Alex Winter, the 'other guy' from the "Bill & Ted" movies, co-wrote, co-produced, co-directed and stars in this weird hybrid of satire, slapstick comedy, gross-out flick, would-be cult film, and misunderstood monster movie. He actually does a pretty good job working with each of the actors except himself and Brooke Shields (playing a talk-show hostess with no flair for the character). A former child star signs a five million dollar deal with a shady corporation to promote toxic waste overseas, but soon finds himself the hostage of a sideshow entrepreneur/mad scientist who uses the green goo to change the actor into a freak...and he's not the only one. As the cheerfully demented Elijah C. Skuggs, Randy Quaid's robust leering makes this villain a hoot, and several of the other freaks (Mr. T in a dress and pink lipstick included) are moderately funny. Derek McGrath's man-worm actually gets the best lines, and there are two roving eyeballs with machine guns which are amusing (especially when they're defeated). Certainly, a picture like this is foolproof with its target audience (teens, stoners, drunken frat members, and their ilk). What the rest of us can do is point up the picture's positive qualities: the opening credits sequence shows considerable skill and the production isn't as cheesy as one might expect. Unfortunately, the satirical bits come off strictly as mean-spirited, what with the skeleton of Paul Lynde on hand, many rotten jabs at celebrities, plus a screeching child who may be Winter's soul mate. These ingredients land with a resounding thud. *1/2 from ****
Review of Freaked
