‘Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death’ Blu-ray Review (88 Films)
Stars: Shannon Tweed, Bill Maher, Adrienne Barbeau, Karen M. Waldron | Written and Directed by J.F. Lawton
The men want their avocados; the evil feminist cannibal piranha women have control of the avocado jungle, what will we do? That’s right; send Shannon Tweed in to save the day. If you think that’s corny then you will totally understand what Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is aiming for…
The government (the evil MEN) hire a prominent feminist lecturer from a university to venture into the Avocado Jungle (somewhere in California from what I can gather) to mediate with the cannibal women who live there. Offering a reservation condo complex in Malibu in return of the jungle they hope to placate the feministic women and get to the fruit which is dangerously low in stock. Hiring an a-typical male chauvinistic pig as their her guide and being assisted by her ditzy student they venture into the jungle to not only find the cannibal women but also find out the whereabouts of a previous explorer into the feminist jungle.
What you have to understand about this film is that it’s very tongue in cheek, Shannon Tweed a feminist and Bill Maher playing a “male chauvinist pig”? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist (of either sex) to see the total b-movie comedy nature of this idea. Yes, if you wanted to be picky you could take up the fact that they are mocking the very nature of feminism in the script but the funny part is it’s a certain type of feminism they are making a joke of. The female characters (even the “ditzy” one) are actually strong characters who have their own view on how the world works, whether it’s doing the chat show scene or preaching at university about the strength of women as the stronger sex. It’s not meaning to be offensive; if anything it’s taking an observation on the battle of the sexes and using it for comic effect. Both the sexist nature of Jim (Bill Maher) and the equally as sexist view of some of the female characters it’s more of a mocking of our society which is in effect the power of self-deprecation, we should know how to take a joke.
Shannon Tweed, Bill Maher, Adrienne Barbeau and Karen M. Waldron all put in a performance that fits the film. They ham up the script and put so much cheese in the performance that they should put a warning up for the lactose intolerant. What J.F. Lawton does as the director and writer of Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death a highly amusing film that may not be perfectly made but fits exactly what it is trying to be, a slightly trashy comedy about feminism, chauvinism and avocados.
It’s the second time round for 88 Films and Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death after originally being released way back in 2012 as part of the companies now defunct “Grindhouse Collection”. So why the re-release? Well Full Moon, owners of the film and long-time collaborators with 88 Films – who remembers them launching as the “UK arm of Full Moon,” a good idea until the titles dried up and the Grindhouse releases effectively stalled in sales – have created a new HD print of the movie and given that means no work for 88 Films (after all, who wants to create a new HD master of a film, it’s expensive and typically the releases are ripped apart by the folks at Blu-ray.com or DVD Beaver) it means that a Blu-ray is a sure-fire release for the company… Sidenote: I would say sure-fire “hit”, but who the hell wants to buy this film for the umpteenth time? As for the print itself, if you’ve seen the HD upgrades previously released by 88 Films then you know EXACTLY what to expect!
So who would I recommend this to? People who HAVEN’T paid for the DVD previously (or the US Blu already). And probably people who can take a joke too. Sexism is something that is picked up on way too easy nowadays and I’m sure a few would look at the humour of this film and say it’s archaic, out of date and derogatory to the female population of the world, but I would hope not. The fact is that society should be able to take a look at itself and actually be willing to be mocked. Hell if anything, what this film actually does is slightly mock the feminist viewpoint of some while showing that women are in fact just as strong as men, and men can be complete and total idiots a lot of the time which in fact means that this is a film that celebrates feminism. Did you buy that defence of this movie? Maybe not, but if you want a trashy, funny film that stars Shannon Tweed in it then this may be for you. Just remember to bring your sense of humour.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 8th, courtesy of 88 Films.
