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Released by: Troma Entertainment
Released on: 11/8/2011
Director: John Wesley Norton
Cast: Byron Thames, Larry Thomas, Lindsay Gareth, James Vallo, Joe Estevez, David Faustino,
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
Three guys are sitting around a table, working on developing a movie script. The script's writer, Byron (Byron Thames) wants to do a serious movie. The director Larry (Larry Thomas, The Soup Nazi) and his producer buddy James (James Vallo) want to make their usual trashy and sleazy movie. Needless to say they can't agree. Byron is torn and doesn't want to go the usual route his stories always end up going, using shower scenes, gratuitous nudity and over-the-top characters, but the other two want to go the direction where they know they can make money.
The conversation plods along and when the two exploitation dudes spill out an idea, the story switches to a movie within a movie and the scene they are making up gets played out. The movie they're brainstorming stars David Faustino (Married With Children) and Joe Estevez (veteran actor, brother of the father and uncle to the sons of the Sheen/Estevez clan) as two detectives on a stake out. Other parts of the movie are flashbacks to quick stories from other characters in the “real†part of the movie. For example, a woman talking about dating an actor and then the movie jumps to that memory. Comedy ensues.
One other side step in the movie concerns a waitress at the restaurant where they're having their pow-wow. Holly (Lindsay Gareth) is in Los Angeles to be an actress and wants to get their attention so maybe they'll give her a part. Byron is a prick to her, but she persists and you can probably guess where that goes. The three men keep going at their movie ideas, and the whole time Bryon is conflicted with what to do. He doesn't want to continue working with his partners, but the money is easy and practically a sure thing. Should he go out on his own? He finally reaches a decision and you can probably guess where that goes too.
Not Another B Movie isn't anything to get excited over, although it is better than a lot of stuff Troma puts out. The acting is good, the movie looks nice, and it has a few chuckle moments, but the concept isn't all that intriguing and the thing feels more like a broke-ass episode of The Family Guy with the way it jumps to flashbacks and the movie-within-a-movie. The movie goes by pretty quickly though and as mentioned delivers a few mildly humorous scenes. Robert Z'Dar and his chin make an appearance (which is one of the funnier bits), Lloyd Kaufman makes his cameo, and so does a Divine-like person named Babette Bombshell. Phantasm's Reggie Bannister shows up, as well as Ed Asner and Erin Moran. What this really turns out to be is a pretty well made movie with an uninteresting story. You could certainly do worse in your selection for the evening, but there're far better ones out there to spend your time with.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen image gives a pleasing image, with nice colors and a clear picture. The black levels are pretty deep too. It looks better than average. No artifacts seem present and no disc authoring issues were seen. The audio is a simple 2.0 Dolby Digital track. Sounds fine, the balance seems right, but there's nothing noteworthy. It does the job and with no issues to mention.
The extras help along the overall release though, and that's a good thing. For those into small-budget movie making, there's a segment called “Make Your Own Damn Movie 2†(just under 25 minutes) which provides some interesting information about indie filmmaking. Then there's “Not Another B Movie Premiere Night†(17 minutes), which is what it sounds like. Some red carpet interviews and a Q&A session and some audience feedback. Also on the disc is some typical “Tromatic Extras†stuff found on other discs which includes trailers for Mr. Bricks, Poultrygeist, Father's Day, The Toxic Avenger, and Class of Nuke 'Em High.
The Final Word:
The movie makes fun of itself at a few points, which may not appeal to some people, but they sum up the flick perfectly with what a little girl says to Byron in the restaurant: “Just because you can make a movie doesn't necessarily mean the movie is worth making.â€
