then they hung up like, so they were like gearing up to hit caller 98. And I was like, it's my shock box, my shock jock voice. i don't know what to tell you. yeah so You clearly didn't listen to the Christian stations because they were much more full of, they were too full of God's love to be shock jocks.
01:34:20
Speaker
No,
01:34:26
Speaker
Thank you.