A strip mall restaurant finds success with a new ingredient in Ricky Glore’s comic horror musical Sweet Meats, now on Blu-ray from Troma!
Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd… wait, wrong cannibal musical…Feed me Seymore… no, dammit; Schpadoinkle! Nah, not quite. Some song from Troma’s Poltreygiest. One more try… sweet meeeats! Got it.
Okay, despite the snark there, I rather liked Sweet Meats, starring, written, edited, and directed by Ricky Glore; joining the pantheon of musicals based on uncomfortably foodstuffs up to and including cannibalism (take out musicals, and it’s a severed arm long). It’s funny, wonderfully goofy, self-aware, and dammit, I haven’t been humming the songs. The Devil is a Woman I know…. I know… The Devil… ahem.
I can see why Troma picked it up after a successful Indiegogo campaign, which “Uncle” Lloyd Kaufman shared and contributed to (ultimately appearing in a cut-in commercial). The Troma spirit is alive and well in a run-down Cincinnati strip mall, and its sudden success with a new meat. Guess what it is? You know, we all know. And that’s the fun. It’s self-aware, then goes for broke to make it work, and has a blast doing it.
Aside from being bookended by a dad, Bobby Sweet III, telling the story of Bobby Sweet the first’s accidental fall into cannibal consumerism, the story takes place in the 1970s (although it never really feels like that time, and that doesn’t matter). It’s a failing family restaurant run by Nick, his daughter Laddie, his son Jerry, and their one employee, Bobby Sweet, who dreams of becoming a country music star. The boys are a lovable bunch of idiots, and the more pointed and mean Laddie is frustrated they seem fine with a crappy restaurant with too many choices. She’s determined to make it work, pushing Bobby to murder his way to the top and gain control… hey, this is Macbeth! More Troma Shakespeare, although a little more adjacent than adapted. Btw, Macbeth was adapted to a restaurant before in Scotland, PA, but that’s a very different film.
And in doing that, Sweet Meats is fun, purposely aware of its dumbness. The exchanges between everyone, the one-liners, slapstick, and the great songs. Everything’s playing over the top: Timmy H. Barron has perfect comic timing as idiot Jerry. I loved writer-director Ricky Glore as Bobby Sweet, playing a wonderfully dumb, flummoxed guy and wearing all the hats in bringing the production together (the special features note that he’s working with a stable of film and stage personalities, so they mesh well). The secret ingredient is Eileen Ernest as Laddie. She’s giving 110% (well, everyone is, but especially her). All of it with good music (cutaways into a club with “music videos” and diegetic). In the features, Glore describes the film as Christopher Guest meets John Waters. I can absolutely see it.
There are some hang-ups that keep it from fully coming together, even though I enjoyed it overall. Pacing is a little iffy, as it takes a long time to really get going, just shy of halfway before the first person falls into the industrial grinder in the basement (fun fact: filmed at the now-destroyed and rebuilt original Bobby Mackie’s, a notoriously haunted tavern/club with a murder history of its own). While it’s fun watching these folks interact, and like I said, it is funny and moves along. But waiting on blood? After a gutting in the opening, gotta sit tight. There’s some weirdness with the lighting blowing in from outside (as noted in the commentary), so it was decided to say “screw it, let it go,” which hits into the weird mix of grindhouse overlays and a digital production.
Sweet Meats is a Tromatic blast for those who like the studio’s output and pick-ups. You know I do, although I’ve been wishy-washy in the last few disc reviews. But this is a bloody, song-filled, very funny cannibal enjoyment.
The Packaging
Troma puts Sweet Meats on a single Blu-ray disc with the pig-masked murderer on the label. The disc opens with the Toxie vs Russia bit from the last few years before the nicely designed animated menu. It is placed in a clear Blu-ray case with a single-sided slip with a drawn cover that hits back to early Troma. I dig it.
The Presentation
Sweet Meats looks pretty good, with a purposely faded, grindhouse design and added artifacts. The audio is occasionally iffy, sounding unrefined in post, but overall is solid, with the songs mixed well. In English with English subtitles.
The Features
A veritable buffet of delicious meats in the extras. Just don’t ask where it came from.
Commentary
A totally fun chat as Glore, Barron, and Earnest talk about working on the picture, working from the ground up in the indie spirit, building from the previous feature All Your Friends Are Dead, and the stage work they’ve done otherwise. They are having fun, and it’s coming through.
Sweet Meats in The News
Glore and Earnest appear on two news programs to talk about the hometown premiere. Funny thinking about selling Troma feature to morning news audiences (9m total)
“The Grind” Making of Sweet Meats
Just about everyone involved talks about making the film, recounting stories with some direct info to camera. More talking head and less on set. I loved the ton of fun puns in their previous works. (22m)
Lloyd Kaufman Saves Indie Film
As a Troma pick-up, Uncle Lloyd has been a figure who has helped push it along. Glore talks with Lloyd on the phone, and Lloyd gives it a shoutout. (10m)
Evolution of a Song
Three songs are discussed from demo to refinement to finished product. Cool to see it coming together. (3m/4m/6m)
Table Read
A Zoom call of the cast going through the script. (70m)
Q & A
Plays over the movie, functioning as second commentary. The same gang talks about the film without scene specifics, more of a free-flowing conversation. Another great listen, too, as they share stories about Bobby Mackey’s, working with Troma, the drive-in’s qualities, and more. Doesn’t repeat from the past, instead giving a whole new 1h40 of info.
Lloyd Kaufman Digs Sweet Meats
Lloyd pretends to sell vacuums and hawk the film (1m)
Proof of Concept Trailer
Selling a different sort of tone; can see how it got Kaufman’s interest, though. 4m
Actual Trailer
Real go for the film (2m)
Tromatic extras
Extras seen on various Troma films. See #Shakespeare’s Shitstorm review for breakdown: Innards, Radiation March, TA in 4k, Troma in Times Square
Troma Trailers
8 trailers for Troma films
Final Thoughts
Sweet Meats is a very fun and funny new entry in the cannibal musical canon! Full of a hilarious indie spirit and great songs, it’s a bloody blast. Troma provides a full sausage of extras to bite into as well. Check it out.