Review of The FP (2011) by Chris S — 22 Jun 2012

There are times when a movie is so absurd, so ridiculous, and so over the top that you can't help but enjoy it. The movies that never take themselves too seriously yet at the same time are the perfect mix of campy cheesiness and straight shooting acting; the ones that may have initially bombed at the box office, but have gained a cult following since its release on Blu-ray, DVD, or even VHS. Full length features that may be seen as a failure in the eyes of reception and criticism, but you are a huge fan of; no matter if that's a closet fan, a shy one, or one that screams their admiration of said feature from the heavens. "The FP" fully embraces all of that and never tries to be something it's not, which is perhaps one of the reasons it's as good as it is.

In a town known as Frazier Park (The FP), two rival gangs are on the brink of war. A competitive techno-enhanced dancing video game called "Beat Beat Revelation" is utilized as their battlefield to determine control of the territory. JTRO (Jason Trost) watches his brother BTRO (Brandon Barrera) die in the dance arena in a match against rival gang leader L Dubba E (Lee Valmassy). JTRO swears off playing "Beat Beat Revelation" ever again and disappears. A year later, The FP has gone downhill under the influence of the 245 and L Dubba E. Fellow 248 crew member KCDC (Art Hsu) locates JTRO to shake some sense into him and make him realize that JTRO is the only hope of saving The FP.

It takes a few minutes for this ludicrous concept to really sink in. A gang war centered on Dance Dance Revolution; that's basically what you're looking at here. Once you're able to accept that that is actually happening; the movie is a hell of a lot of fun. The movie is driven by its endless amount of references to 80s movies and its insane dialogue. Aside from Art Hsu, these are some of the whitest guys you've ever come across and yet they speak some of the most ghetto, street dialect you've ever heard.

Most of the stuff said in the film can't be repeated here. The F word is used over 250 times, but that only helps add to the humor of the movie. When KCDC first pulls JTRO back to The FP, he gives him the most ridiculous pep talk in the world: drunks have turned to meth in his absence because L Dubba E now controls all the alcohol in town. No drunks means no bums and no bums means that no one will feed the ducks down at the park. A town without ducks is nothing. The movie essentially revolves around restoring alcohol to the people, gaining enough street cred to be respected, and bringing ducks back to the town.

Everything is so outrageous that you can't help but laugh. At one point, KCDC says that gats are like toothpaste - just in case. Later, KCDC offers JTRO a Spaghetti-O waffle sandwich. Then there's the shoot out where BLT (Nick Principe) is taking cover behind a toilet and the two training montages that are a blatant homage to "Rocky." "The FP" is really, really funny. It's also incredible with how many movies it may remind you of. It's like "The Warriors" meets "The Road Warrior," "Rocky," and "The Karate Kid" with a score influenced by John Carpenter.

"The FP" obviously isn't going to be for everyone. It's very silly, but in the right light is pretty great. It's the type of movie that has to be seen to believed; one that you're endlessly showing to friends because they give you that stupid look when you tell them about its concept. Given its extremely low budget, it's amazing the movie looks as good as it does. The lighting is phenomenal, the sets highlight its post-apocalyptic type atmosphere, and the score is way better than it should be. It's as if "The FP" knew ahead of time that it would become a cult classic long before it was even released. "The FP" is so absurd that it's brilliant.