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Old 4th December 2022, 01:49 PM
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Default Brainsmasher... A Love Story

BRAINSMASHER... A LOVE STORY (1993)


Albert Pyun's bizarre romantic comedy feels like the weird step-sibling of Big Trouble in Little China and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. It's not as good as those classics, but like them, it blends mismatched genres together whilst throwing caution to the wind.

Andrew Dice Clay plays a bouncer with the nickname of Brainsmasher (guess why) who finds himself on the run from a secret Shaolin cult ("WE ARE NOT NINJAS!") when he helps supermodel Samantha Crain (Teri Hatcher). Crain has a rare lotus flower from her sister hidden, and the cult will break every door and window to find it, but they'll need to get through Brainsmasher first.

The make-or-break factor of Brainsmasher is in how it references its own lack of cohesion. It smashes more fourth walls than brains. Normally, I despise this convention, as it's used far too frequently by filmmakers too lazy to make a proper film that immerses the viewer. But Pyun's approach is a little different. Rather than constantly address the audience, it lets the scenes play out, and only later bring up how ridiculous it all was. A scene where the Diceman is arguing with somebody on the payphone has him hang up, only for the phone to ring. He answers, and it is his mother. A row erupts where Diceman is chastisted for not having a proper job or a girlfriend. Only after a minute of pleading for peace, does he ask how the hell did she know to call this phone.

And that's a lot of the humour here. It's not as crude as the Diceman's routines, but rather, adopts a playful, parodic tone. It helps that the comedy is delivered with confidence and gusto by a game cast. Diceman is great (I must admit, I am a fan of him). Teri Hatcher displays fantastic comic timing, and Yuji Okumoto is having a ball as the increasingly exasperated cult leader. Even Tim Thomerson and Brion James are here for the ride, playing hard-boiled detectives that walked out of the 1950s.

But what surprises the most, is how underneath all of the genre-blending and post-modernism, is a sweet love story. The title didn't lie. Crain is frequently condescended to, and preyed on by sleazeballs. But with Brainsmasher, she meets a man who, despite his abrasive humour, never mocks her, and makes salicious comments about her looks. Even though he's protecting her, he never uses it to cop a feel, nor does he show any intention of making moves on her. I know this reads obvious, but it's remarkable how many romantic films forget this - preferring to make one partner (usually the female) dependable on the other. Instead, Pyun gives us two characters who clearly enjoy being in each other's company, and then don't want to be separate from each other.

I had a good time with Brainsmasher. Obviously, the humour will not be for everybody. The editing is a bit rough (it's rated PG-13, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was cut down from an R rating). But the gentle romance, the acting, and Pyun's typically stylish visuals (which includes a jaw-dropping shot of a camera pulling back from a fight, descending to an arriving cop car, and following the cops back inside) make this an essential Pyun film.
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