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Beauty Queen Butcher
Directed By Jill Zurborg
Released: 1991
Starring: Rhona Brody, Matthew Speak, Jim Boggess, and Kathryn A. Mensik
Running Time: 118 minutes
DVD Released By Camp Motion Pictures 2007
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Poor compulsive eater Phyllis Loden (played by Rhona
Brody). She is the butt of every joke in her high school. Her only friend
(and fellow nerd), Paul (Matthew Speak), encourages Phyllis to pursue her
dream of winning the Miss Slough Queen Pageant. Unfortunately, the chips are
stacked against her as the pageant organizer, Betty Prunish (Jim Boggess),
is appalled that such an unlikely contestant would dare enter her beauty
pageant. Prunish encourages the cruelties of the other, more desirable
contestants to get her to drop out. However, the other girls push her too
far and Phyllis goes on a rampage, killing anyone who stands in way of her
donning the crown of Miss Slough Queen.
Oh man, with a mean streak that is about a mile wide,
Beauty Queen Butcher
is a rough one. Guilt, bemusement, embarrassment, laughter, and boredom; all
of these can be yours, dear viewer. This film’s biggest flaw is its nearly 2
hour running time. Economy of storytelling is not one of director/co-writer
Jill Zurborg’s strongest points. While it moves along at a fairly decent
pace, it takes over an hour before any (nearly gore-free) butchering takes
place.
One of my favorite gags that was old even back in 1991, the unacknowledged
transvestite, is alive and well here in
Beauty Queen Butcher. Betty Prunish
played quite ingratiatingly by Jim Boggess is quite an awful sight to behold
even for the legally blind. Phyllis and Paul are well played by Rhona Brody
and Matthew Speak. There is an odd concoction of self-pity, psychotic
grandeur, and romantic tension happening here. Hey Paul, could you stop
being such an enabler? Phyllis doesn’t need pizza or Twinkies, she needs
love!
The rest of the cast is game for this strange flick. One of the things that
adds to the running time are all the evil high school girls who stand in
Phyllis’s way. We get to watch as she eliminates them all, one by one. All
of these folks are funny but man, we need to get moving here. Actually, the
only character I could have totally done without is the milk-guzzling
private eye, Dick Richards.
Beauty Queen Butcher
is a tongue-in-cheek and politically incorrect horror comedy if there ever
was one. It is some sweet early 90s goodness that will most likely develop a
bigger fan base now that it has made it to DVD. The film delivers that
sickening sheen that only a shot-on-video flick can with a low budget charm
that never backs down. While I’ll never be able to let the 2 hour running
time bit go, I have to admit that I’ve been won over by the sad tale of
Phyliss Loden. Now pass the Twinkies.
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DVD Stuff:
Like all of the Camp Motion Pictures releases, this
DVD looks fantastic. The audio isn’t great with some of the dialogue
sounding a bit muffled but nothing too distracting. Extras are a tad slim
with only a short Behind-The-Scenes featurette and some Camp Motion
Pictures trailers that are always worth a look.
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Links:
Camp Motion Pictures.
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Quotes:
Elizabeth: “Smooth movie, fatty!”
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