Search - Warren Fitzgerald :: That Darn Punk

An Unexpected Surprise

J. J. Hastert | DC | 07/19/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Very funny movie made by and featuring members of the veteran L.A. punk band the Vandals. This film features live footage of (bands) the Vandals and Guttermouth with actors from Repo Man, Mr. Show, Tenacious D, Straight to Hell, etc. intertwined in a tromaesque plot (space aliens, zombie police, pregnant junkies). Sound track features Nerf Herder, Lagwagon, Pennywise, The Ataris, Rancid, Sloppy Seconds, Swingin' Utters, and many more. DVD comes with tons of extras."

The Real Story

kungfurecords | Hollywood, CA United States | 04/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On March 6, 2001, Kung Fu Records will release THAT DARN PUNK, its first feature film direct to home video under the Kung Fu Films banner. This is not a digital video, music video, concert video, "rockumentary," or Internet project. It is a feature length movie shot on film. You will not see TDP at posh film festivals or "underground" film festivals. In fact, says the Kung Fu President, "You have to admit, festivals are pretty lame. The Kung Fu label has customers that want to see and CAN see this film now. There is no need for a festival." In 1996 Kung Fu released the soundtrack to the Ben Affleck film, Glory Daze. Although this seemed like a big break as only the second release for the young label, it was a year before the film was released to the public and Kung Fu's customer base was not pleased. 8,000 of them had already bought it and were waiting to see the film. This time, Kung Fu has effectively eliminated the Hollywood machine from the entire equation. Originally approached to just do a soundtrack for the film by director Jeff Richardson, Kung Fu told him that if he would slash the budget (to $20,000) and gear it a little more toward teenage punkers, Kung Fu would finance it and release it on home video THE SAME DAY the soundtrack is released. The film stars members of The Vandals, with bassist Joe Escalante playing a punk musician who pays the ultimate price for his back stage indiscretions. Kidnapped, drugged, and left in the desert to die for his sins, he manages to dodge enough gangsters, dead cops, UFOs, and pregnant alien junkies to make it back to his best girl. But was it too late? The film is loaded with classic songs from leading punk bands like Pennywise, Rancid and Lagwagon, with exclusive tracks from Nerf Herder, No Motiv, and The Vandals. New music from Kung Fu's Ataris, Assorted Jelly Beans, MI-6, Antifreeze, and OZMA round out a high quality soundtrack with no "turds" thrown in as "favors." TDP also stars Repo Man's Zander Schloss, Mr. Show's Scott Aukerman, and Tenacious D's Kyle Gass, as part of a large cast with over 40 speaking roles. With comparisons being made to films like Repo Man and Roger Corman's Suburbia, Kung Fu is quick to point out that those films cost way over a million dollars, even in their day. Says Escalante; "we're talking about $21,000 here, so let's keep that in perspective. It's more like what Robert Rodriguez did with El Mariachi, except the kids get this first, not some Hollywood agents." Advance orders for the soundtrack have already covered the entire cost of the film's production...four times over!"

How people really are when we're not looking ...

Love My Prime | San Francisco, CA | 06/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hilariously written and poorly acted, this episodic tale trounces through the weird and the wonderful. Although the movie clearly suffers from its budget being an afterthought, it has moments of sheer brilliance in how it captures the assortment of humanity we meet. I'm particularly fond of "Spoons" and the Japanese phone lady. Oh, yeah, and the pregnant junkie hooker. The soundtrack rocks, but you knew that already, didn't you?"