Blu-ray Releases: Lieutenant Jangles (2020) - Reviewed

 Crime is a disease. Meet the condom.

This Ozploitation farce starts out with two cops, Lieutenant Jangles (Matt Dickey) and Dickens (Andrew Dickens) having a literal pissing contest when it's interrupted by a giant gang shootout. Unfortunately, Dickens gets shot in well...his dick and Jangles is without his beloved partner. In buddy cop movie tradition, Jangles is forced to get with a new partner, the incredibly cool, wheelchair bound bad ass Wheels (Daniel Mulhall) and together they have to crack a case where local bodybuilders are being kidnapped by a mysterious organization.

For a movie with a very low budget, the camerawork and cinematography is quite polished and there is some faux film grain to give it that retro flavor. There is a shit ton of action and much of it is incredibly dynamic and often times hilarious. Make no mistake, the humor in this film is lewd and crude with an absolute plethora of dick jokes, probably the most ever put into a single film. Many '80s action romps had homoerotic subtext and Lieutenant Jangles leans into this heavily with loads of sexual humor and subversiveness. It's almost like a bizzaro Andy Sidaris flick with the all female T&A replaced with the male version, with oiled pecs and glistening abs all over the place. 





Jangles himself is an amped up version of the cocky cop protagonist--he's basically an overconfident jerk who gets through every situation with pure machismo and recklessness (and tons of shooting). Matt Dickey is obviously relishing the role and his charisma and physical acting carries the film and helps some of the jokes land better. All of the dialogue is ADR which gives it a grindhouse feel, almost like those old Italian action movie knock-offs where it's dubbed over. Speaking of sound design, the synthwave infused soundtrack is fantastic and perfectly compliments the '80s aesthetic.

The main negative of this film is the length--clocking in at an hour and forty minutes, there is just too much filler for a pastiche, especially since these kinds of films tended to be on the shorter side. The second act is where it's padded the most, but once it gets into the third act it doesn't let up.

Lieutenant Jangles is a send-up of both '80s action movies and a biting satire of cop culture which is sorely needed in these times. 


--Michelle Kisner



Scream Team Releasing Special Features:

-Commentary tracks

-Bloopers

-Trailers

-Making of Documentary


-VFX Breakdown