The Deviants (2014) Poster

(2014)

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10/10
A masterpiece of bad taste...
nedrifle-62-95107924 July 2014
If there is a masterpiece of bad taste out there, this is it. Not surprising to have this entry from director John Mikulak whose hilarious documentary "The Man Who Would Be Polka King" shows he loves bizarre and excessive human behavior of all kinds. This, apparently, is his "Big Chill Goes to Hell" movie. I can't think of a better studio than Troma to release such an insane, drug-fueled posse of suburban psychos on the unsuspecting public. But then again, I'm sure Troma's fan-boys will line up for a heaping helping of this 1990's period piece of trashy excess. It's an instant cult classic. The fact that the technical achievements are first class--superbly shot on 35mm film, a smooth sound mix with great music--probably helps explain its endurance and belies its shamelessness. The performances are so over-the-top it's impossible they could have been intended otherwise. If John Waters were straight, this is the movie he would have made instead of "Pink Flamingos".
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7/10
Mondo Brasho
jeffboam-65-58886528 July 2014
Originally shot in 1994 by a group of NYU Film School alum, The Deviants marked the feature debut of John Mikulak (the director who would go to make the outstanding funny-but-true documentary The Man Who Would be Polka King), only its release got mired in red tape…until now, thankfully. True, the plot invites cries of "Been there, seen that." In this unrated comedy, six blissfully reckless friends come together for a lost weekend wedding reunion of drinking, bowling, and fighting, but end up getting a cold dose of reality as well. Rather than The Big Chill Pill, however, think: Mondo Brasho. The Deviants comes as a welcome surprise because of its unique blending of shopworn genre with love of cult comedy. Unapologetically sophomoric and campy, albeit with tongue firmly in cheek and black humor in full effect, The Deviants excellently presents characters having Quarter-Life crises as if they had been documented by John Waters (the film even features a performance by '70s era Waters veteran Jessica Dublin). Also, some weapons-grade artistry shines through. Made amid the '90s independent film wave, the film (and yes, that's legitimate 35mm--not digital, thank you) nearly got released by Sony Pictures Classics before cold feet came into play. Their loss. The Deviants is a free-wheeling and madcap time capsule that's just now being opened, playing out with more edge, coolness, and skill than most of the fluff Kevin Smith tried to pawn off as juvenile comedy (Ah, Mallrats! Ah, humanity!). Always fun, rarely serious, and oftentimes reverential and parodic of homecoming/reunion flicks in one fell swoop, The Deviants more than holds its own among the Sundance Generation.
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