Think of the old Russ Meyer and Roger Corman films, films like Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Caged Heat, where viewers were treated to titilating visuals of cleavage-bearing beautiful women performing evil deeds, mainly with men as the targets, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Bitch Slap is all about. And while it can be seen as an homage to Meyer, Corman, and their ilk, it can also be argued that Bitch Slap is actually a girl power film for women. Because even though there are plenty of sexy scenes that are obviously intended to arouse…umm…certain feelings in men, at no time are the women seen as weak.
Plot? For what it’s worth, Bitch Slap is about three unlikely allies – innocent stripper Trixie (newcomer Julia Voth), hard-nosed businesswoman Hel (Erin Cummings, primarily known from her many TV roles), and ruthless criminal Camero (America Olivo, 2009’s Friday the 13th) – trying to retrieve a fortune’s worth of diamonds from a Vegas hood (the uproariously funny Michael Hurst, whose best known work, in North America at least, is as Iolaus on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys). Plenty of sordid characters come out of the woodwork to try and get their hands on this treasure as well. The story itself takes place over a few hours in the desert, with a series of flashbacks explaining how the three girls got together and how all the other characters are related. But really, with a name like Bitch Slap do we really need to know what the story is? All we need to know, presumably, is that we’ll be treated to a series of scenes involving ass kickings, women in skimpy clothes, and possibly some lesbian love. The film delivers on all counts, but beware…
As directed by Rick Jocobson, who co-wrote with Eric Gruendemann, both of whom were involved in directing the cheese-tacular Hercules and Xena, Bitch Slap is full of cheese and isn’t ashamed to bask in it. Everything is done with a nudge and a wink, though, as viewers are treated to slo-mo shots of the girls exiting their car, having a water fight (in the middle of the sweltering desert, with a seemingly endless supply of buckets full of water, no less), and even having a make-out session, all leading up to the inevitable climax where they all turn against each other. It’s all blatantly gratuitous, but that’s sort of the point. There are some interesting characters trying to get to those diamonds, too, including a wannabe bad-ass with Tourette’s Syndrome (William Gregory Lee) and his lethal-yoyo-wielding concubine (General Hospital‘s Minae Noji). It’s surprising that Bitch Slap didn’t really get a chance in theatres after it’s Toronto Film Festival preem and instead went direct to video after a few weekends in limited release. Perhaps no distributor wanted to take a chance on a B-Movie with no A-List stars and a premise that can be mis-construed as offensive exploitation of women. It can be argued, though, that the women in the film are dealing from a position of power considering that not one man in the film can be seen as a strong character, and that all of the so-called exploitative scenes are so over the top that only the most ignorant of viewers can’t see the filmmakers’ tongues planted firmly in cheek. Be on the lookout for cameos from Hercules and Xena themsleves, Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless, as well as Xena’s best buddy Gabrielle (Renee O’Connor).
The visuals are nice on the widescreen transfer, though the extensive use of green-screen shooting and CGI in the flashback sequences looks a little too fake. On the other hand, the sound is spectacular. Music, explosions, and especially the ‘bitch slapping’ all come through crystal clear. The two-disc unrated DVD from E1 Entertainment features over two hours of special features, not to mention two separate feature commentary tracks:
Commentary with Producers
Writer/Producer/Director Rick Jacobson, Writer/Producer Eric Gruendemann, and Associate Producer Brian Peck provide the more technical of the two commentary tracks, although there’s a lot of fun to be had here as well. They reminisce about their time together working on cable’s Hercules and Xena series, among others, as well as discuss how the whole premise of the film came from Jacobson and Gruendemann trying to one-up each other in terms of how offensive an idea they could come up with. There’s a lot that they discuss here which overlaps with the feature-length documentary on the second disc, but over-all it’s a worthwhile commentary, if only to see how much it contrasts with the second commentary track on the disc.
Commentary with Principal Cast
Anyone who has a problem with the subject matter and supposed objectification of women in this film should just have a listen to this refreshing commentary from the actresses involved. Julia Voth, Erin Cummings, and America Olivo spend the entire length of the film discussing how much fun they had playing over the top in the film and recounting little anecdotes about some of their co-stars in the film, including their own breasts. If they have no problem with the so-called exploitation of women in Bitch Slap, then there’s no reason that anyone else should.
Building a Better B-Movie
This documentary, which runs as long as the film itself at an hour and thirty-nine minutes(!), serves as a great companion piece to the film. It’s basically an extended making-of, where we learn everything about the movie, from the idea for the film itself through how each person was cast all the way up to the way they accomplished the feat of creating a relatively expensive-looking film on a shoestring budget. Featuring interviews with and on-set footage of just about everybody involved, including many actors who appeared in cameos (Kevin Sorbo, Lucy Lawless, Renee O’Connor, etc.), Building a Better B-Movie is an insightful and – more importantly – enjoyable way to re-visit the film itself.
Deleted Scenes
Of the 4 scenes here (one of which is just a series of outtakes from one of the flashback sequences in the film), only the extended pre-water-fight scene between the girls where they discuss the empowering nature of stripping is worth a look, if only for a shot where Camera decries the objectification of women while the camera pans down to her ample cleavage and taut stomach and back up again. It would be offensive if it weren’t so funny.
Bitch Slap 101
In this tongue-in-cheek featurette, Michael Hurst explains what, exactly, Bitch Slap is. The seriousness with which he describes the film is hilarious, especially when he punctuates it with “plus a lot of tits…and guns”.
Promos
This series of promotional clips for the film features Voth, Cummings, Olivo, and Hurst – in character – commanding you to see Bitch Slap and warning you of the consequences if you don’t, all the while sticking to the campy tone of the film itself.
A Conversation with Mother Superior and Sister Batril
Lucy Lawless and Renee O’Connor (Xena and Gabrielle!) are interviewed in character as Mother Superior and Sister Batril and express their shock and disgust at the title and nature of the film. Cute and fun, the segment really gets going when the characters hint at their devilish sides.
Kinki’s Guide to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
In this featurette, Minae Noji, in character (once again) as Kinki, offers viewers a how-to guide for sexual harassment…not how to defend yourself against it, but how to actually perpetrate it. Pointless, but fun nonetheless.
This is obviously not a film for everyone, and it’s definitely not high art. But if beautiful women, loads of action, and surprisingly powerful commentary about the fine line between exploitation and empowerment are what you’re looking for, Bitch Slap is for you.
