Mad Cowgirl (2006) from Tuna

Sarah Lassez is a single meat inspector who is addicted to beef and is fixated on the Catholic church. She's sleeping with a televangelist (Walter Koenig, aka Chekov from Star Trek), her boyfriend and her butcher brother.  As the film opens, we are treated to a Japanese newsreel about mad cow disease, then find that our heroin has some sort of brain problem, possibly from eating beef that her butcher brother illegally obtained from Canada. I say possibly, because we are never sure what is real and what is hallucination in this film.

She watches a particular Kung Fu show on late night TV, fancying herself the female heroin. After confessing her sins one day, as she is descending into madness, she believes he has given her a penance to kill all of the Kung Fu enemies, i.e. everyone she knows.

Mad Cowgirl is listed at IMDb as a Drama/Horror/Romance/Thriller. I could make a case for three of those, but I didn't detect any real romance. This film wins the offbeat energy award for 2006 effortlessly, and I say that with the full knowledge that the year is not quite over and that I have not seen every single release thus far. The film switches languages without rhyme or reason. Her mother looks Asian but speaks French. The brother also looks Asian. Her doctor speaks with her in Japanese. Many scenes are too dark to follow, but I might accept that the darkness provided suspense and atmosphere in this film. Finally, the ending leaves more questions than answers.

Critical response was mixed. I kind of come down on the pro side here, but admit that this film is not for everyone. In fact, I am seriously questioning my own taste and sanity for enjoying it.

 

DVD INFO

  • 16x9 anamorphic presentation
  • Over 30 minutes of Deleted Scenes & Outtakes
  • Still Gallery
  • Grindhouse Kung Fu Movie Trailers

 

NUDITY REPORT

Breasts from Sarah Lassez

The Critics Vote ...

The People Vote ...

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

  • A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
  • B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
  • C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
  • C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
  • C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
  • D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
  • E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
  • F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

 

Based on this description, this is a C-, with the genre being "David Lynch Light," that may appeal to some of you with a taste for the offbeat.

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