The Meltdown Memoirs (2006 Video) User Reviews

Frumkes is a bit Obsessed

[Chainsaw Slasher · 8/10 · 10 June 2007]

This is a pretty informative documentary, over two hours of details on almost every expect of the film's production and history. If you're a fan of Street Trash, surely you'll enjoy the information in this documentary. Almost the entire cast is interviewed, even the rat wrangler that was used in a short scene. But watching the documentary, I felt a bit awkward. I couldn't understand how a grown man, Frumkes, could be so obsessed with this film. It's quite obvious that this film has become one of the soul sources of his income. At several points in the documentary, its obvious he's interviewing himself, at times, it seems like he interviews himself when he's bored at home. But the most ridiculous thing in regards to his obsession with this film is that he's wearing a belt buckle that says "Street Trash." I just thought it was a bit depressing to see someone who is this big a fan of their own movie at such an age.

Don't get me wrong, Street Trash is a fun film, I actually had met him at a showing of the film on the big screen at a local arts theater, but Frumkes did more for this film than what it really deserved. I'm not going to lie, the details are interesting, but come on, this isn't the greatest film of the genre.

Excellent and comprehensive retrospective documentary

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 4 January 2017]

This over two hours long retrospective documentary covers a lot of interesting and illuminating ground on the gloriously outrageous horror splatter comedy cult classic "Street Trash." Starting off with the making of a fifteen minute promo short and the writing of a script to expand said short into feature length, director/host Roy Frumkes leaves virtually no stone unturned as he delves into various aspects of the movie that include pre-production, storyboards, videotaped auditions, body and face casts, the shooting of the picture, post-production, deleted scenes, and distribution. Among the things we find out are that Vic Notto and Bill Chepil really went for it in their big fight scene, a sizable amount of dialogue including Notto's monologue about Vietnam in the junkyard was improvised, three different prosthetic members were used for the notorious penis toss set piece, the character of Bronson was originally supposed to be Fred's dad, and how the film eventually amassed a cult following on home video. The interviews are especially enjoyable and informative, with even people who only did bit parts and one actress who played a psychic lady character who was ultimately cut from the movie given some screen time to talk about their contributions to the picture. Moreover, it's a hoot to see future mainstream director Bryan Singer of "The Usual Suspects" and "X-Men" fame talk about working on "Street Trash" as a lowly production assistant. Loaded with choice clips and behind the scenes photos, this documentary is essential viewing for "Street Trash" fans.

A memoir rather than a 'making of' documentary

[fresh508 · 9/10 · 4 July 2007]

I love the idea of a 'making of' documentary also being a personal 'memoir' by the filmmaker, as we are made to understand by the film's title. A great idea. It gave the film a lot more substance...actually made it a real film, and not just a tribute to another film.

It was interesting to see what had become of the people involved in Street Trash twenty years later. Some did not fare as well as others, and there was a real sense of melancholy about the final section of the film, unexpected and somewhat profound.

I wonder if the writer/producer anticipates making a film about his The Substitute. I'd be curious about his coverage of a franchise that clearly had smaller budgets as it wore on.