Bikini Bandits

Bikini Bandits (also known as The Bikini Bandits Experience) is a 2002 cult comedy film written and directed by Steven Grasse. The screenplay was co-written by Peter Grasse. The film stars Maynard James Keenan, Dee Dee Ramone, Jello Biafra and Corey Feldman.[1] The story follows a team of female bandits who go on a crime spree in defiance of corporate America.[2]

Bikini Bandits
Directed bySteven Grasse
Written by
  • Steven Grasse
  • Peter Grasse
Produced bySteven Grasse
Starring
CinematographyRhet W. Bear
Production
company
Distributed byRevolver Entertainment
Running time
55 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Sent to hell after their car goes off a cliff, the Bikini Bandits make a deal with the Devil. In order to secure their freedom, they must find and defile the Virgin Mary. Along the way they run into various obstacles, as the Pope and the angel Gabriel attempt to stop them. Interspliced throughout are ads for the fictional big-box company, "G-Mart".

Cast

Bikini Bandits
  • Heather-Victoria Ray
  • Heather McDonnell
  • Cynthia Diaz
  • Betty San Luis

Production

Bikini Bandits was produced as part of The Arcadia Project, a viral marketing project by Quaker City Mercantile named after Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project.[3] The film was produced as a satirical commentary on the representation of women in advertising.[4]

The feature-length film was based on a web series of the same name which was released on Atom Films.[5] Steven Grasse began writing the Bikini Bandits series in 1999 with the help of his brother, Peter Grasse. The series, which focused on a group of scantily clad female bandits, developed an underground following.[6][7] According to IGN, the French government helped to fund the Bikini Bandit's production.[8] A separate feature-length film produced by StudioCanal was planned but never made.[9]

Keenan, a fan of the webseries, contacted Grasse to direct a music video for A Perfect Circle. After discussing the Bikini Bandits with Grasse, he agreed to star in the film as Satan.[10] The film's soundtrack features original music written by Ramone, as well as tracks by post-rock band Trans Am and Peaches.[11]

Release and sequels

Bikini Bandits debuted at the 2002 Philadelphia Film Festival.[12] Following its theatrical release, the film gained a following online and became considered a cult classic.[13] The Bikini Bandits Experience was released on DVD in 2003, including special features and the short films in the web series.[4]

In 2003, the film was screened at the Raindance Film Festival,[14] and Portobello Film Festival in London,[15] and the Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany.[16]

An anthology titled Bikini Bandits: Briefs, Shorts & Panties was released on October 25, 2004, which included content from The Bikini Bandits Experience and the web series.[17] Keenan reprised his role as Satan in the 2004 film Bikini Bandits 2: Goldenrod.[18] An animated sequel titled The Bikini Bandits Save Christmas was released in 2004.[19][20]

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews and currently has a 62% score on Rotten Tomatoes.[21] The film's concept was praised, as was Ramone's performance as the Pope, although some critics felt the plot was thin in places.[22][23]

Greg Heller of Rolling Stone described the film as "a breasts-intensive homage to schlock icon Russ Meyer."[11] In a review of the Portobello Film Festival, Ewan Sanderson wrote "Bikini Bandits is a brazenly crass, gratuitous and hugely enjoyable cocktail of flesh, guns and filthy innuendo."[15]

Noah Roblschon of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the film "is as tawdry as a late-night Cinemax guilty pleasure — but with less nudity, fancier editing, and one set of rotten teeth."[24]

References
  1. "The Many Faces Of Maynard James Keenan". Kerrang!. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  2. "Goonies never die". www.34st.com. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  3. "The Arcadia Project". thearcadiaproject.net. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  4. Gibron, Bill. "Bikini Bandits: Briefs, Shorts & Panties". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  5. Gross, G. Noel. "CineSchlock-O-Rama". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2004-02-08. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  6. "Legends: The Mad Man's Next Act". Philly Mag. January 29, 2010.
  7. McLennan, Jim (2003-06-10). "Review: Bikini Bandits: Freeze, Motherfu***rs!". Girls With Guns. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  8. Kaehler, Justin (2004-11-02). "Bikini Bandits Week: Briefs Shorts and Panties". IGN.
  9. Lacob, Jace (2012-08-04). "Art in the Age: Ex-Ad Man Steven Grasse's Wonderfully Weird Spirits". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  10. Hickie, James. "Puscifer: Can the world's most mysterious band really save us all?". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  11. Heller, Greg (2002-02-14). "Tool Go to Hell, on Tour". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2002-02-14. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  12. "Philadelphia Fest Ends With Record Attendance". www.filmfestivals.com. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  13. Pye, Dan. "Cinematic art reaches a new plateau". The Red and Black. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  14. "WATCH THOSE BIKINI BANDITS GO | Film Threat". 2003-04-28. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  15. Sanderson, Ewan. "ART, IT AIN'T: EWAN SANDERSON EXPLORES THE LEGENDARY BIKINI BANDIDS". www.portobellofilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on 2004-04-23. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  16. "10. Internationales Filmfest Oldenburg 2003 :: filmfuchs.de :: seit 1998". www.filmfuchs.de. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  17. Rossell, Rich (October 26, 2004). "DVD Review: Bikini Bandits: Briefs, Shorts & Panties (2004)". www.digitallyobsessed.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  18. Eakin, Marah (2014-01-02). "Talking movies and acting with Tool's Maynard James Keenan". AV Club. Archived from the original on 2019-11-03. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  19. "Le Bikini Bandits su Studio Universal". www.film.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  20. Gibron, Bill (2004-10-24). "Bikini Bandits Save Christmas". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  21. Bikini Bandits: The Movie (2002), retrieved 2021-01-16
  22. Shaeffler, Rowan. "The Bikini Bandits Experience - DVD review". www.counterculture.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2003-11-24. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  23. "Review | Bikini Bandits Experience". Blu-ray Authority. 2012-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
  24. Roblschon, Noah. "Bikini Bandits". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
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