Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.

Dir: Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz

1990

***

I appreciate Troma films more than I enjoy them and while I regard Lloyd Kaufman as a genius of sorts, I also find it hard to watch most of his films. I’m not shocked or disgusted, they’re just not very good, or at least, none of them live up to their ideas or their reputations. Quite how he built such a cult empire is beyond me, but I guess bad taste needs its champions. I have a love/hate relationship with The Toxic Avenger – I didn’t love the first one, quite liked the second one and hated three and four. Sgt. Kabukiman appears in a couple of them and I think I liked him better there – as a supporting character. Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is odd, very odd, and while odd is good, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is far too long for its own good. The same joke it told over and over again and it gets a little too much to bare. Like all Troma films, it suffers from bad editing and from being far too self-indulgent. It’s origins are perculiar. While filming The Toxic Avenger Part II in Japan, where the original Toxic Avenger had been a major hit, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz were approached by Tetsu Fujimura and Masaya Nakamura of Namco to create a Kabuki-themed superhero film, supposedly based on an idea by Kaufman. Namco became a producer, giving Troma a one and a half million dollar budget to begin preproduction. Creative differences troubled production from the start. Namco and Herz wanted a mainstream-accessible film geared towards children, whereas Kaufman wanted the usual Troma-esque sex and violence style. The film was eventually cut into both PG-13 and R-rated versions – I’m not sure which is worse or makes the least sense. The film follows Sergeant Detective Harry Griswold (Rick Gianasi), a clumsy N.Y.P.D. cop investigating a string of murders involving Kabuki - a classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the unique style of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. While attending an amateur Kabuki play, Harry witnesses thugs gun down the entire cast. In the ensuing gunfight, Harry is forcefully kissed by one of the dying actors, unknowingly becoming blessed with the powers of Kabuki. Before he knows it, Griswold finds out that he has the ability to transform into Kabukiman, a colorfully dressed slapstick superhero who has the ability to fly and access to such unique weapons as heat seeking chopsticks and fatal sushi. He also has to eat worms, but I think that’s a Troma thing, rather than a Kabuki thing. With the assistance of the beautiful Lotus (Susan Byun), he helps clean up the crime-ridden streets of New York and try to stop maniacal businessman Reginald Stuart (Bill Weeden) and his Goons, who plan to fulfill an ancient evil prophecy that will summon The Evil One whose demonic powers can enslave the world. The plot is thin and the acting is bad, although Rick Gianasi is pretty good. I do wonder whether it would be considered racist, if it wasn’t so ridiculous. It is probably best known for Troma’s one and only Hollywood stunt. There is a car chase scene that happens midway through the film where several carloads of gangsters chase Harry Griswold, wearing a clown costume, through the streets of Jersey City. The chase climaxes when one of the cars, a 1979 Ford Thunderbird, strikes another vehicle, flips upside-down 30 feet in the air, lands, and then inexplicably explodes. Five years later, exactly the same footage was used in a scene in Tromeo and Juliet for not only being cost-effective, but also because Kabukiman had yet to be widely distributed on video (and thus brought some confusion as to which film the footage originated from). Despite obvious continuity flaws, Troma has managed to fit the same footage into each of their films as a tongue-in-cheek homage, including Terror Firmer, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, Poultrygeist, and Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol.1. Since the film's video debut in 1990, Sgt. Kabukiman has gone on to make several appearances in the "Tromaverse", becoming one of the company's most well-known mascots next to The Toxic Avenger. Kabukiman (played by Paul Krymse in a simpler costume) can be seen in a number of Troma commercials and video introductions throughout the 1990s. Most notably, Kabukiman was one of the prominent figures on Troma's Edge TV, where he appeared in a short parody of old public service announcement films, entitled Sgt. Kabukiman Public Service Announcement, which was directed by former Troma employee and Guardians of the Galaxy director/screenwriter James Gunn. The character almost got himself a carton, much like Toxic Crusaders, but he was deemed too odd. Kabukiman made the return to the screen in 2001's Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, where he was once again played by Paul Kyrmse. In the film, Kabukiman has gone from a serious superhero to a pathetic, drunken has-been who is looked upon with disdain by the citizens of Tromaville. There was quite a bit of backlash from the hard-core fans of the original film. 10/10 for originality but the character is love/hate. It is what it is, its too obvious to criticize in many respects and I would never tell people who love it that they are wrong but I just found it a little too long and mind-numbing – even for a Troma film. However, I do love seeing 1990 in all its glory and I adore the special effects.