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After a string of fairly lame comedies (Corky Romano
being the highest low point - and what seemed to be the final nail in
the coffin in terms of a continuing A-List career) which include such
"I've Never Heard of Them" titles as Totally Awesome, Adam & Steve and Christmas In Wonderland (in fact, he has quite a few cheap and nasty Christmas titles attached to his CV) it's little wonder that Undead or Alive came across his desk.
Thankfully,
the low budget and rather cheesy premise (a Zombie Western) delivers
far more than one might expect proving Kattan still has something left
to offer Hollywood.
The flick follows army deserter Elmer Winslow (Desperate Housewives' James
Denton) and local cowboy Luke Budd (Kattan) who are on the run after
robbing the evil Sheriff Claypool. Things soon get a tad more dangerous
when the angry posse chasing them turn into Zombie's (thanks to the
"Curse of the White Man" created by the great Apache Geronimo).
Thankfully, a sexy Apache warrior (The O.C's
Navi Rawat) and ancestor of the great Chief bumps into the two misfit
cowboys along the way - and together the three battle the Undead the
only way they know how....with violence.
Straight up, one has to make some form of comparison to the far superior Shaun of the Dead - and my immediate thoughts while watching the flick was "Bugger me, this reminds me of Try Parker's Cannibal: The Musical".
Well, surprise surprise, writer/director Glasgow Phillips was a writer/director on South Park - and
he even mentions in the commentary at one point that Parker even gave
him a few tips along the way, so it's hardly surprising that there are
some similarities afoot.
The major problem here stems from the
overall look of the film. The flick looks way to clean (although, some
of the shots of the horizon & landscapes do look superb), the sets
look far to much like the Universal backlot, which ultimately results
in giving the film the feel of a higher budgeted themed porno (without
the naughty bits).
Visuals aside, there are quite a few laughs
to be had. Denton givess a superb performance, delivering his lines
with such seriousness and rooted realism - and with all the zombie
shenanigans going on around him, it really helps the comedy thrive.
Kattan takes a while to warm up, but once he gets into the rhythm of
things he delivers a good dose of chuckles (although, it's still his
overtly camp nature which receives the bulk of the laughs).
The real discovery of Undead or Alive
(besides the understated comic ability of Denton) is the utterly
gorgeous Navi Rawat. The girl is stunning to look at, with attitude to
boot. It's a shame she has been relegated to B-Movies (and the
appallingly titled upcoming monster sequel Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds) and minor TV roles, because she really shines on screen.
Ultimately, Undead or Alive
is uneven at the best of times with a concept that came about just a
few years to late - but it's redeemed by some fantastic performances
(Kattan's recurring inability to spit had me laughing for days
afterwards) and some gory zombie executions.
The zombies may be dead - but Kattan's career might still have some life in it yet! EXTRAS
There
is a commentary here with the cast, and for the first time in a long
time - it's a cast commentary where all involved seem like they are
actually happy to be there. You kind of get the sense that appearing in
the flick was "A favour for a friend" for most of the cast - so the
sense of well being is ever present and makes for an entertaining extra
feature.
There is a couple of "Behind The Scenes" featurettes
which are surprisingly entertaining (none of the fluff that normally
weighs down the promo features of big budget comedies) as well as the
trailer.
A surprise packet. Conclusion:
Movie 65% Extras: 65%
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