“Not for the Squeamish, but Definitely for Film Lovers.”
Monday, March 29, 2004 – by Ricardo Acuna, Socal.com
Forget Montezuma’s revenge! From the mad genius of true indie filmmaker Mark Pirro comes Rectuma, the woeful tale of Waldo Williams and his detachable, radioactive, monstrous ass (as in buttocks) of Godzilla proportions. And that’s just the beginning, the film has a Greek chorus throughout (that’s not so Greek and better than chorus) and great banter with silly, gut-busting and (Heaven forbid) tasteless jokes that push the envelope. No sacred cows here. All races, sexual orientations, religions and celebrities (yes celebrities) get equally dissed. From spoofing mad scientists to spoofing Silence of the Lambs, Rectuma has a little of everything for everyone to make this one of the most refreshingly honest and funny films out there. Wouldn’t you like to see a movie where characters actually say what you would say or would like to say? It’s Tourette’s at its best, and you won’t be able to stop yourself from laughing aloud.
The actors give it their all because they actually enjoy playing their wacky characters to the hilt and without the fear of censorship. And with the FCC clamping down on Janet Jackson’s breast, the only paltry choice left to film lovers nowadays are cookie-cutter, formula Hollywood films or sold-out, Sundance films posing as independent. Fear not, for Mark Pirro has been making a name for himself since 1983 when his $2500-budget A Polish Vampire in Burbank got picked up by the USA Network and distributed by Blockbuster to make a half-million-dollar profit to-date. Now that’s bank! Pirro followed up his success with such cult classics as Color-Blinded, Curse of the Queerwolf, and Nudist Colony of the Dead.
Not only are the characters, dialogue, plot, and overall filmmaking in Rectuma wildly creative, but it also looks as if Pirro has fun making films without anyone telling him what he can or can’t do as he usually writes, directs, produces and edits his own material. And the result is a truly unique voice that reminds us of how much fun going to the movies can be. All that said, Rectuma is definitely not a film for the uptight or those with hemorrhoids. Transfer your childhood traumas if you will on Pirro’s films, but as Pirro says, I make movies to entertain. And that he does. So if you really want to be entertained, do yourself and your friends a favor and go watch Rectuma, playing exclusively at the Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres at 8000 Sunset Boulevard (Sunset at Crescent Heights) on Fridays and Saturdays at midnight hour starting on April 2nd and closing on April 24th