How one independent film can mix together a dance culture satire lampooning everything from "Breakin'" to "Step Up" with the feel good attitude of "Rocky" and "The Karate Kid" while topping it off with a pinch of "The Road Warrior" and "Class of 1984" is beyond me. However, one movie successfully does just this. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "The FP."
In the not-so-distant future, Frazier Park, CA is overrun by alcoholics in a land where consumption of the drink is limited and they've turned to meth and other drugs for their fixes. Two gangs now run the streets of the apocalyptic city. They settle their disputes through a dangerous street-level version of the video game "Dance, Dance, Revolution." Only one will be left standing when the gangs clash against each other and decide their fates playing "Beat, Beat Revelation!"
Words can't possibly describe how literally ridiculous this movie is. They also can't describe how fun it is. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time. The urban street lingo flowing out of the white and Asian characters' mouths is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Everything in this movie feels like the result of a car wreck between the dance, new wave, redneck, and punk cultures of the 1980s and 1990s. How the actors played their roles straight-faced is beyond me.
"The FP" is something to behold. I guarantee you've never seen a movie like it. I've never witnessed a film that perfectly captures the decline of Western civilization while simultaneously being inspirational. Rob Zombie said it best when he described it as "'The Karate Kid' starring Snake Plissken versus white trash Clubber Lang against the backdrop of 'The Warriors' set to a bumping disco John Carpenter soundtrack in the world of 'Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.'" Enough said, yo!
Plot summary
In a dystopian future, two rival gangs fight for control of Frazier Park which for all intents purposes is the remaining inhabited world. Gangs settle disputes for leadership by playing "Beat Beat Revelation", a deadly version of a popular dance video game. The power of the land has shifted leaving the local alcoholics to become meth addicts and worse. Can JTRO overcome the obstacles necessary to redeem Frazier Park? Competitive dance-fight video game "Beat-Beat Revolution."
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Movie Reviews
"The FP" captures the decline of Western civilization while being inspirational
Best Movie of the Year -- Save the Ducks!
Haters are gonna hate, and based on the low rating this film has received, they wanna hate on this movie. They are misguided.
Reviewer Matt Hawkins calls this film "the first legit goofball comedy that speaks to gamers without flat-out insulting them." That is high praise, and only the tip of the iceberg. This film is a work of genius, plain and simple.
Every costume choice, every bad line of dialogue, everything... it was all chosen for a reason, and anyone who takes this film seriously just does not get that. Watching the "making of" opened my eyes, and although I already loved the film, it made me love it even more -- the Trost Family has a bright future ahead of them.
Yes, even the "Rocky" and "Karate Kid" knockoffs are intended...
So insane
In The FP, disputes between rival gangs are settled by playing Beat-Beat Revelation, a dancing video game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. The 248 and the 245 are battling to control the FP - Frazier Park - and lessons must be learned.
This all comes from the minds of Brandon and Jason Trost. Brandon has gone on to do cinematography for Crank: High Voltage, Rob Zombie's Halloween II, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, while Jason has created the film series All Superheroes Must Die and the film Wet and Reckless. He's really blind in his right eye - or is trying to be fashionable - which is why he's always wearing an eyepatch.
The film begins with L Dubba E, the leader of the 245 gang, murdering BTRO, the leader of the 248 gang. As a result, his brother JTRO (Jason Trost) leaves the FP behind to become a lumberjack.
A year later, L Dubba E has taken over the FP and is holding back all the booze, which is leading to an increase in meth usage and homelessness. KCDC (Art Hsu, who is also in Crank: HIgh Voltage),another 248 member, brings our hero back home, where he reunites with Stacy, an ex-girlfriend who is now sleeping with the enemy.
Can JTRO rise to the level of his brother? Will Stacy stop having sex with the main bad guy and realize she loves our hero? Will people bring guns to a dance off?
If you've ever played video games, you'll probably enjoy this more than most people. Jason Trost came up with the idea in his teens when he noticed people treating Dance Dance Revolution like an intense battle. The dialogue was inspired by Def Jam: Fight for NY, which makes absolute and total sense.
Best of all, James Remar is in the film as the narrorator. He met the brothers when their dad worked on Mortal Kombat Annihilation's effects team.
This is the kind of film that you're either going to fall in love with instantly - like I did - or think it's the dumbest thing you've ever seen. Imagine Mad Max with dance-offs and you'll get the idea.