Here’s
an everyman protagonist that would give Chris Dodd and the rest of the MPAA indigestion. His name is Kainen and he sells bootleg DVD
outside a rough and tumble Queensland pub. If he is going to woo the barkeep’s daughter,
he will have to draw on both his kung fu stock as well as the old fashioned
Hollywood musicals he pretends he doesn’t have in S.F. Tusa’s short film, Blackbuster, which screens today as part
of the 2012 Hawaii International Film Festival’s Pacific
Showcase program.
In
this day and age, anybody who makes a movie musical, even a ten minute one,
deserves credit for their ambition. Tusa
also pays loving tribute to such classic but seemingly dissimilar films as
Bruce Lee’s ill-fated Game of Death and
West Side Story. However, they both required some fancy
footwork. Kainen pines for Tanika, but
is too shy to approach her. Yet, the
boorish behavior of two customers, tolerated by her mercenary father, might present
him an opportunity to impress her.
If
so, there could be a big dance number at the end. Indeed, the music is rather brassy and quite
catchy. Considering what a big hit Bran Nue Dae was in Australia (but not
exactly here in America), Blackbuster seems
like a sure fire crowd pleaser for its domestic audience. It is pleasant enough for international viewers
as well, offering a few chuckles for martial arts fans. Indeed, how can you not like a film that
brings in Elvis impersonators and guys in bunny suits for the closing number?
