13. Someone named Roseanne Katon starred in a something called Lunch Wagon and is now married to a United Nations delegate. Both she and her film are new to me, but I have heard of the U.N.
14. Wiggins did speak with the Drafthouse Films people but didn’t want the interview recorded. She shared details on the production including how she worked on it over two years, they shot exteriors without clearance or permits, and she did her own stunt for a scene that resulted in her breaking a leg. “I guess that was the end of her character in the movie,” says Carlson, “because John Rad was unable to assist with her medical bills.”
15. Donna Ohana is one of the few cast members still excited to discuss the film and attend screenings. She plays Room Maid and is only onscreen for 26 seconds from 19:52 to 20:18.
Drafthouse Films
16. Rad passed away a year after the film’s release in 2005.
17. Connelly correctly points out that after Mina steals the would-be rapist’s clothes and sends him running into the desert a typical film would continue to follow her around and we’d never see that guy again. “But what this movie does,” he says, “this is like the John Rad touch, is that we’re gonna follow him around now. It kind of feels like it turns into a Blake Edwards movie.” He points out that this is pretty much a pattern throughout the film as Rad shifts the focus around so frequently.
18. Since the film had such a limited release and never hit home video, Connelly wonders how many of the cast members even know it’s finally received a proper release. Carlson says that Drafthouse Films worked diligently to track down, notify, and talk to as many people as they could find, “but a lot of them, for whatever reason, they feel like they don’t want to revisit the movie o they just don’t have strong memories of it.” He had spoken with an actor named Gil Gex regarding a new movie, The Greasy Strangler, but when he realized Gex also starred in this film and asked about it he never heard back. “He just won’t talk about it. I don’t know what traumatized some of these people, but the movie is just too intense and too real for them to revisit.”
19. The lyrics to the song being sung at 39:01 as Mina sits on the beach are written into the sand. It’s Rad singing.
20. The car sent tumbling over the cliff “allegedly” belonged to Rad’s daughter. They’re unclear if he had her permission.
21. The police chief who first appears 43 minutes in is introduced sitting at his desk, and sitting in front of him is the actor’s highlighted script. Connelly seems hesitant to believe it, but Carlson makes a compelling case.
22. Bryan Jenkins, who plays Black Pepper, was reportedly a highly-skilled and much beloved surfing instructor.
23. “Listen to the sound effects of the fight scene here,” says Carlson. And enjoy the choreography and acting, adds Hunter.
24. Carlson takes issue with the sound effect used for punches here and in many other movies, so he decides to test it by punching himself in the face. [insert sound of a flesh punch] “Sounds more like wet meat,” says Connelly, to which Carlson replies “Which is really what we are.”
25. Connelly makes a plea for fans of this film to seek out others “in this world of homemade dad action” that haven’t gotten this kind of high-profile re-release. Some of the titles they recommend include Rock House (aka Deadly Addiction), Samurai Cop, GetEven (aka Road to Revenge), 9 Minutes, Vigilante Blood, and Crime Killer.
Best in Context-Free Commentary
- Carlson: “Those of you who’ve never seen Dangerous Men before, you might be coming in expecting a typical action movie, something that might reflect other films of the ’80s, and I think you need to go ahead and dispel that immediately.”
- Carlson: “Snapple didn’t become a major pop culture reference until it was mentioned by Carrot Top in Chairman on the Board, which was a ’90s classic.”
- Connelly: “You don’t see a lot of grown men in tighty whities in movies like from an era of life.”
- Carlson: “She holds this man’s penis in this shot for like 48 seconds.”
- Carlson: “Stock footage, of a train, from 1958.”
- Connelly: “I’m always amazed by movies like this that they can convince a lot of women to take their tops off for a hamburger I guess.”
- Carlson: “It’s annoying that you can’t go 200 feet without being intercepted by a dangerous man.”
- Carlson: “So much innocence, so much childish playfulness to suddenly be sacrificed at the altar of lust.”
- Carlson: “And when I say that I enjoy that actor’s performance I’m not condoning his character’s behavior or his policies sexually. I wanna make that clear.”
- Carlson: “Twitter’s a type of hat that people wear to church.”
- Carlson: “I want more blind characters with guns in movies. That’s something we don’t see enough of.”
Final Thoughts
Dangerous Men is a movie for people unashamed to declare their love for incompetent cinema made with passion in the place of talent. No one will mistake it for an objectively “good” movie, but those of us susceptible to its charms will appreciate and enjoy it anyway. The commentary track is more humorous than informative — an issue due more to a lack of information than to a lack of interest on the part of Carlson and Connelly — but it’s very, very humorous indeed. Both of these guys are clearly serious movie fans, but that doesn’t get in the way of them having a ton of fun here. Carlson in particular should be made permanent commentary host for all future Drafthouse Films releases.
Related Topics: Commentary Commentary, Home Video
