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Wednesday, September 5, 2012

PIRANHA DD



Ok let me start this one off by saying that David Hasselhoff is completely awesome. He won me over years ago when it became apparent to me that no one was laughing harder at David Hasselhoff than, well, David Hasselhoff. My hat’s off to him for that very reason.

Mr. Hasselhoff carries over that self-deprecating humor to PIRANHA DD (originally titled PIRANHA 3DD for theatrical release), playing himself, as a “guest lifeguard” at The Big Wet Water Park which, as you can surmise, becomes rife with mutant piranhas. Just before the action starts, you hear the Hoff mutter to himself, “Welcome to Rock Bottom”. Gotta love this guy!

Kudos also to Gary Busey, Clu Gulager and a dead, farting cow for their all-too-brief appearances at the beginning of the movie.

Then we have the magnificent Ving Rhames, reprising his role as the now-disabled deputy sheriff first seen in PIRANHA 3D. He lost his legs to the piranhas in that film, so now he’s here, in a wheelchair, receiving therapy to conquer his fear of the water. He conquers it, alright, and becomes the badass Mofo that we are used to seeing him as on screen. Oh, and he puts on the baddest prosthetic leg devices EVER! A big salute to Mr. Rhames for maintaining his movie tough guy image here but still letting that teddy bear quality he has shine through, much like the late Michael Clarke Duncan had.

David Koechner (pronounced “Keckner” as he points out during one of the disc’s extra features) plays Chet, the sleazy “51%” owner (to his stepdaughter’s “49%” ownership) of “The Big Wet Waterpark”. This makes Chet the controlling interest in the business and as such it allows him to veto any concern his stepdaughter has about piranhas being able to access drains in the swimming pool.

And so, the little (and not-so-little) buggers DO manage to bust through the drains and begin eating some of the naked – but “water certified” – strippers who are floating in the pool. When you get a look at some of these gals, you will certainly understand the “double D” in the title PIRANHA DD.

As with most cinematic sleaze-meister entrepreneurs, Chet does get his just desserts, but not in the direct way you would think. His end is another of the funny visuals in the movie. Another is a reamjob, of sorts, that one of the park employees gets from a lone piranha. Guess that takes care of the poor guy’s hemorrhoid problem(s), huh?

John Gulager (son of Clu?) directs here with humor and style. There are the requisite flashes of bimbo breasts and all that so you’ve got somethin’ for everyone here.

What I love about this movie is that it never takes itself too seriously. A bloody comedy? Yes, it’s definitely that and in a nod to the first film there’s even a disattached penis sight gag.

One of the extra features is called “The Hofftastic World of David Hasselhoff”. It’s endearing when Mr. Hasselhoff refers to himself in the third person here. When Bob Dole referred to himself as “Bob Dole” all the time, it was just annoying. The Hoff can get away with anything because, well, he’s the Hoff.

PIRANHA DD is well done, fun and humorous. What more can one ask for?

On Blu-Ray and DVD from Dimension Films.

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