Freaky Tales review by Bobby Blakey
I have been a hardcore Too $hort fan since getting his Life is…Too $hort album in 1988 and have gotten every album since. When I heard there was a movie coming out called Freaky Tales that $hort was producing I wasn’t sure what kind of film it was going to be, but knew I needed to see it. Now it’s finally here and features a great cast including Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Normani, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, and Angus Cloud as well as a cameo I don’t want to spoil from Captain Marvel directors Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden. Could this film bring do Oakland proud, or will it not be worth fighting the feeling?
Freaky Tales follows Set in 1987 Oakland, Freaky Tales is a multi-track mixtape of colorful characters — an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, teen punks, neo-Nazis, and a debt collector — on a collision course in a fever dream of showdowns and battles.
I’m not sure what kind of film I was expecting with this, but I can say this is nothing like I assumed it was going to be in the best and most chaotic way possible. The film is a series of chapter stories fused together like a mix tape with Too $hort narrating. There are multiple connections to the music of the hip hop icon without being just about him. Interesting enough, he has a small cameo in the film, but there is also an actor portraying him in one of the stories and it just all works.
Every story here delivers a variety of comedy, violence and chaos to perfection. They are all so different from each other in tone and even the visual style but still connect in simplistic and clever ways. It is one cohesive story despite being broken into these individual stories and I could not have loved it more. There is an overall grindhouse vibe to the whole thing as it embraces the 80s aesthetic and pulls no punches in anyway.
The strange supernatural element that exists throughout each story is never really explained but is not needed. It just is and alludes to some reasons without trying to fully explain it. It’s really a side aspect of the film and just gives it that strangeness to keep it moving into over-the-top violent ways. The first story felt more like a coming-of-age tale of acceptance and love before descending into chaos and plenty of blood with a well-executed and fun to watch melee.
As it moves forward it tones down a bit with a look into the world of underground hip hop complete with a full-on performance of the Too $Short hit ‘Don’t Fight the Feelin’ that features Danger Zone who is the focus of that tale. The music and this performance took me back and had me rapping along with every adult theme lyric just like I was a teenager again being inappropriate. It kind of brings it into focus of $hort’s narration before heading back into the violent finale we are going towards.
Pedro Pascal’s story is probably the most grounded and reminds the viewer of the realism of life in this violent world he inhabits. It also sets the tone to connect everything together in the final act. The great cameo that I won’t divulge is one of my favorite scenes as it was highly unexpected and simple yet fun dialogue that reminded me of something out of a Tarantino script.
The final act is probably the most unreal and turns the film into a full-on revenge martial arts flick and had me smiling ear to ear through all the bloody ridiculous carnage. I loved this movie on so many levels. It is just a great time and offers up everything you want in a film all brought together with he music, narration and history of Too $hort himself.
IF you are looking for an old school, strange, violent fun flick with a taste of hip hop history then check out Freaky Tales in theaters now from Lionsgate.