Simply A Masterpiece

Pretty Good

Excellent, a Must See

Blistering performances.

Lloyd Kaufman isn't exactly a household name. Known largely for his production company Troma Productions and the cult favorite Toxic Avenger (1984), I doubt even movie historians and supposed bastions of good taste have ever heard of him. This is largely because his films don't cater to general audiences, nor does he cater to critics. Lloyd Kaufman and his set of dream makers make films for a small but steadily growing population of fans who have grown to admire his low-brow approach to entertainment. I am one of those fans.I became a Kaufman acolyte after watching his 2006 Troma release Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. It was a movie with so many grotesque but highly entertaining set-pieces all done with reverence towards the Rob Bottin/Stan Winston School of special effects. After watching it I immediately became interested in his filmography and sat back to watch The Toxic Avenger which was a bit of a let down but nevertheless a strong feature. Recently I watched my third helping of Kaufman's madness while staying the night at a friend of a friend's house.Tromeo and Juliet is a grungy, perverted and comic retelling of the classic Romeo and Juliet tale by William Shakespeare. Two young, star-crossed lovers from feuding families, the Montague and the Capulet, fall in love and get into a whole heap of trouble as they try to love one another in a world that forbids it. Oh and in the end they die. At least in the original they do. I tell you this because if you haven't read the play, seen the play or seen an adaptation in any medium then you deserve to have it spoiled. In the case of Tromeo and Juliet, the set up is about the same.Juliet is a member of the Capulet clan while Romeo, or rather Tromeo (get it?), is part of the Que clan. This is when things get funky. The Capulets are no strangers to incestuous love as proved in the first scene when Sammy (Sean Gunn) tries to get in the pants of his sister Georgie (Tamara Marie Watson). Juliet (Jane Jensen) is no prude herself and rolls in the hay with her lesbian lover the nursemaid Ness (Debbie Rochon) on a regular basis. But she is only a distraction from the cruel family patriarch Cappy Capulet (William Beckwith) and homicidal butcher London (Steve Gibbons), both of which want to get with her. In comes Tromeo (Will Keenan), son of Monty Que (Earl McKoy) the man robbed from the profits of Capulet's porn distribution racket. He goes to a Capulet party with his floozy girlfriend and best friend Murray (Valentine Miele) but catches the eye of Juliet and thus their romance and a lot of gore and hilarity begins.In many ways Tromeo and Juliet plays Shakespeare much like it was probably played in the 16th century. Back then the theater wasn't a refined spectacle where people were ushered to their seats, sat on their thumbs and politely applauded when the lights turn dim. No the Elizabethan theatre as it were, was noisy, grungy and even deadly. Playwrights would consider it a compliment if the audience managed to shut up for a scene or two. Otherwise the public would throw tomatoes, chant, yell and chastise any performances that didn't appeal. Thank of that next time you see a person's face dimly lit by the light of their iphone.Tromeo and Juliet brings the story back where it belongs; to the masses and for that reason is probably the best film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet I have seen. That's right; it's all leading up to that statement right there. For the cheap seats; I think this is the best film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet I have seen! It doesn't help that I'm not a big fan of the story to begin with but what's not to love about an adaptation that has someone break their head open on a fire hydrant? There's blood, mayhem, humor and cheap, cheap sex in this salacious re-imagining and there are just enough changes in the plot to both appeal to Shakespeare originalists and people who aren't fans of ionic pentameter.Of course this movie is not for anyone. If you're squeamish when faced with an actual nipple being pierced in a close-up or offended by salty language don't watch anything Troma. Yet when I look back at my time in theater and the colorful, bawdy people I knew and called my friends, I can't think of one who wouldn't enjoy Tromeo and Juliet. In my opinion, Baz Luhrmann can eat his heart out.http://www.theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com

This outlandish Troma movie is actually a very good movie. It is known as their epic and best and most highly rated production. Their version of Shakespeare's play is extremely funny with the usual dose of Troma nudity and gore. Troma has made some very good gore films, one of my favorites is "Street Trash" and of course the Toxic Avenger movies. I have one Troma movie, "Terror Firmer", which has a reputation as their goriest and nastiest movie. I enjoyed "Tromeo and Juliet" so much, that I need to finally watch "Terror Firmer". This is a 2-disc Collector's version with four commentaries and many many features. "Tromeo and Juliet" is an absolute hoot and highly recommended.

Right now, I could waste a few paragraphs describing the 110-minute insanity fest that is Lloyd Kaufman's "Tromeo and Juliet," but I'll put it like this: they don't get any better than this! This film is offensive and moves at an exhilarating, break-neck pace that never lets up once things get going. Kaufman of course is the president of Troma Entertainment with Michael Herz as his veep. Together they've produced and/or directed b-level schlock that's plentiful in atrocious acting, graphic violence/gore, and sex within the last 30 years. They've influenced the likes of Peter Jackson ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "Dead Alive"), Trey Parker (co-creator of television's "South Park"), Quentin Tarantino and one Troma alumni, James "Dawn of the Dead remake" Gunn, headed out on his own earlier this year with his directorial debut "Slither." Troma finally hit pay-dirt with "The Toxic Avenger" in 1985 and seemed to reach a level of "respectibility" with 1996's "Tromeo and Juliet," a modern-day punk retelling of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy. The action has been moved from Verona to New York, with Tromeo (Will Keenan) and Juliet (Jane Jensen), the offspring of rival families, meeting at a costume party and hitting it off immediately (and I use "hitting it off" loosely). This retelling is stock plentiful in sex, body piercing, incest and incredibly graphic violence to drive home the point that once again, Troma Entertainment is strictly for adults. I'll admit I know a great deal about Troma but have seen very few of their films. Their style is unique in that they don't much give a damn about the audience, other than shunning political-correctness in favor of shock & awe. The humor is very offensive (whoever thought to use incest as a punch-line needs counseling), so don't be shocked too much. So, if "The Toxic Avenger" is the Citizen Kane of bad movies, then what does this say about "Tromeo and Juliet"?10/10

Tromeo and Juliet is set in present day New York city where Tromeo Que (Will Keenan) & Juliet Capulet (Jane Jensen) meet by chance at a party held by Juliet's Father Cappy Capulet (Maximillian Shaun), they quickly fall in love with each other. Unknown to them Cappy & Tromeo's Father Monty Que (Earl McCoy) have had bad business dealings in the past so when they find out about their offspring's blossoming relationship they are far from pleased. Add that to the fact the two families are at war with each other & Juliet is engaged to a geekish meat factory worker named London Arbuckle (Steve Gibbons) Tromeo and Juliet discover that the course of true love never runs smoothly...Co-written, co-produced & co-directed by Lloyd Kaufman Tromeo & Juliet is Troma studios attempt at adapting William Shakespeare's most well known play. The script by co-director Kaufman & his fellow co-director James Gunn takes the basic well known love story & adds that individual Troma touch. Lesbianism, farting, pee drinking, huge demon penises, body piercing, tattooing, murder, gore, mayhem, nudity, sex, perversion, bodily fluids, porn, child abuse, a slaughterhouse & a live mouse that is eaten whole by a lizard coupled together with bad acting & low production values. But does it work? Well in my humble opinion no it doesn't, I'm not a fan of the Troma way of doing things & I don't really like their films. Tromeo and Juliet is slightly slow going at times & I actually found it quite dull. I never laughed at any of it, the character's are up to the usual low standards set by Troma & the dialogue is irritating & stupid. If you haven't already guessed I didn't like Tromeo and Juliet that much, apart from a few effective scenes there is little here to get excited about.Directors Gunn & Kaufman didn't have much of a budget to work with & it shows, this has all the low production values, poor special effects & moronic ideals that most Troma films suffer from. There really isn't much about Tromeo and Juliet that I can praise, if anything. As usual for a lot of Troma films keep watching the end credits as they are just about the funniest thing about the film. I found the gore somewhat disappointing, there's a scene when someone loses an eye, some poorly staged fights, someone has a couple of fingers cut off, some bulging eyes, some blood splatter, a decapitation & severed arm, some pig carcasses & while it sounds gory it's all rather flat & not as extreme as I was expecting.With a supposed budget of about $350,000 it shows, Tromeo and Juliet is a pretty badly made film. The cinematography is static, the special effects are poor & it has low production values. The acting is terrible & these people shouldn't go anywhere near a camera ever again.Tromeo and Juliet is an interesting take on Shakespeare to say the least, but that doesn't mean it's any good. It's probably just about worth a watch as it's different but it didn't do much for me overall, disappointing.