Review - The Garbage Pail KIds Movie (1987 - Dir. Rod Amateau)

Okay, I admit it. The only reason why I thought to review this film was because I remembered that there is a scene where a official looking fellow nets an ugly child. Now I get to use the label 'The netting of people who shouldn't really be netted in polite society' at the bottom of the review. That's it really.

Strangely, on rewatching this supposedly terrible film, I found myself slightly enjoying the whole experience. The only part of the film that I'm really uncomfortable with is Nat Nerd. He is a child who repeatedly wets himself. At one point, he wets himself on purpose. None of the other Garbage Pail Kids laugh. Nat says, "I thought it was funny." You're the only one, mate. Laughing at children with poor bladder control is not pleasant. (Whereas laughing at ugly children getting netted is? - evlkeith's conscience.) 


Dodger (Mackenzie Astin) is your standard Marty McFly-a-like who gets beaten up regulary by the local bullies led by Juice (Ron MacLachlan) - just look at that jacket and you'll see why he gets a good kicking. Dodger works in Captain Manzini's Antiques shop and one day accidentally discovers seven strange little chums in a rubbish bin. These include Ali Gator who has a penchant for eating toes, Messy Tessie who excretes slime from virtually every orifice and Windy Winston who trumps with a contented look on his face. This happens a lot.

The plot (?) concerns a fashion show by Tangerine (Katie Barberi), Dodger's dream girl. The twist is that the Garbage Pail Kids have made all the clothes and she's thieving them. She pretends to be their friend and gets them all working in sweat shop conditions, sewing thousands of sequins on to skimpy outfits. Rumour has it that Tangerine now runs Primark. Or so the bloke down the chippy told me.

In the latter stages of the film we are introduced to the State Home for the Ugly. Inside are various prison cells labelled with the reason for their occupants incarceration. Some of the labels are: 'Too fat', 'Too short', 'Too bald' and everyone's politically correct favourite - 'Too crippled'. I'm sure that I would be netted under various ugly offences.

This film is about friendship, betrayal, true beauty and various bodily fluids. Okay, it's not brilliant. It's not even good. Fine, it's not even average. Definitely not politically correct, if that's your beverage of choice. But it is vaguely entertaining in a bad sort of way. I've seen a lot worse.

2/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
Crikey. Is there anything else like this? If you want films about netting people you could try Hobo With a Shotgun or The Woman.