Thursday 22 June 2023

Killer Rack (2015)

Just the other day I was reminded of another film about killer boobs (of course there’s more than one), which meant I had to immediately track it down and give it a watch. So here we are, and Killer Rack is a title that will already have a lot of people rolling their eyes. To hell with them. I know how to have a good time, and Killer Rack is a good time. Sort of.

Jessica Zwolak plays Betty, a young woman who watches her life start to fall down around her because of one thing. Well . . . two things. Her slightly smaller bust size. Her douchebag of a boyfriend is turned off, her boss at work keeps overlooking her in favour of women with larger breasts, and she generally feels unattractive, unsexy, and powerless. So she heads along to Dr. Kate Thulu (Debbie Rochon) and has her breasts enlarged. It isn’t long until Betty is finding her workday easier, enjoying a bit of flirting, and becoming emboldened by the power of her new body shape. But something has an appetite, and it goes to work while Betty is sleeping.

Written by Paul McGinnis and directed by Gregory Lamberson, who have both taken on a number of different roles in their film careers, both behind and in front of the camera. this is very silly stuff indeed. It’s brisk, cheap, and asks the cast to perform their characters in the broadest way possible. And yet, whether intended or not, and I think the central premise indicates an intention, there’s a core of truth here that resonates throughout it, a prevailing attitude that gave us the “my eyes are up here” phrase, and a skewering of how juvenile and easily-fooled men are while they can always be distracted by breasts. And they can almost always be distracted by breasts.

Fair play to Zwolak, taking on a central role that requires her to appear to be deemed “not a properly attractive woman” for the first half of the runtime. She doesn’t stay too quiet and meek while being mistreated by almost everyone around her, but she certainly doesn’t start to assert herself more confidently until after her op. It’s a fun performance, especially when showing the contrast between the stages of her life. Rochon enjoys her cameo, assisted by a typical mad doctor’s assistant (played by Bob Bozek). Michael Thurber is the hugely inappropriate boss, often hilariously oblivious to anything other than breasts, and McGinnis gives himself the role of Tim, the one decent guy in the film. Lloyd Kaufman has a cameo, because of course he does, and Brooke Louise Bellas is given the official “Killer Rack” credit.

While not trying to be too clever or insightful, especially in scenes showing dopey detectives investigating mysterious murders, Killer Rack unexpectedly manages to be schlocky fun that also serves as a pointed commentary on how society wants to label and view women, and how women are treated when they match the labels given to them, and also when they don’t. The title tells you what you are going to get, but there’s a surprising bit of extra depth there, just like . . . actually, no, I am not going to end on a clumsy attempt at a jokey metaphor. That would make this review a bust.

6/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

No comments:

Post a Comment