17/06/2012: Picasso Trigger [1988]

It is time for round 3 with Andy Sidaris, as I set out onto unviewed ground with Picasso Trigger. Or at least I thought I hadn’t seen it before. According to my IMDb ratings, and some fuzzy memories I have in fact seen it before. Unfortunately it clearly wasn’t as memorable as the first two, but Picasso Trigger still has its moments, be they humorously bad or terribly good.

 I think that me and my friends did manage to squeeze in Piccaso Trigger when we originally watched our first Andy Sidaris movies together. However, at that point it was probably some 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning and I might have dozed off. I really don’t remember, but perhaps it is that unmemorable a movie. That is not to say that it was bad, I honestly couldn’t remember the three movies I watched yesterday when trying to figure out what review to write. Then again this is a B-movie, and I didn’t expect it to be good by normal standards.

I read an interesting review a while back, where the writer started to ponder why they rated horror movies differently than the average movie. I commented that, I think everyone does, because what we rate a movie on depends on why we watch it. Sure, I could argue that I watch every movie on a different scale depending on my mood, and I undoubtedly do. However, when it comes to in general, I would say there is maybe 2 or 3 scales I use. There is the obvious first one, which I use to rate everything in general. Then there is the scale I use specifically for horror movies, or cult movies. The third possible scale is the one on which I rate B-movies. Let’s face it, If you grade B-movies on the same scale as you do mega-budget Hollywood productions by world famous directors, well my friend, you are always going to be disappointed. 

Okay, isn't this guy in Savage Beach as well. Just as a different character?

However, when it comes to rating B-movies I take into account a number of different parameters. Budget goes out the window, along with special effects and the like. However, points for any B-movie that impresses me in this department. The standard Hollywood panel of amazing actors also goes out the window and in comes my favourite cult actors à la Bruce Campbell. Out as well goes mind-bending heart-wrenching scripts in place of outrageously so bad it’s good and filled with one liners scripts. Most of all however, I tend to judge B-movies on how much heart goes into making them. When you have a group of unpaid friends, with a couple of video-cameras putting everything they have into making a movie, you score massive points with me and usually I can feel it. 

I think I would say that in the first films I could see Andy Sidaris’ heart in his B-movies. The man didn’t try and pass his work off as something other than what he knew it was. Kodus to him. While Picasso Trigger doesn’t reveal it as much as the earlier movies, I think it is still there, and maybe it will be more visible later on. In the meantime, Andy Saris knew exactly what he needed to make a decent B-movie. The three B’s that title his series speak to that. Bullets, Bombs, and Babes. That is really what The Andy Sidaris collection is full of, and the collection itself is titled Girls, Guns and G-Strings.

Oh look, he now has a job at Marineland. Because you know.. everyone loves Marineland.

So what do you get in Picasso Trigger? A heaping helping of them all. What surprised me the most when I watched Picasso Trigger is that there was most of the cast from Hard Ticket To Hawaii still going strong. That is really the way B-movie series should be. Keeping the same cast and characters is always the best move in B-movies I would think, they just get relatively better  every time. Our pair of sexy female agents, Donna and Taryn, working for The Agency, are still based out of Hawaii, however, we do get to see some scenes, in Dallas, Las Vegas and even Paris.  Jade also returns, along with Edy, while I think we get another couple members of the Abilene family. I must say, it really becomes quite a big party and their individual assignments are entertaining as they take out some big players in the crime world, in some kind of attempt at a Rubert Ludlum web of espionage and intrigue. 

Overall, Picasso Trigger isn’t on par with the first two of Andy Sidaris’ movies, but it is still an enjoyable time. I’m looking forward to Savage Beach because I’m pretty certain that it maintains the same two female leads, before the cast is overhauled again. 

Link:

Picasso Trigger IMDb