Frankie Freako is a crazy movie. The comedy is childish, the lines inane, and the plot flimsier than the rickety minecart that propels its characters through dimensions in a silly greenscreened sequence. The morals are corny; the puppetry is primitive and the soundtrack at least one notch above temp-track Muzak. One of the biggest jokes involves spray painting “BUTT” on a suburban house wall. All this is not to say anything against Steven Kostanski’s latest film PG: Psycho Goreman. These are all arguments in its favor.
Kostanski’s films could be described as R-rated kids’ movies with emphasis on “R.” They feel as if they were written for children by a ten-year-old who likes really sweet sex, violence and bad language overkill. If you have the right sense of humor, it can be quite funny despite its childlike appearance and adult content; however, it takes serious mischief skills to keep such a prank going for a full 85 minutes. In this regard, Frankie Freako outdoes Psycho Goreman as a movie whose small aims are essential to its success.
One must be wise about being foolish and Frankie Freako has clever little nods at grown-up world monotony while also shamelessly recalling millennials’ childhoods with their instant nostalgia button lapel pins. The main inspiration here comes from two tiny terror franchises that are Puppet Master and Ghoulies (namely Ghoulies Go To College) – Garbage Pail Kids smidgen too but Kostanski integrates those touchstones into what can only legally speaking be referred to as an ’80s 1-900 hotline where $2 bought messages from some squishy creature called ‘Freddie Freaker.’
Launching off this idea Kostanski weaves an amazing story of interdimensional party dudes—led by President Munch—fleeing to Earth after he has enslaved their planet and made the fun-loving Freakos the voices of novelty 1-900 numbers. This concept could have had a great potential for sci-fi world-building, but Kostanski wasn’t much interested in that. (In fairness, this was a low-budget affair, and alien planets cost money.) Instead, most of the movie is centered on a living room painted with generic ’90s earth tones where Conor (Conor Sweeney), a businessman who needs to loosen up, resides.
Dark roast is too spicy for Conor; he can’t stand profanity on TV; and party means watching Antique Connoisseurs, maybe staying up until 8:30. And his wife Kristina (Kristy Wordsworth) is way out of his league like she always is in movies like these. (One of the film’s most infantile moments comes when Kristina greets him after work dressed in lace lingerie then they lay in bed and hold hands.) Also he’s competing for a big promotion which men always do in such movies as well. However before Conor’s boss Mr. Buelcher (Adam Brooks) could convince him into some white collar crime though, the Freakos break out from telecommunication line into Conor’s life.
It seems Conor is not very aware of self and takes offense to Kristina’s suggestion that he is a square. Thus, he gives the Frankie Freako hotline a call, which for him is quite daring. When he wakes up the next day though, it is in a house resembling one that has just borne the brunt of some middle school revenge attack. It contains toilet paper on the ceiling and almost obscene graffiti with the words “BUTT” as well as “belch” and amusingly, “vegetables”. Again there are empty cans of Fart cola (with caffeine!) everywhere.
More ominously however, Frankie (Matthew Kennedy) along with his giggling cowgirl Dottie Dunko (Meredith Brooks) and grunting gearhead Boink Bardo (Brooks) have raided Kristina’s gun cabinet (don’t ask), booby-trapped Conor’s garage Home Alone-style. The following sequence accounts for why Frankie Freako gets its spiritual R rating: Instead of his usual edgy swear words this Kostanski variant on Kostanski’s overgrown-kid theme opts for cartoon mayhem. For all that, even at tense violent moments, it feels lighter and livelier.
Instead it focuses on low-tech puppetry and practical effects, areas where both Kostanski and his associates within Astron-6 film making collective excel. Cinematographer Pierce Derks recently completed self-consciously arty slasher In a Violent Nature which played around with erotic thriller aesthetics in soft focus among them bright kid’s film colors too. Composers Blitz/Berlin do likewise when they play with clichéd sounds – everyone else on set seemed to be having fun goofing off with their friends as well. However Sweeney who also worked alongside Astron-6 in Psycho Goreman tops it all off by providing an exasperated Dave Foley style performance as prudish Conor.
Verdict
The latest offering from the director of Psycho Goreman goes for a child-like perspective when dealing with similar themes hence feels lighter and livelier. With its charming crude puppetry and practical effects, Frankie Freako is a throwback to the “tiny terrors” movies of the late ’80s and ’90s; in other words, it’s just a silly pizza party that you’ll enjoy provided you don’t take it too seriously. The cast of weirdos led by Frankie are worth every cent but it’s Conor Sweeney who provides the glue holding everything together at this bash.
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