Freaked is a time-machine back to a more innocent time in American cinema, back when CGI had only been seen in The Abyss, Pee-Wee Herman wasn’t a porn-related joke, and Randy Quaid wasn’t batsh*t crazy.
Freaked was co-written and co-directed by the guy from Bill & Ted’s Excellend Adventure (and Bogus Journey) that isn’t Keanu (Pronounced “Ken-U” for those in the know, aka, Thunder) Reeves, Alex Winter. Alex also stars as the film’s protagonist, Ricky Coogan, a washed-up child-actor whose grown up to be a delusional narcissist. Looking to make a quick buck, Ricky signs on to be a spokesperson for a toxic sludge that can only be sold in South America. Once in South America Ricky falls victim to the very sludge he was shilling, by the hands of Freak-Show Circus Ring Leader, Randy Quaid, sans craziness.
Now a mutant, Ricky is forced to join the circus of freaks, including a dog-boy (Uncredited cameo by Keanu), a literal cow/boy, and two Rastafarian eyeballs that run around with machine guns.
If it sounds like a mess, that’s because it is. But it is also a helluva lot of fun (Especially if you are watching it chemically altered. I highly recommend three very strong margaritas; they worked well during my viewing). Freaked throws a joke at the wall almost every minute of its brief 86 minute running time, and somewhere into margarita #2, they began to stick.
More than anything, this film made me nostalgic for back when Liquid Television was on MTV, Pee-Wee Herman was providing trippy children’s programming, and Randy Quaid was one of the funniest men alive (Go watch Quick Change). Also, I was drunk.
Best of all, it’s available on Netflix’s “Watch Instantly”, so when you finally make it home at 3am from a long night of karaoke, you have some something to watch while you eat your pizza rolls.
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