Being as old as I am I can remember when the original ATTACK
OF THE KILLER TOMATOES was released. Not so much in theaters as on video tape.
I’m not sure if it played many theaters, then again it could have hit the midnight
movie circuit. In any event, it was hilarious by being intentionally low budget
and glorying in that format. It became popular enough that a sequel was bound
to happen. Who would have thought that it would have George Clooney in the
second lead role though?
Mad Professor Gangreen (John Astin) is planning a produce
protest, an herbal uprising, a tomato tornado…in short he is planning on having
the tomatoes once again attack the world. Using music he can change tomatoes
into various human forms. One of those is Tara (Karen Mistal), a ripe tomato
turned into a gorgeous human who isn’t pleased with the way Gangreen treats her
fellow veggies. She runs off only to
meet our hero, Chad (Anthony Starke) and fall in love.
After Gangreen sends his assistant out to capture Tara and
bring her home, Chad and his best friend Matt (Clooney) attempt to thwart the
plans of Gangreen. Discovering that certain songs change the tomatoes back and
forth, he’s heartbroken when one song turns Tara back into a tomato. Finding
the right song to change her back he and Matt do their best to stop Gangreen
and his ‘mato minions.
The movie not only uses its cheesiness to its advantage it
grasps it with both hands and strangles every single joke possible out of it.
It basks in the glory of being a grade B movie and relishes in that format,
playing on words and situations that mingle vegetables and humor for some
decent laughs and a lot of fun. This isn’t Oscar material and all involved know
that. Instead it embraces the genre it is a part of a goes for all it can.
The acting isn’t amazing but well done by all involved. I’m
not sure this is one that Clooney is proud to have on his resume but he should
be. It displays his ability for comedy long before he was able to put it out
there for fans to enjoy much later. The rest of the cast might not have
achieved near the stardom but they all put forth a great effort here. Astin,
most famously known for playing Gomez Addams in the TV series THE ADDAMS
FAMILY, does a great job here as the mad scientist intent on overtaking the
world. He would continue to play the character in the next sequel as well as
the animated series based on the films.
Even though this film is not the type to receive a ton of
respect it gets it in spades here from Arrow Video. Like all of their other
releases their offering it in the best presentation possible with a 1080p
blu-ray copy. The extras aren’t abundant but the odds of those even being
available are small. Included are brand new audio commentary with writer/director
John De Bello, a brand new interview with Stark, the original theatrical
trailer, a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
by Matthew Griffin and a fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring
writing by critic James Oliver.
If you remember the films from your days at the video store
or maybe from the animated series then odds are you’ll enjoy this one. Fans of
Clooney looking to make their collection complete will want this one as well.
It’s a fun time that has been given a new life thanks to Arrow Video.
Click here to order.
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