Entertainment
Unhinged, Raunchy 80s Comedy Is A Cult Classic From Legendary Directors
By Robert Scucci
| Published
After The Evil Dead’s commercial success, Sam Raimi was eager to work on another project with Bruce Campbell, with help from the Coen brothers, in the form of 1985’s Crimewave. While this sounds like the best movie you’ve probably never heard of, it’s best to approach this one with guarded enthusiasm because what sounds awesome on paper doesn’t quite work on screen as intended. It’s not that the script isn’t funny, or that the setpieces aren’t ambitious, but rather that Raimi wasn’t allowed to edit the film due to studio interference. The end result is a movie that feels disjointed and incomplete despite the talent involved.
Had Raimi and the Coen brothers conceptualized the film later in their careers, when they had more clout and creative leverage, Crimewave could have been a masterpiece of subversive comedy. All the elements that draw you to it are present, but everything feels cobbled together and without a clear sense of direction. At the end of the day, that’s pretty much what you should expect when getting into a dark, neo-noir crime comedy inspired by Hitchcock, filtered through B-movie production values that lean fully into slapstick humor, as if you were watching a Laurel and Hardy bit stretched to feature length.
Still, if you’re a fan of the filmmakers, it’s a fascinating creative misstep to witness. If nothing else, it lets you check off one of their more obscure titles, a movie that never really had a chance to thrive upon release, but is now adored as the cult classic it was always destined to be.
A Glorious Mess Of Intent Vs Execution
Crimewave tells its primary story in flashbacks, leading up to the execution of Victor Ajax (Reed Birney), who finds himself strapped into an electric chair as midnight approaches. You’re also treated to a smash cut of a group of nuns crammed into a sedan, barreling toward the prison for reasons that won’t be explained until much later. Victor insists that he’s innocent, and hopes he can convince the executioner to spare him by recounting what really happened before he was apprehended and incarcerated.
Victor’s flashbacks tell the story behind the murders he’s been accused of committing, but given how convoluted everything becomes, it’s no wonder he’s minutes away from getting zapped out of his mortal coil. According to Victor, he worked as a technician for Ernest Trend (Edward R. Pressman), the co-owner of Trend-Odegard Security. While installing security cameras in his boss’s apartment building, Victor is sent off to track down his dream girl, Nancy (Sheree J. Wilson), who just so happens to live in the same building. What Victor doesn’t realize is that this errand is a deliberate distraction, as he’s supposed to be heading back to the shop across the street, completely unaware of what Mr. Trend already knows.
Mr. Trend has just learned that his business partner, Mr. Odegard, is trying to sell the company out from under him. In response, he hires exterminators Faron (Paul L. Smith) and Arthur (Brion James) to kill Odegard at the shop. Meanwhile, Victor attempts to charm Nancy, who is openly disinterested in him, but infatuated with Renaldo The Heel (Bruce Campbell), a sleazy rival who plans on buying the company from Odegard. Through this love triangle, the machinations of Mr. Trend, and the exterminators’ willingness to wipe out anyone in their path to make sure the sale doesn’t go through, Victor finds himself in the middle of a murder spree that becomes increasingly slapstick in execution, but incriminating all the same.
As bedlam unfolds according to Victor’s recounting of events, we gradually piece together what really happened that night. Whether or not he’s telling the truth, however, is left for the judge and executioner to decide as the clock ticks closer to midnight.
Could Have Been Brilliant, But We Got This Instead
The most disappointing aspect of Crimewave is that it contains all the raw elements you’d expect from a Sam Raimi film written by the Coen brothers. Bruce Campbell is reliably Bruce Campbell, and the slapstick is pushed so far into absurdity that it feels like an early preview of what the Coens would later refine in films like Raising Arizona and O Brother, Where Art Thou? Unfortunately, Raimi simply didn’t have the authority he needed to fully realize the project on his own terms, and the resulting studio interference hurt Crimewave far more than it helped.
While Crimewave remains a fun watch thanks to its cast, oddball story beats, and occasionally elaborate setpieces, its individual parts never quite line up to form a satisfying whole. The silver lining is that its failure directly inspired Raimi to double down on Evil Dead II after recovering from this production. In that sense, Crimewave became a necessary stepping stone that pushed the franchise we know and love into bolder, more unrestrained territory.
Had Crimewave been conceived in the 90s, 2000s, or later, the final product would likely have been far more cohesive. By that point, Raimi and the Coen brothers would have had enough creative control to fully embrace the absurdity baked into the screenplay. Even so, it’s still a Sam Raimi film written by the Coen brothers, which means you can expect a healthy dose of offbeat, dark humor that reflects the sensibilities they’ve consistently delivered throughout their careers. It just happens, in this case, to miss the mark more often than it hits, making for a messy but undeniably interesting watch.
As of this writing, Crimewave is streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
Best Buy is running free Pokémon Trade and Play events this weekend — score free packs, trade, and shop exclusive collections
TL;DR: Best Buy is running free Pokémon Trade and Play events on Feb. 28 (12-2 p.m. local time). Participants can score free packs, trade cards, and shop exclusive collections.
We’ve made a lot of noise about Pokémon’s 30th birthday celebrations, and so has the rest of the world. We’ve seen genuine excitement over new Pokémon TCG releases, the first-ever Lego Pokémon sets, and the return of nostalgic Pokémon games, and it feels like there’s more to come from this special anniversary.
Best Buy is clearly feeling the party vibes. On Feb. 28 (12-2 p.m. local time), Best Buy stores across the country will host in-store Trade and Play events, with demo stations, Pokémon TCG trades, exclusive card drops, freebies, expert tuition, and a whole lot more. Attend solo, bring a friend, or gather together everyone from your neighborhood. This is going to be big.
Mashable Trend Report
Somehow still on the fence? Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect from these special events:
Before you set off, it’s important to check out Best Buy’s Pokémon page to find a Trade and Play event at a store near you. Once that’s sorted, you’re all set to capture the magic of Pokémon this weekend.
Topics
Pokemon
Trading Cards
Entertainment
Get the 65-inch Samsung The Frame Pro for $600 less at Amazon
SAVE 29%: As of Feb. 27, you can get the 65-inch Samsung The Frame Pro LED Smart TV (LS03FW, 2025) for $1,497.99, down from $2,097.99, at Amazon. That’s a 29% discount or $600 savings. It’s also the lowest price we’ve tracked to date!
$1,497.99
at Amazon
$2,097.99
Save $600.00
To say I despise the look of a giant TV sitting at the front of my living room would be putting it lightly. It’s just not my idea of a relaxing setting. That’s why I’ve always loved the concept of Samsung‘s The Frame TV. It’s designed to blend in with your decor and doubles as a piece of art when it’s not on.
As of Feb. 27, you can get the 65-inch Samsung The Frame Pro LED Smart TV (LS03FW, 2025) for $1,497.99, down from $2,097.99, at Amazon. That’s a 29% discount or $600 savings. It’s also the lowest price we’ve tracked to date!
The 2025 Frame Pro upgrades the standard viewing experience with a virtually glare-free screen featuring a subtle matte texture that makes the digital artwork look like a real, physical print. When you aren’t watching your favorite shows, it shifts into Art Mode, which lets you display a curated collection of museum-worthy pieces from the Art Store or even upload your own photos. Bonus: It comes with a Slim Fit Wall Mount to ensure the TV hangs nearly flush against your wall.
Mashable Deals
It uses a Neo QLED panel with mini LEDs for precise lighting, and it features a Wireless One Connect hub so you can hide all your messy cables away from the screen itself. It’s basically the most aesthetic TV on the market.
Entertainment
Raunchy, R-Rated Action Comedy From South Park Creators Nearly Broke Them
By Robert Scucci
| Published
There’s only one thing more amusing than watching 2004’s Team America: World Police, and that’s listening to the Season 8 commentary tracks on the South Park DVDs. Not only did Team America: World Police require a biblical amount of work from Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and their puppeteering production crew to pull it off, they were also concurrently working on their flagship series, a time they now refer to as the year from hell when looking back at this era of their careers.
Parker and Stone worked themselves into the ground with Team America: World Police, resulting in some of the most unhinged episodes South Park has to offer.
Episodes like “Cartman’s Incredible Gift,” which I consider essential viewing and a perfect entry point to the series, have commentary tracks from Parker and Stone suggesting they don’t even remember making the episode because they were so locked in at that point that they were putting very little thought into the minor details. They were contractually obligated to stick to their grueling production schedule, and relied on their manic, do-or-die energy to pull it off. The finale, “Woodland Critter Christmas,” one of South Park’s most notorious episodes, is another example of a zero-hour effort that was constantly reworked until just a day before it aired.
Team America’s Grueling Production
Always leading with what’s funny and figuring out how to do it later, Parker and Stone had no idea how complicated it would be to pull off their movie, which they fully intended to play like a Jerry Bruckheimer production starring marionettes. Dozens of scale replica set pieces were constructed, including Paris, Cairo, the Panama Canal, Mount Rushmore, and North Korea.
Their vision was simple. They wanted each location to look like how it’s depicted in action movies, and therefore how the average American thinks it looks.
Additionally, 270 puppet characters had to be built, along with over a thousand costumes to make Team America: World Police possible. Given the puppets’ roughly two-foot stature, countless props had to be custom made to accommodate their size, along with multiple animatronic heads that would be attached to their bodies. Controlling the puppets proved exhausting, resulting in unthinkably long shooting days with only a handful of usable dailies passed off to editors compared to films made through more conventional means. Rumor has it that designing Kim Jong-il’s glasses was a painstaking process due to camera glare, making them one of the most expensive props in the movie.
America, F*** Yeah!
Team America: World Police centers on the titular international counterterrorist organization, run by its fearless leader, Spottswoode (Daran Norris). Under his command are psychologist Lisa, psychic Sarah, martial arts expert Chris, Carson, and all American jock Joe. Together, they fight terrorism by causing so much collateral damage to whatever locale they visit, that a terrorist attack would actually leave the area better off. When Carson is killed and a new threat reveals itself, Spottswoode recruits Gary Johnston, a Broadway actor, to use his acting skills to infiltrate various terrorist factions.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong-il is revealed to be the true mastermind behind the terrorists, and the supplier of WMDs, unbeknownst to Team America, resulting in the Film Actors Guild throwing Team America under the bus for their sloppy, reckless work.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Team America: World Police, all you need to know is that it carries itself like every over the top action movie, but with enough raunch that it almost landed an NC-17 rating.
By then, knowing exactly how to work with censors, Parker and Stone knew what they had to do. By filming a prolonged sex scene with the puppets that was far longer than what they needed for the film, they simply waited for the production notes explaining how short the scene would have to be in order to secure an R rating.
Appreciate The Hustle
Though it’s not my favorite Trey Parker and Matt Stone vehicle, Team America: World Police is indirectly responsible for some of the best episodes South Park has to offer. Had they not taken on such an ambitious project while also working on the series in tandem, we may have never gotten episodes like “Good Times with Weapons,” “Awesome-O,” “Goobacks,” “Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes,” “Quest for Ratings,” or “Cartman’s Incredible Gift.”
Don’t get me wrong. Matt Damon only being capable of saying his own name, poorly, in Team America: World Police because his puppet came off the production line looking a little dim is comedy gold. But topical political humor is fleeting. South Park is forever.
Team America: World Police is streaming on Paramount+.
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