When I named my December Christmas Movie watch-a-thon ‘Sleigh-Bell Ferrara’ it was purely a bad pun in reference to the name of Abel Ferrara, acclaimed indie director of Bad Lieutenant and the Driller Killer and rambling Conan O’Brien interview subject.
It wasn’t until I was part way into the watch-a-long that I discover Abel Ferrara does actually have his own Christmas movie: ‘R X-Mas, which I promptly ordered from eBay and in a Christmas miracle considering Alice Springs postal delivery timeframes it actually arrived before the big day!
And unfortunately it is pretty terrible.
Drea de Mattel (from The Sopranos) and DeNiro Lookalike Lillo Brancato are husband and wife drug dealers, whose world is turned upside down when he is kidnapped and held for ransom by an unknown group of assailants fronted by Ice T (Fin Tutuola).
This meanders all over the place, is bogged down by endless scenes of shopping expeditions, bagging drugs and school concerts. My DVD copy didn’t subtitle the Spanish dialogue either, so there were significant portions where I had no idea what was happening.
The subplot involving the duo trying to score a Tickle-me-Elmo/Turbo Man style sought after toy named ‘Party Girl’ was the most interesting element, but even that was done better with AHNULD back in 96 with Jingle All The Way.
This one is Fail-Bell Ferrara.
When I named my December Christmas Movie watch-a-thon ‘Sleigh-Bell Ferrara’ it was purely a bad pun in reference to the name of Abel Ferrara, acclaimed indie director of Bad Lieutenant and the Driller Killer and rambling Conan O’Brien interview subject.
It wasn’t until I was part way into the watch-a-long that I discover Abel Ferrara does actually have his own Christmas movie: ‘R X-Mas, which I promptly ordered from eBay and in a Christmas miracle considering Alice Springs postal delivery timeframes it actually arrived before the big day!
And unfortunately it is pretty terrible.
Drea de Mattel (from The Sopranos) and DeNiro Lookalike Lillo Brancato are husband and wife drug dealers, whose world is turned upside down when he is kidnapped and held for ransom by an unknown group of assailants fronted by Ice T (Fin Tutuola).
This meanders all over the place, is bogged down by endless scenes of shopping expeditions, bagging drugs and school concerts. My DVD copy didn’t subtitle the Spanish dialogue either, so there were significant portions where I had no idea what was happening.
The subplot involving the duo trying to score a Tickle-me-Elmo/Turbo Man style sought after toy named ‘Party Girl’ was the most interesting element, but even that was done better with AHNULD back in 96 with Jingle All The Way.
This one is Fail-Bell Ferrara.
