Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet
Undercover Vice: Strapped for Danger Part 2
Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Releasing / The Reasonable Moving Picture
Company
88 minutes, 2020
In the words of the
director, “Enjoy in good health and bad taste!”
Just judging by the
original Strapped for Danger, which came out in 2017, this may be “bad
taste,” but it is great fun. The humor flies fast and furious, and usually hits
below the belt.
In a switch in direction,
whereas the original focused on the exploits of some Ocean’s Eleven-type
twosome robbers/male strippers with the coppers on their trail, this one looks
from the other perspective, namely that of the men in blue (and pink without their
uniforms). With the same writer – er – in hand, Duncan Pflaster, Griffin
continues his stream-of-gayousness kooky cool comedies.
 |
| Chris Fisher, Sean Brown |
The focal characters
are two straight and bumbling police detectives: Republican Kevin (Chris
Fisher) and soon-to-be-engaged and very buff Andy (Sean Brown). After
screwing up a screwball screw toy caper, they are assigned to go “deep
undercover” as gay porn stars. Apparently, there is a threesome of these actors
who like to blackmail Republican politicians (ripped from the headlines!!) for
cash; our heroes are told to infiltrate the gay film scene, join the gang, and
get the goods on them.
The three not-so-bad
guys are Jazon (Alec Farquharson), Clem (Ricky Irizarry, who was so good in
Griffin’s earlier film this year, Before the Night is Over, reviewed
HERE), and
ringleader, Thoby (Anthony Rainville).
 |
| Ricky Irizarry, Anthony Rainville, Alec Farquharson |
It’s barely 8 minutes
in before we are introduced to nude male tushies, and another minute before other
naughty bits come into play, as it were. So, what are two straight cops
supposed to do in a situation where not only are they expected to go over
the bridge to Pimpleton, but to do it on camera? And for those to whom it
matters, yes, there is also some female nudity supplied by the lovely and
multiply pierced Zooey (Sarah Reed), Thoby’s girlfriend (it is explained in the
film).
Who are the good guys
and who are the bad is the central zeitgeist of the picture. Are the porn stars
wrong for their actions? Is the political force behind the police correct in
their methods (a valid question all things considered with what is going on beyond
my doors these days)? While the humor is foot loose but not dildo free, it also
makes a poignant point on the politics and hypocrisy behind the conservative wave
that is hopefully starting to ebb a bit.
The sets are simple
and look great thanks to Production Designer Margaret Wolf, from the police
station to the St. Agnes Home for the Nearly Deceased. In addition, John
Mosetich’s photography is also simple, and yet has quite a distinctive look to
it, e.g., he loves medium shots; rather than the usual primary color lighting scheme
(yellow filter! red filter! blue filter!), here it is more straightforward and
realistic, giving the film a stark, bare-bottom (see what I did there?) feel to
the action.
 |
| Ninny Nothin |
The acting is quite
decent, but the porno director, Piñata Debri (drag queen Ninny Nothin aka Johnny Sederquist) – named I'm sure as a tribute to The Producers (1968) – steals every scene she's in. She's also eminently quotable, with lines like "I promised myself I wouldn't fake cry, but it's happening." Everything she says feels like it should be followed by multiple exclamation points.
I realize this review is
a bit all over the place, but there is so much to digest (pun not intended),
and it just about never stops through the entire picture. I mean there’s even a
The Music Man (1962) reference, during a restaurant scene there is a Justin
Trudeau full size cutout that was also used in the coda of Code Name: Dynastud
(2018), a hysterically misleading false perspective scene in police station,
and a Bollywood nod that had me in stiches. Even the dialogue, if you pay
attention, will set your mind on fire, with lines like “Did you just call me a
pussy for not wanting to get fucked by two dudes?!” One of my faves is a
suggestion during a porn shoot to “…just think of Christine Baranski” (who I
once saw on Broadway, and was fabulous, by the way).
 |
| Sarah Reed |
It should come as no
surprise that along with the comedy and the political underlining, it is both a
story of sexual awakening (the real agenda for the film) and somewhat of a love
story, some of which you may not see coming (watch the credits at the end).
Back in the 1970s,
when films from Sweden flooded the market with sex romps, this would have been
known as softcore. Nothing is erect – though I’m glad this wasn’t in 3D –
but there is a lot of sex of various styles, be it gay, straight, and multiple partners
of both sexes.
There are several (yet
not preachy) less-than-subtle digs at the Republican anti-LGBTQ+(etc.) mindsets
(I use that term loosely), especially involving a Republican Senator Hanson
(Jay Walker), who hilariously breaks the fourth wall at one point to say what
we’re all thinking. One subtle (or possibly not so much) line is by the real villains
(yes, Republicans) who exclaim, “It’s our job, as police, to protect and
support the government,” not the people… sound familiar?
Story-wise, in some
ways its sensical to figure out where some of it is going, and there are plot
points that ain’t gonna happen in real life, but who cares? The narrative flows,
the comedy works, everyone’s (male and female) bodies are spectacular, and it’s
just a plain old good time to be had by the viewer, unless you’re the self-deluded
conservative macho type who needs three guns to go grocery shopping (yes, that’s
real).
Just sit back and
enjoy it.
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