The Toxic Avenger IV: Citizen Toxie (movie Review)

Tards you say? Let us open up a movie that makes fun of the mentally handicapped and have them saved by Tromaville's ultimate super hero of super human size and strength the Toxic Avenger? I dare say YAH! And that is how Troma Entertainment's newest edition to their DVD archives opens up as seen in Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger Part IV. All of those mind-boggling Troma questions will be answered such as: "When will there be a new Toxic Avenger movie?"; "If the Toxic Avenger and Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD were to fight, who would win?" and "How much blood, lesbian love scenes, the Penis Monster and satirical pokes at life can be crammed into a feature film?" Well let's find out shall we...

Troma hasn't made such an impact on the independent film scene since they put themselves on the map with their infamous head crushing scene from the original Toxic Avenger back in 1985. Now, damn nearly twenty years later, those Troma people just keep on re-inventing themselves. Personally, I think this film is one of their funniest and goriest and the must fun you'll have in any Troma film in the past couple of years. And I've seen all their big hits (more importantly the ones that Lloyd Kaufman directs) from the squib infested Troma's War, to mutating degenerates in Class of Nuke 'em High, to a Shakespearian rip-off as Tromeo and Juliet, to the ever shocking Terror Firmer, based on Lloyd Kaufman's best selling novel All I Need to Know About Film making I Learned from the Toxic Avenger: The Shocking True Story of Troma Studios. (Buy it on Amazon.com for like 5$, it's great!)

Troma has always buried themselves deep within a satirical look at the world. This time they point at the murders of students in Columbine a few years back. Director Llyod Kaufman uses it to his advantage and even advocates as who is to blame. His ultra violent films? No way! The opening sequence of the film shows that Tromaville's School For The Very Special (aka Tards) are held for ransom by the "Diaper Mafia" and their bomb ticking to explode. It's hilarious folks you really need to watch it. Especially if you remember Trent Haaga from Terror Firmer who is now the leader of the Diaper Mafia. He comes into the classroom toting a huge ass freaking gun and says something like "All right you freaking Tards, nobody move a muscle or I'll blow your freaking heads off." Strong words spoken from a man who helped co-write this film along with Patrick Cassidy, Gabriel Friedman, Adam Jahnke, Matt Levin and Lloyd Kaufman.

Luckily Toxie comes in to save the day along with his morbidly obese sidekick Fat Ass, er I mean LARD ASS, played by the Troma legend himself Joe Fleishaker. Well, then the Diaper Mafia's bomb goes off along with Toxie's out of control Tromatons and a rift in a parallel dimension opens up. This causes a portal to open up to Tromaville's doppelganger dimension called Amortville. And it's most fowl villain named Noxie, The Obnoxious Offender switches places with Toxie and all Hell breaks loose. For the comic affecidendos reading this, the simplest way to describe this phenomenon is to say Toxie travels to a "Bizarro World" version of Tromaville.

So of course back in Troma everyone can trust what appears to be the Toxic Avenger right? Nope, not until he begins to drop the population of Tromaville down with nearly every limb ripped off and every small child thrown at a brickwall. The same thing happens within Amortville as Toxie has disturbed it's evil realm. Now for the people that live around that area, did you know that Amortville was primarily shot all around Poughkeepsie, NY?! Take a close look in the shots of the background, you'll see the places where you got knocked up or boughtt smack from. Anyways, Toxie encounters the evil doppelganger of Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD. It takes awhile for Kabuk to realize something is up, but when he does an awesome fight erupts between the two.

The two toxic waste turned titans wreak havoc in dimensions that they don't belong in. Toxie must travel back to Tromaville and save his loved ones from the impending doom that Noxie has unleashed. I can't get into anymore spoilers on the film but I definitely suggest you get this DVD. It's got some great fights, the ultimately re-cycled car chase scene from Sgt. Kabukiman, plenty of slap stick and most importantly TITS.

On a final side note I'd just like to make a few final comments that you will find within this film or more importantly, into the extras packed unrated director's cut DVD. It's got great cameo's in it that only Troma can offer. Where else will you find Ron Jeremy as the mayor, Corey Feldman as a gynecologist or even Motorhead's Lemmy working double time portraying both his good and evil self. Or let us not forget the abundance of Nazi's that fill every Troma film. Look closely for Dan (Cigar Face) Snow, one of the few to appear in every Toxie film. Also listen carefully to the opening and closing narration of the film, it's done by Stan "The Man" Lee. How about a new line of super heroes coming in to help out Tromaville lead by Sgt. Kabukiman. We now have added to the roster of Dolphin Man, The Vibrator and Master Bater- awesome.

The 2 Disc DVD is cram packed with so much eye candy and extras. There is "Apocalypse Soon" a ninety-minute documentary that shows the making of Citizen Toxie from begging to end. If there is anyone out there interested on making a cheap independent film, these guys can give you some pointers and show you all the shit to go through it. You also get three separate audio tracks from the director Lloyd Kaufman, the Dave Mattey (Toxie) and other great people that helped bring this film to your home or prison cell. You'll get a hilarious introduction by the director Lloyd Kaufman, who some will accuse as a ghetto version of Mel Brooks.

Lots of outtakes from the cast who can't do their death scene properly or just want to hear Lloyd Kaufman yelling at his cast and crew. How's about shit loads of cut scenes that you can listen to with some audio commentary on it and find out why exactly it got the axe on the cutting room floor. Theatrical trailers from Citizen Toxie and other fine pieces of Tromatic cinema. Be on the lookout of some hidden Easter Eggs, Troma loves to slip in their own Troma Intelligence Test (TIT) on many of their DVD's.

And finally, I'd like to button up this review by clearly stating this is one of Troma's finest films. Everything from the cinematography, the little gags, musical score, scenes of the Twin Towers and restored footage from the original Toxic Avenger. This film has won numerous awards from around the world and has become the most successful theatrically released film Troma has ever put out. Your needs will be met and exceeded with the gore, the comedy, the nudity and the violence that have always infested Troma's films. Now, I'd like to end this review by adding a dedication to movie lovers everywhere and anyone out there trying to make it as film makers in the movie world. So, "Don't give up the fight for true independent cinema."