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 BITCH SLAP, brought to you by Herucles and Xena vets Eric Gruendemann and Rick Jacobson, is a helluva low-budget ride. This boobs a-blazing nihilistic action-comedy embraces the genius of Russ Meyer then takes it into the 21st century with hysterically cheap green screen effects and razor tongued dialogue that would make Quentin Tarrantino blush. It also boasts costumes a certain editor-in-chief would covet. It's in theaters and on VOD.
Folks, the movie is called BITCH SLAP, so you are either gonna get it or your wont. It centers around three vixens, Hell (Erin Cummings), Trixie (Julia Voth) and Camero (America Olivo) on a quest for dirty desert treasure. Gruendemann and Jacobson have tried to cram just about every male fantasy into the 90 minute mini epic. Women’s Prison, Strippers dressed as Angels, Snow Bunny Spies, Catholic Schoolgirls and Naughty Nuns (a cameo by Lucy Lawless) all manage to work their way into the flick.
This hit on the festival circuit stilletos the somber indie scene that has been weighed down by eight years of war, countless op-ed documentaries and endless tearjerkers. I can read blogs or watch the news or talk to my friends for a downer story. In these times of economic destruction, the filmmakers went with a smart choice. They cast some some hot chicks to beat and blow some shit up! It’s something we can all use right now. When you talk to the cast and crew you can’t help but get caught up in the infectious passion. Rumors abound about their epic floorboard rocker in Cannes where they tore up the American Pavilion til dawn.
“ “We call this The movie of 10,000 laughs.” says Gruendemann “We would sit there at Jerry’s Deli on Topanga for hours and hours trying to one up each other. We would try and one-up each other. ‘What if she said this?’
’That’s replusive!’
‘Good! I like it!’”
The film’s stunts were choreographed by legendary stuntwoman Zoe Bell (who did an acting turn in QT’s “Death Proof”). The film crescendos with one of the bloddiest knock down drag out nail scratching hair pullers of all time.“It was clear to me that we wanted longest, baddest bitch fight in cinema history. It was daunting working with three women. I would wake up first thing in the morning and go ‘Oh Shit, that’s not going to work.’ I would go to my boyfriend and tell him to punch me. No, wait, grab my tit for a minute. Then my ass. Then I would be fighting myself. And that would go for weeks and weeks.”
Rick and Eric were initially concerned about how they would find the actresses for their script. By bringing in Lisa Fields in they were able to get a top casting director albeit with one minor drawback. She was also casting “Friday the 13” for Michael Bey, so there were often last minute changes in the casting location. “So we’d move it to Brian’s house in the valley. It was like a scene from BOOGIE NIGHTS. Can you audition at the producer’s house….this evening… in the valley?”
What the movie boasts is rousing amount of commitment by the three actresses. This is why this joyride works. Rather than going with hotties that could stumble through dialogue, the duo went with actors who are also hotties and willing to flaunt. Of the three, two are classically trained. America ‘Camero” Oliva (who has a degree in Opera Theater) suggests “There was not a class in ‘Bitch Slap’ at Juliard, but there really should be.” London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts Alum, Erin “Hell” Cummings adds “Find the reality is whatever role you are playing. If you play the truth of it, that’s where the humor is going to come from.” Newcomer and Maxim Model, Julia Voth is also dedicated to her craft and says she learned a lot on the set. For example, when it came to the steamy lesbian sex scenes she wanted them to look hot. “Yes, it was my first on-screen kiss, my first “a lot more than a kiss.” We’re all friends. We are all very comfortable. I trust them. Erin and I basically said “Nothing is off limits.” Can I grab your hair? Yeah! Can I stick my tongue in your mouth? Yeah! Can I grab your boobs? Yeah! Can you make it real? That’s why the movie works. “
Yes, that is why the movie works. The most important part of acting is commitment. Is “Bitch Slap” perfect? No. But for 90 minutes of escapism, it’s a great time. I would wait for the DVD to come out as it is going to be packed with extras. In fact, when quizzed about their favorite moments, all kept referring to scenes that are DVD only. So check it out in theaters and on VOD but we will all be waiting the extended women’s prison scene and the soon-to-be oft quoted “I stabbed that fucker with a cocktail fork and headed west.”
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