Punk rock is a state of mind more than a style of music. Perhaps this reality is why punk is applied (a bit too liberally if you ask me) as an adjective. Joe Escalante of the Vandals, a twenty-plus year punk veteran, succeeds completely in applying the punk rock mindset to filmmaking with his third film, Cakeboy. Attempts in the past to wed punk to film have met with, to be as kind as possible, limited success. Most efforts at punk film have fallen on their sneering faces for being beyond amateurish, and others have toppled under the weight of their own Mohawks, having been loaded with hackneyed nostalgia and outsider views of the punk scenes at which they are aimed. Escalante triumphs ultimately by shifting the focus off of punk while still including it as an integral part of the film. In Cakeboy, punk becomes a culture and a setting in which the film can develop rather than jumping to the forefront as a whining, clownish character as it does in bombs like SLC Punk. It's campy, crude, and you can tell that Escalante had no money to make this movie and even less time, but something about the film is memorable and invites repeated viewings. This is the movie to break out when you have friends over, it's 3 AM, and the beer is running low. 

Cakeboy follows the life of Selwyn Hillis, an erotic cake baker in Los Angeles whose life has turned out very differently than he had hoped as an eager graduate of Cake Tech Culinary Academy. Assailed by perverts at his job, violent support groups, and a girlfriend played to the homicidal hilt by Pam Gidley, this woman is crazy, Selwyn struggles through daily life. The punk rock cake-topper and centerpiece of the film occurs when Selwyn seizes an opportunity to escape his psychotic paramour by becoming a roadie for punkers, No Use for a Name. After being hazed to his breaking point, Selwyn is left broke and shoeless on the side of the road in Arizona where he hikes to a road side diner and his fortunes finally being to change. Unforgettable scenes with Selwyn's new quadriplegic girlfriend and guest star, Kyle Gass, carry Selwyn to an Iron Chef-like television that leads to a conclusion with consequences that are at once life-affirming and devastating for Selwyn and all of his body parts about which he cares the most. Fans of the Vandals will recognize the sense of humor of guitarist and Cakeboy star, Warren Fitzgerald, as he also wrote the script. Some of the jokes are just gross, the toilet scene at a Shell station on tour with No Use for a Name may be a new low for toilet humor committed to celluloid, and some are more subtle, the running gag about the band's manager's ska band is hilarious, for example. The plot moves along nicely and the acting holds up surprisingly well considering most the players are probably friends and acquaintances. Point being, the movie is solid as a movie without all the punk rock trappings. 

Punk nostalgists may remember the Vandals in Penelope Spheeris's punk tribute, Suburbia, but Cakeboy is a long way from that film. Less self-consciously punk, and much more off-beat, Cakeboy comes at you from way out in left field, so try to have your glove up when it gets there or it will bean you. It takes some work initially to get past the simple nature of the camera work and the obviously inexpensive look of the whole thing. Escalante does have a good eye as a director and DP, and the technical aspects of the film never distract from the story itself or the admittedly untrained performances of many of the actors. Like his work with the Vandals, Escalante has remained staunchly independent with this film in order to maintain creative control, and he released the project on his own Kung Fu Films, the film imprint of the Vandals owned, Kung Fu Records. 

For punk enthusiasts, Cakeboy is going to end up a cult classic, not just for the inclusion of some great tunes by No Use for a Name, who play great frat-boy a**holes in the hazing scenes, but because it has the soul-defeated hero that so many punks can relate to, despite punk's recent proliferation in mass media. The value for money is unbeatable as well. The DVD is loaded up with special features, including commentary by Escalante and Fitzgerald, which is pretty funny at times, deleted scenes, and a making of documentary. And as if that's not enough, you get the soundtrack on CD for free. Cakeboy isn't going to win any awards from the Academy, and if you're a member of any kind of advocacy group for the handicapped, you should probably steer clear. If you just dig punk music, or find yourself most often in the cult section of your local video store, give Cakeboy a whirl as it will forever change your opinion of what endeavors the term punk rock can be applied to, and for that matter, just what you can do with cake. Someone asked me while watching this movie, "Why would they make this?" I thought it was a funny question at the time, along the lines of, "How could they do this to human beings?" at a war crimes trial. By the end of my second viewing, however, I found I could answer, "Why the hell not?" 

Cakeboy

Label:Kung Fu Films
Rating: With Open Mind: 
Without: Don't Bother

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