“You better know so Wonderbread”
Between the serious faces portrayed on the poster and the heist gone wrong plot synopsis, I had no idea Hot Tamale was going to be as much of a comedy as it is. Beginning with the bizarre death of lead Harlan Woodriffās father, the kooky family is huddled around the frozen corpse while the son stays in the background wondering if heād ended up in the wrong family. It all has an air of dramaābesides the inclusion of actors Harland Williams and Beth Grantāas we assume Randy Spellingās Harlan is looking to excise himself for the podunk environment as an intelligent kid with aspirations of a higher calling. And then the reality of what this film is comes through in the next scene with the introduction of salsa music to his limited sphere of worldly creations by exchange student Caesar Lopez, (Matt CedeƱo). Interrupting his friend in the act of having sex to find out what those awe-inspiring sounds wereāthe salsa, not the feminine shrieks of pleasureāa desire to travel west and become a timbale drummer is formed. Yes, that is the main plot point all the drugs, sex, hitmen, diamond thieving, and back country naĆÆvetĆ© revolves around.
So, right from the get-go, you realize the proceedings are a completely tongue-in-cheek look at a fish-out-of-water guy lucking his way through surviving life in Los Angeles. Most of the jokes fall flatāalthough the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival audience I saw it with seemed to be having a great time laughingāand the performances are all hammy, but somehow I did have an enjoyable time with the cast of characters and asinine situations they put themselves in. The fact that this white boy with no dance moves can be good with the timbales let alone win over a hardcore Hispanic communityās salsa band is unfathomable in itself, but getting the gorgeous Diora Baird as a girlfriendāher complete lack of being bashful is admittedly a high point in the filmās enjoyment factorāand a Ricky Martin wannabe, only straight, in Caesar as a best friend can be nothing but comical. The real surprise, however, is that I found Spellingās wide-eyed innocent to be endearing in a Randy Quaid from Kingpin type of way. The guy won me over by never losing that quality, either showing some acting skill or working because he has none.
The adventure truly begins at a rest stop on Harlanās trek to LA from Wyoming. He meets Jason Priestleyās Jude, a well-dressed businessman on the run from the men in a recently arrived car. The scene is funny due in part to the two engaging in an interesting conversation pertaining to ostrich meat and the cameo by Sandy Martin, who has made a career of using gender-obscurity for both jokes, in this film, and drama, in āBig Loveā. Sean Blakemore and Mike Starr arrive to make everyoneās life a living hell as they search for Judeās bag, recently left in Harlanās truck before he moseys along on his way. Blakemore is effective as the badder bad cop in this duo, while Starr pretty much rehashes his role from Dumb and Dumber as the good bad copānot necessary a bad thing by any means. Their constant bickering and miscommunication as far as violence level goes leads to many good laughs portraying the city folk juxtaposition to Harlanās clueless country bumpkin. Spellingās character learns the ropes quickly, though, learning he canāt leave valuables in his car without risk of theft, that beautiful women launder their clothes while naked in order to wear what theyāve cleaned, and a hidden pot farm can come in handy when you need to have twenty thousand dollars.
In the end, however, besides a few funny exchanges like the pot-high paranoia panic attack, a bunch of familiar face cameos including āWeedsā actress Renee Victor, a sexy bedroom romp by Baird to a rock song that did catch my ear, and many culture clash moments, Hot Tamale is no more than a decent time for when you have nothing else to do. If you enjoy stupid comedyāwhich most of America doesāyou wonāt be too disappointed, but donāt expect anything more than that. It is always fun to watch actors looking like they are involved and having a good time without the burden of expectations to live up to, although Iād have enjoyed my time more if the story was stronger and not just a bunch of tired aspects culled from better movies in hopes of achieving success. So, if you feel the need to go out and see this film because you are a huge Randy Spelling fan and live the goal of seeing everything he is involved with, I wonāt say avoid it like the plague; I did laugh a few times and never felt bored. However, if you are looking for a recommendation from me to say go out and see this movie, Iām sorry but Iāll have to decline.
Hot Tamale 5/10 | ★ ★
photography:
[1] From left, Jason Priestley (in the role of Jude) and Randy Spelling in the film “Hot Tamale” 2006 directed by Michael Damian.
[2] Diora Baird in the role of Tuesday in the film “Hot Tamale” 2006 directed by Michael Damian.
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