The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)


Before The Toxic Avenger Troma was doing okay.  While it did produce some of its own films - many of them raunchy comedies - they made most of their money distributing other people's movies.  The Toxic Avenger changed all that.  Suddenly, Troma was a major independent studio and, while not rolling in cash, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz suddenly had a lot more money than they ever thought they would.  The movie itself was violent, cheap and featured a hyperactive acting style that would become a key element of the studio's features going forward.  

While Kaufman and company released new movies on the regular, gaining a reputation for a certain style and aesthetic as they expanded the Tromaville universe, it made financial sense that at some point Toxie would have to return.  What Kaufman didn't expect was to suddenly have a four-hour epic on his hands that, at his wife's suggestion, he split into two parts.  The first, not coincidentally, was The Toxic Avenger Part II. 

Tromaville has gone from a toxic dump to a paradise thanks to the Toxic Avenger (Ron Fazio) taking care of all the evil-doers in town.  Unfortunately, without crimefighting to do, he has gone into a bit of a funk.  He is having issues with his girlfriend Claire (Phoebe Legere) and is seeing a psychiatrist (Erika Schickel) to help him cope.  He gets a bit of his mojo back when the Chairman (Rick Collins) of Apocalypse, Inc. blows up the home for the blind where Claire works and tries to take over the town.  Angry at being rebuffed the Chairman and his girlfriend Malfaire (Lisa Gaye) plot to send Melvin, aka Toxie, on a journey to Japan to find his father. 

While in Japan he meets a woman named Masami (Mayako Katsuragi) who helps him in his search.  However, it is a clever ruse to get expose him to anti-tromatons, destroying the essence that gives him his strength.  In his absence from Tromaville Apocalypse, Inc. aims to take over and use the New Jersey town as a steppingstone to take over New York and, ultimately, the world. 

Pretty much the entire cast for this sequel is different than the original.  John Altamura was originally supposed to play the lead role but, due to issues, he was fired and his stand-in Ron Fazio took over.  His girlfriend Sara from the first film is now called Claire and Melvin's last name is no longer Ferd, but Junko.  There is fourth-wall breaking and meta comments throughout, enough where one gets the feeling that The Toxic Avenger was more of a biopic about the character we meet in this film.  Also, the tone is different.  The original had a certain uncomfortable mean streak to it.  While it was a comedy, it was quite dark.  The Toxic Avenger II is full-on absurd hijinx, much like many of the other Troma films.

The problem is that, even cut in half and edited down, this film is way too long.  The original was the perfect length for a superhero parody.  This goes on and on, with the initial fight scene continuing long after it ceases to be funny or entertaining.  There are many parts were plot points are repeated, with characters saying dialog that is almost word-for-word what we just heard in the narration.  I have a hard time understanding if this was supposed to be funny or it is just terrible editing.  I have seen both the second and third movies before and I remembered them paling in comparison to the first.  It turns out that my thoughts back a few decades ago were pretty spot on.

That said, most of the time spent in Japan is fun, especially with everyone running every time they see Melvin walking around Tokyo.  Even more fun is watching the Japanese public react as Fazio walks around in full costume while Kaufman films a good portion without any permits.  He did hire local actors and I am sure they pretty much did their parts phonetically.  Still, this portion contains the silly violence and gratuitous nudity one would hope for from a Troma film.  There is also a pretty decent car chase when Melvin returns to Tromaville with some Borscht-Belt humor that land perfectly.  Unfortunately, as good as Rick Collins is at overacting and being evil, most of the stuff with Apocalypse, Inc. drags.  Again, it is hard to tell of Kaufman was getting preachy about the environment or if he was making fun of those who do.  

Those looking for a return to the fun of the original Toxic Avenger are in for disappointment.  At this point Toxie was product, not some silly idea that somehow made it to the big screen and became a cult film.  It was a character to be exploited and to help sell Troma.  This was touched on a bit further in part three, but in doing so everything that was the Toxic Avenger seems to have been boiled down into a parody of itself.  Instead of the new cut, Mr. Melvin, that Kaufman is preparing of the second and third film together, a better thing would have been to trim this down to its best elements.  It still wouldn't be anywhere near as fun as the original, but it would be a bit more enjoyable. 

The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)
Time: 102 minutes
Starring: Ron Fazio, Phoebe Legere, Mayako Katsuragi, Rick Collins
Directors: Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz

 

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