Tom Greens absurdist masterpiece, ‘Freddy Got Fingered’ is everything as it is nothing, an hour and 27 minutes of everything that made Tom Greens ‘movement’ in the 90s as popular as it was, crystalized into an over the top, extreme screeching belch of a movie, that delivers intensity and rawness in what can only be described as a ‘freewheeling’ manner.

The plot, follows Gordy (played by Green) an aspiring animator who wants to sell his cartoons to Hollywood. After getting turned down by an exec. Gordy returns home to unhappy parents who want him to stop the nonsense and just get a job and get on like the rest of the family. Gordy however is completely unable AND unwilling to fit into society’s mold, and this sets off a series of events that will see Gordy swing a baby over his head by its umbillical chord, wear a ‘cheese helmet’, break his best firends leg on a skate ramp, and accuse his own father of molesting his 20-something younger brother ‘Freddy’.

To me? this is a film you have to be in a VERY specific mindset to enjoy. If your not in that headspace, this is a screeching fever dream of a movie that will probably make you loath the 90s and early 2000s as a cultural movement with every fiber of your being. If you ARE in the headspace for something completely incoherent and rambly however, there is quite litereally NO other kind of movie out there that will scratch that itch quite like ‘Freddy Got Fingered’.

The scripts plot is ultra basic, it goes exactly the way you’d expect it to go, and you can tell that from around 10 minutes in based on the tone of the film alone. With this film however, the main plot isnt the reason to tune in, its the journey Gordy goes on to get from point A to point B thats the real meal ticket here.

Greens manic energy is pulsing through this script and its totally breakneck pace and tone means you will NOT get even a second to catch you breath before we’re onto another totally rediculous and over the top sequence that’ll likely have your jaw somewhere between your collar bone and the floor.

The direction and cine are fine, this is a studio picture. I got no complaints on my end.

This is a fantastic turn for Rip Torn, who seems to be having the time of his life here, and Green seems to be almost fully enjoying creating film that seemingly exists purely to screw with hollywood executives and the film critic community at large. I almost admire the sheer gaul of Green to take 14 million dollars and produce such a bizarre piece of ‘anti-cinema’

Oh, and the score for this thing? is easily one of the best scores of the 2000’s. full of rich punk deep cuts. I really had a soft spot for this one.

What IS shocking is the fact this film is currently trapped on VHS and a 2002/03 DVD release. This ACHES for a proper Bluray or 4k release. With its recent drop on the Criterion channel, I sincerely hope more people find this film and that it gets the HD remaster that it so desperately deserves.

Funny, quotable and, when viewed in the right conditions, PERFECT ‘watch with friends’ fodder. I have a soft spot for ‘Freddy Got Fingered’ its imperfectly perfect, and while I cant say this is a regular watch for me. it IS a film that does what it does like no other film can.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/freddy-got-fingered/