Tromeo and Juliet 4K Review (Vinegar Syndrome)

Tromeo and Juliet is a 1996 dark comedy co-written, produced, and directed by Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger franchise, Terror Firmer, Return to Nuke ‘Em High franchise, Class of Nuke ‘Em High, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead franchise, Troma’s War, and Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm). It was co-written, production managed, and assistant directed by James Gunn (Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker, Super, and Slither). It produced by Michael Herz (Mother’s Day, Blood Hook, Screamplay, Zombie Island Massacre, Combat Shock, Def by Temptation, Father’s Day, Girl School Screamers, and The Toxic Avenger franchise). It’s inspired by Romeo and Juliet from William Shakespeare. It had an estimated budget of $350,000. The Ques and the Capulets which includes the demented Sammy (played by: Sean Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Superman, Gilmore Girls, Super, The Suicide Squad, and The Belko Experiment) have been engaged in a years-long rivalry, which has fostered such a vicious feud that they’ve each forbidden their children from having any contact with those of the other. When slacker Tromeo Que (played by: Will Keenan from Terror Firmer, Chop, Wicked Lake, Waiting, Love God, and Operation Midnight Climax) and his friends decide to sneak into a lavish party being hosted by the chaste and proper Juliet Capulet (played by: singer Jane Jensen from Diving In, Eyes of the Prey, Dream House, Fallacy, Dead Canaries, and Jane Street), the two fall madly in love at first sight. They both realize that they must keep their passion for each other a secret especially from Juliet’s obsessive father Cappy (played by: William Beckwith from Scent of a Woman, Escape from Safehaven, Prime Evil, and Posed for Murder). He already has pledged her as a bride to the meat-obsessed rich London Arbuckle (played by: Steve Gibbons from Heroes, Charmed, Crossing Jordan, and The Incorporated). Juliet confesses her unknown relationship to her cook and part time lover Ness (played by: Debbie Rochon from Terror Firmer, Shakespeare’s Sh*tstorm, Santa Claws, Killjoy 2, Slime City Massacre, Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV, and the Mulva franchise). The forbidden love between Tromeo and Juliet threatens to destroy everything when it comes to their families. Past secrets and situations are revealed because of this hidden affair. It creates all kinds brutal mayhem and bloodshed all around them!!!! William Shakespeare has been adapted countless times over the years but this might be the most unique take inspired by the legendary writer with a punk rock approach to it. Romeo and Juliet has been remade more than most material out there but Tromeo and Juliet is still my favorite version after all these years. Director Lloyd Kaufman is one of the kings of low budget filmmaking and he’s done some crazy projects during his career but this is probably his best overall feature when it comes to everything involved with it. The quality skills is all over the place and it’s one of the few Troma productions that would easily fit with other mainstream movies despite it’s insane moments that take place in this universe. It was co-written by the upcoming James Gunn at the time. Kaufman has always been great at finding talent early on from someone. Gunn has blown up since this independent film and he’s done some of the biggest stuff in Hollywood lately. This is a sharp glimpse of his style and personality before the whole world knew it. The script is balanced with dark comedy, romance, drama, revenge, horror, and straight up satire. Will Keenan as Tromeo Que in his debut gives a brave performance in this. He’s a slacker that wants more in life. He not just looking to get laid, he would rather have true love. Singer Jane Jensen as Juliet Capulet in one of her early and biggest roles of her career is fearless. She isn’t shy at all and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to drive the story and its over the top atmosphere. She’s hidden by her father who can’t keep his hands to himself and he’s trying to force her to marry someone that she doesn’t even like. She finally gets the courage to fight against her powerful family because she found something worth it. These two leads have really good chemistry together and it elevates everything. In his debut, a young Sean Gunn does his very first collaboration with his brother James here as the psychotic Sammy Capulet. He doesn’t know when to stop so he always takes everything too far. He’s an outcast because of his unpredictable behavior. Gunn still was in acting school during this and he’s hilarious with this unhinged cousin character. Scream Queen Debbie Rochon has a very important role as the family cook Ness. She’s also the secret lover of Juliet when no one is around. It’s just fun for Juliet but Ness is madly in love with her. William Beckwith is so underrated in this as the controlling Cappy Capulet. He’s the real villain for Tromeo and Juliet. He’s responsible for the long time family feud between both groups. He’s shady, greedy, and a sexual deviant. Beckwith does an amazing job at being beyond unlikable. The rest of the supporting cast includes Steve Gibbons, Valentine Miele (The Belko Experiment), Lemmy (Return to Nuke ‘Em High), Stephen Blackehart (Superman), Tiffany Shepis (Night of the Demons), Ron Jeremy (Orgazmo), Lloyd Kaufman (Slither), James Gunn (The Specials), Joe Fleishaker (Terror Firmer), Tamara Marie Watson (Odyssey 5), Wendy Adams (Backroad Diner), Flip Brown (Dog Run), Patrick Connor, Earl McKoy, Joseph Anthony (Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV), Caroline Smith (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century), Peter James Kelsch (OZ), and Gene Terinoni (The Wire). For having no budget usually, Troma usually still manages to pump out quality special fx, gore, and gross out moments. I’ve always been impressed with the work of fx artist Louie Zakarian (Saturday Night Live, Dogma, Man on the Moon, Funny Games, Hubie Halloween, The Home, and Werewolves Within) for Tromeo and Juliet. There’s a little bit of everything here for everyone. I feel like this is one of Troma’s most relatable features to the general public. It does have sleaze and grotesque scenarios which add to all the the chaos. This family rivalry doesn’t know when to end so it’s a total nightmare for most of them. Tromeo and Juliet is still underrated to this day. Yeah, it’s a cult classic but it should be bigger than that. It’s beyond entertaining and so much fun in a variety of ways. I’m glad it got this royal home video treatment because it deserves it, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Vinegar Syndrome! This 2160p (1.85:1) unrated director’s cut with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is from a brand new 4K restoration from its 35mm original camera negative. I’ve only owned this on both VHS and DVD in the past so this new 4K home video release blows them away. It’s one of the best low budget upgrades that I’ve ever seen since I’ve been doing this. Vinegar Syndrome and OCN Distribution keeps proving that they are the greatest when it comes to restorations. They have done some seriously magical work for transferring smaller and older material that was never expected to look like this. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track on the UHD. It’s the highest quality that Tromeo and Juliet is ever going to get when it comes to audio. It delivers on violence, action, and just some insane situations. It has a cool soundtrack that features music from Motorhead, Sublime, Jane Jensen, Superchunk, Supernova, Thorn, and Brujeria. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the tension is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Lloyd Kaufman. It has an “Audio Commentary” with James Gunn and Sean Gunn. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. It has an “Audio Commentary” with Frank Reynolds and Gabriel Friedman. That’s right, there’s 4 different commentaries here. They are all nice companion pieces to each other and they are very different so there’s a great variety. They all chat about the cast, characters, concept, story, influences, favorite scenes, and so much more. They give plenty of detailed information and additional inside stories from this Tromeo and Juliet production. If you ever wanted to learn new or unknown stuff about this one, you will love all of these. These will keep you entertained for hours and they have replay value to them. It has the brand new exclusive little over 15 minute “The Bard of Barf”. It’s an interview with the legendary Lloyd Kaufman conducted by film historian Jesse Berberich. They go over the origins of this ambitious project before James Gunn stepped in. It was originally developed in late 1989 and early 1990. He shows his appreciation for other Romeo and Juliet adaptations in this. He talks about what he added to this classic story. He wanted to aim it more at a younger crowd. He mentions how James Gunn got involved. He jokes about stealing from others that he’s influenced by. He explains the addition of sex to his film and what made his vision stand out from the others. He goes over the casting for it and he even discusses firing the original actor playing Cappy after the first day of filming. He brings up New York City, the ending, the music, the fx, production design, and it’s actual original release. It has the brand new exclusive little over 17 minute “The Lasting Love of Tromeo and Juliet”. It’s an interview with lead actors Will Keenan and Jane Jensen. They chat about their original audition experiences for Troma. They talk about the project doing something completely different and it being unique with Shakespeare’s iconic material. They both share that they took a shot with this over the top version after reading the script but it took some work to get the roles. They were both excited to work with Troma. Keenan said he only made around $300 for this shoot. They tell some personal interactions plus their views about working with Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. They bring up some of the issues they went through with Tromeo and Juliet. They discuss the special fx and life after this which includes a music career from Jensen. Keenan still works in the business. It has the brand new exclusive almost 20 minute “A Punk Rock Chorus”. It’s an interview with cast members Debbie Rochon, Tiffany Shepis, and Valentine Miele. They all chat about how they got involved with Troma and casted in this crazy movie. Valentine Miele was friends with Sean Gunn and that helped him get the gig. Tiffany Shepis actually lied about her age and her skills to get this role. Believe it or not, Debbie Rochon originally hesitated about doing nudity for this. She got pierced to prepare for her character. They show their respect for Troma for this conversation. They talk about their own experiences on the overall shoot. They bring up how it was like working on a film from the legendary Lloyd Kaufman. They go over some of the ambitious stunts and violence required here. It has the brand new exclusive little over 15 minute “The Tromatic Experience”. It’s an interview with producers Franny Baldwin and Andrew Weiner. They share their personal experiences from Tromeo and Juliet. They chat about what’s it’s like working for Troma and how they got involved with them. Weiner hired Baldwin because he had no previous experience in film but she did. They had really organize and put together some incredible stuff with their responsibilities despite barely having a budget. They discuss shooting in New York, stunt problems, Lloyd Kaufman, cast choices, and ridiculous pranks. The rest of the extras located on here are all upscaled standard definition. I could be wrong but I don’t remember these archive conversations available anywhere previously so it’s a nice unreleased addition to this. It has little over 90 minutes of archive “Interviews” with Stephen Blackehart, Sean Gunn, Tiffany Shepis, Debbie Rochon, Wendy Adams, Lisbeth Kaufman, Lemmy, Joe Lynch, Willie Wisely, Andrew Weiner, Franny Baldwin, Sandee Brockwell, Dylan Forer, and Daniel Epstein. Lloyd Kaufman is involved in some of these conversations which makes them even more interesting. They chat about their time on the set and overall project. They talk about what they have done since then. They show their appreciation for it’s different approach. They bring up accidents and scenarios that took place during it. This includes permanent scars and broken noses. They reflect on the look and style of their characters. They all joke about Troma’s very low budget. They all share some hilarious and personal stories from this production. The Tiffany Shepis part was created just for her because the movie was already cast when she originally auditioned. They bring up some other Troma stuff while discussing this. They mention lots of dialogue got removed for the final cut. It has a little over 7 minutes of hilarious archival “Intros” from both the DVD and Laserdisc home video releases. It has a little over 14 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” with Lloyd Kaufman explaining why they were cut. It has almost 5 minutes of “Deleted Scenes” with commentary from Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. It has the little over 4 minute “Lloyd Interviews the Penis Monster”. This is very silly but entertaining and random as hell. It has almost 3 minutes of “Rehearsal Footage” with Debbie Rochon and Jane Jensen. It has a little over 7 minute “Interview” with James Gunn and Stephen Blackehart. They keep saying it’s 1995 which is funny because it’s obviously done way later. They joke around about the difference between standard definition and high definition which apparently completely changes people. It has the almost 7 minute “Making-Of Commentary Recording”. It’s a behind the scenes look of them prepping and doing their commentary track. It has the little over 4 minute “Tales from the Crapper”. It’s an interview with Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. This is parody conversation between them two and it’s a blast. It has the little over 8 minute “Eli Roth’s Birthday Party”. Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn go to the director’s birthday bash and DVD release party. It has the almost 13 minute “Video Diary”. Troma’s own Lloyd Kaufman shares his documentation and experience with his cameo in Slither. It has the little over 9 minute “Fan Reenactments”. It has the “Original Video Trailer” for Tromeo and Juliet. The limited edition includes a slipcover. All versions come with reversible artwork and a blu ray copy. This is one of the most loaded special feature home video releases when it comes to Troma. This will keep you busy all day with all of it’s behind the scenes options. So it’s really worth upgrading besides It’s sharper picture quality because it has plenty of exclusives. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!