Bonus pick: ‘Slade’ (2006)
Taika Waititi in his short film “Slade.” (Photo via YouTube).
This amusing little flick plays around with B-grade film tropes (complete with intentionally terrible dubbing). It would easily have topped my list, had it not been for one triggering flashback montage comprising of wildly unsettling close-ups of hairy butt cheeks and orgasm faces as Waititi’s character, the titular Slade makes sweet, sweaty love to a mop that stands in as his deceased girlfriend. Just when I thought there was nothing as gross as the duck sex scene in “Roar…”
If you enjoyed Waititi’s chaotic, explosively over-the-top, no-brainer approach to the “Thor” franchise, then this low- budget student short film might just feel like a predecessor to the same. However, it simultaneously acts as a very obvious and extremely brazen parody of all those big budget ’80s action flicks such as “Rambo.” It also felt reminiscent to those modest Nigerian films that go on to attain cult status via the Internet. And while it doesn’t necessarily subvert the spoof genre, it’s still good, harmless fun to sit through. In Waititi’s own words, it’s “like “Commando” but awesomer” and “an effing sweet film that was single-handedly made in just under 7 hours.”
A Great View of Waititi’s Acting Ability
If the aforementioned paragraphs haven’t sold you on this masterpiece yet, I’d also like to mention that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity of experiencing Taika’s acting range firsthand. He not only writes, directs, and edits but also acts as both the overtly macho protagonist on a revenge mission who’s made up entirely of every stereotypical action hero trait you can think of, and the sleazy, scummy antagonist (as well as his numerous, incompetent henchmen) in this film.
Just don’t expect an Oscar-winning script, cutting edge CGI, or believable acting and there’ll be belly laughs guaranteed throughout with this one (the queer coded, action packed fever dream ‘Arab Samurai’ is yet another amateur Waititi offering in a similar vein that I highly recommend checking out on YouTube. It even works as a double feature with “Slade,” as long as you don’t find any offense in the very in-your-face stereotypes present throughout).
You can watch “Slade” below:
That’s the end of the list, but I do hope you’ve enjoyed this brief tour of the Taika-verse, dear readers and hopefully I’ve managed to make a Taikaholic out of you as well!
