Hot Tamale (2006)

Just recently I was browsing through a couple of titles of crime and noir thrillers and I stumbled upon 'Hot Tamale'. With a witty title I decided to give it a watch. I also happened to discover that Diora Baird was credited in the movie. When when watches on one can't avoid noticing the Tarantino elements that are present at every stage of the movie. 'Hot Tamale' is one of those movies that still attempted to carry on the Tarantino craze of the 90s and was suffering from heavy hangover too. Independent cinema continues to survive with the constant influx of new directors and writers who have innovative scripts and different visions of movie making. The director Michael Damien who was well known for the daytime television series 'The young and the restless' makes a movie directorial debut. He also happens to be the co writer for the movie too. His television style directing is very evident in the feature. His effort in movie directing is impressive however I wish I could say the same for the script. Firstly this is a movie which is to be appreciated more for it's art form as opposed to the story. And the reason as why it received funding was purely due to the comedy and humour elements. I wished there was more to offer in terms of narrating a story, but I guess a larger budget would have been required. It did not receive a theatrical release however won best picture at the Boston film festival. It succeeds as a independent movie. Much portion of the movie is shot indoors which actually corresponds with the budget.'Hot Tamale' is a updating of the wrong guy in the wrong situation theme. This was very popular in the 40s and 50s era. Many may remember Alfred Hitchcocks' 'North by northwest and even the recent 'Luck number sleven'. Even Quentin Tarantino's 'True Romance' will appear vaguely similar. The noir elements are very limited but the presence of hit men and devious women character would make this appealing to anyone who searches for those aspects. The entire movie focuses on the the retrieval of some priceless diamonds. Not exciting initially. But the Diora Baird and Randy Spelling's screen time together makes it pleasurable to watch. This is the part where 'Snatch' immediately came to mind. But the main similarities end there. In terms of content, the movie falls by a few points. But the style factor is balanced throughout at all times. SPOILERS Randy Spelling is an unlucky living in the peaceful town of Wyoming. Bored with his boring existence he decides to move to LA to become a salsa band drummer. Along the way he stops by a roadside diner. A anonymous guy played by Jason Priestly speaks to him for a while before disappearing to the restroom in a hurry. A couple of minutes later two men enter and ask Randy about the other guy. Meanwhile Jason hides a batch of diamonds in Randy's vehicle. Randy drives away. As Jason attempts to leave he is wounded and placed in the trunk of the men's car. Randy arrives at LA and a Puerto Rican friend gives him a apartment to stay while he is out of the city for a while. Waking up the next morning he discovers a women in the apartment (Tuesday) played by Diora Baird. She looks after the place and Randy and her become close friends. Meanwhile the two hit men are curious to where their possession is by torturing the diner guy. The two men head for LA after knowing his license plates number. Randy and Diora become emotionally comfortable with each other as time progresses. As Randy is away practising is drummer skills the hit men arrive at the apartment and kidnap Diora. They make a call to Randy to turn up with the diamonds or her life will be at risk. END OF SPOILERSThe Tarantino style is clearly a influence in the movie right from the two hit men which resembled Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta to the drug attack Randy Spelling has. But the entire premise is more on the comedy crime drama side. Many segments have a Indy atmosphere and a made for TV feel. 'Hot Tamale' is a movie that one wishes had more to offer in terms of content. During the middle portion one can't help getting a feeling that the writer may have edited out parts of the script to achieve the minimum funding for the movie. This is pretty much acceptable, however the comic interactions between characters is the plus point. A movie which can be more desired more for it's style rather than it's substance, can sometimes backfire. However the comedy is the saving grace and the director has integrated some funny moments and dialogues in certain scenes. On the scale of a re watch the movie becomes more appealing the high expectations become less meaningful. Randy Spelling is a competent actor. I'm surprised why his film career did not take off. But his performances appeared a little too reserved. Diora Baird was a revelation In fact she became popular after this movie and went on to doing more feature films. Her presence in the movie is a high point. Her expressions and performance makes the movie worth watching. But her portions were a speed breaker in the middle. The two hit men played by Mike Star and Steven Blackmore give a humorous tone to somewhat serious characters. However as hit men they were not convincing. For instance why did it take so long for them to reach LA and what was the purpose of kidnapping Tuesday when all they had to do was wait for Randy at the apartment.

There are so many elements to this movie that add a delightful sense of the absurdly normal. The corn relish (what?). The hot tamales. The white dude wowing the salsa band. The hot chick. The killer weed (and that reaction was so over the top believable). Really everything that happened in this movie belonged.It's so corny and uplifting with its quirks and turns that it keeps you glued to your seat waiting for the next surprise. Excellent script, totally incredible acting, I am not sure why I didn't rate it a 10 except that it's not family fare (but is certainly good for a sit-down evening with the girlfriend!).

First off let me say that Diora Baird made this movie!Beginning Spoilers.The movie does have its flaws with the writing. Things seemed a little contrived for the sake of expediting the story line and developing the plot. For instance, how did the protagonists (Spelling and Baird) escape any police investigation for killing the bad guys at the end? Did the authorities automatically deem it was self defense (which it was) and just let them go? Or did they escape the scene undetected in spite of their injuries and no car to make a get away? We just have to accept that because they are the good guys and that this is a comedy that all is well and there are no loose ends.But again, I really loved this movie. The scenes with Baird and Spelling are so natural,(especially from the extremely sexy Diora Baird. Her brief topless scene is also enough to make one want to use the rewind button over and over again. LOL

Got a chance to buy this DVD after hearing about it from a friend, and I would highly recommend it.This is not your typical, big budget Hollywood movie, and in this case that's a good thing.I'm a big fan of movies like Pulp Fiction, Sin City, Snatch, and Reservoir Dogs, and while this movie leans a bit more to the comedy side than the movies above, I would put it in a similar category.Mike Starr and the extremely hot Diora Baird deliver great performances and really made this movie worth picking up for me. While the star is Randy Spelling, these two actors shine and are a joy to watch in every scene and really made the movie worthwhile.If you are looking for a crime movie a bit on the indie side to pick up, or are just tired of the same old movies, this is worth your time.