Title: I Need To Lose Ten Pounds
Year: 2006
Director: Frankie Frain
Writers: William Forte Writer Frankie Frain Writer Corey Huntington Writer
Producers: Frankie Frain ... producer Corey Huntington ... co-producer Jonathan Hunt ... executive producer Nina Szulewski ... co-producer
Cast: Steven Borges ... Fat Person #3 Justin Carleton ... Chlamydia Philip Carlsyle ... Peter Pottington Zachary Carlysle ... Fat Person #2/Mr. Beefy Burger Alan Desmarais ... Miguel Pottington William Forte ... Gus Frankie Frain ... Doctor Bonnie Huntington ... Corn Child/Young Miguel and Silly Waunka Corey Huntington ... Clerk/Silly Waunka Graham Huntington ... Corn Child/Young Richard Simmons Jonathan Hunt ... Mr. Pottington Michala Hunt ... Booba-Looba #2 Kurt Kroeber ... Donkey Kurt John W. O'Brien III ... Manager Meridith Pease ... Mrs. Pottington Christopher Szulewski ... Fat Person #4 Nina Szulewski ... Booba-Looba #1 Sean Willis ... Asian Peacekeeper Matthew Zagar ... Richard Simmons
Original Music: Jonathan Hunt
Cinematographers: Frankie Frain (director of photography)
Editors: Frankie Frain
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Red Cow Entertainment
Distributor: Red Cow Entertainment
Running time: 92 minutes
Official Website: www.ineedtolosetenpounds.com

I Need to Lose Ten Pounds tells of the exploits of an overweight young man named Miguel, who is incapable of losing weight. He tries everything from bulimia to condom ingestion, and meets some friends along the way, including a pimp with a whore factory named Silly Waunka. Meanwhile, the evil celebrity Richard Simmons is looking for one more fat person to complete his fat army and rule the world. Miguel is right under his gaze.

This film is a musical. Yes…a musical. It is very ambitious and VERY low budget and the freshman feature outing of multitalented Frankie Frain who wears no less than six hats in this video feature. Produced four years ago, I suspect that I am only getting it now because Frain has recently gotten the rights back from Troma Entertainment and is self distributing at www.ineedtolosetenpounds.com . As it should be.

For those of you not familiar with Troma and Lloyd Kaufman, he is the master of longevity in ultra low budget filmmaking. Going back forty years in production, acquisition, distribution and acting, Lloyd has provided the inspiration and perspiration for countless wanna-be filmmakers and cinema groupies. More than SS Dov Siemans, or John Waters, Lloyd has maintained has level of B to D moviemaking consistently and ferociously. Even lecturing internationally and being lauded at prestigious film schools like the USC School of Cinematic Arts, among others. In I Need to Lose Ten Pounds it easy to see that Frankie Frain is a disciple of Kaufman. But the pupil has bested his mentor.

On the Troma scale of things, this film is a terrific exercise. While I am not a big fan of filmmakers making films without collaboration, in Tromaland it works well. Besides, also in great Troma tradition, Frain recruits a huge cast of amateur volunteers both in front and behind the camera to assist him. What they produced is a “tromapiece”. There is no pretense here of art, no attempt to compete with filmmakers with money and resources. It is well written, a real story.

The Broadway-style songs and dance numbers are compelling…in there Troma-kind-of way. The amateur acting is very good…on the scale of George Romero’s freshman project, Night of the Living Dead (1968). What is remarkable is that that Frankie Frain pulls this off and it is not a horror film. Think of Elephant (2003) as a low budget high school musical comedy and you may be getting the idea.

Is it stupid…very. But that is part of its charm. It is adolescent…excruciatingly. But that is its audience. Does it show others what can be done in long-form with passion, talent, a video camera and no money, you bet. This is the kind of flat screen background video that every disco club should have on. It is very funny with a few vodkas in you. It would be excellent at a fraternity toga party. Should you actually sit down and watch it, yes, but with friends. I Need to Lose Ten Pounds requires the pause button and discussion periodically…there is a lot going on. You can buy it at the website.

It can only be judged fairly in its category. “THREE TROMA-STARS”.