FRENCH FRIES and FULL MOON FEATURES part VI: "The Gingerdead Man" and McCain Garlic and Herb Crinkle Fries

As is the case with many movies in this series (as well as our Corman series), it's usually pretty easy to spot the films that were heedlessly greenlit based solely on a premise, a poster, and/or a title. And often times, that backstory is the most interesting thing about them. 

The Gingerdead Man (2005) began its journey as a rejected MADtv sketch, that was then brought to Charles Band's attention who immediately gave the go-ahead to a write a feature. That initial script was then reworked to bring the budget way way down, and the final product both benefits and suffers from that. Gary Busey is introduced in 3 minutes of screen time as a well dressed maniac killing patrons in a diner (in one of the most awkwardly blocked and composed sequences in Cinema). Through tedious exposition we learn that Gary was captured, convicted, and executed, but then with the aid of blood, electricity, and some apparently cursed cookie dough, Gary Busey is resurrected as a gingerbread man. The original script called for a CGI cookie monster, but this is Full Moon, so instead we're treated to the puppet design of John Carl Buechler, turning in one of his least impressive creature designs. Honestly we never get a good sense of perspective so it's often impossible to tell exactly how big or small The Gingerdead Man really is - up to and including the scene where he drives a car (with the help of a rolling pin). But even in spite of all the complaints against the titular character, there's not nearly enough of him; its 75 minute runtime is painstakingly padded out with long long dialogue scenes exploring the very superficial backstories of these characters -- we learn so much yet so little about these people. Between the dramatically lit fixed location and the meandering stretches of talking, we're only one step above High School stage production, and one step beneath MADtv sketch. 

New Flavor Alert! We've documented McCain Fries once already in this series, and since McCain is like the Jackie Chan of french fries, it probably won't be the last. Besides, they got a fancy new seasoning that simply can't go ignored: Garlic and Herb (which sounds like a title that would've been part of the 1990s Nicktoons lineup). "Herb" is like "berry" - We don't know what it is and neither will you. But whatever, these are aces! The brand and the description and everything about them was raising expectations really high and they pretty much hit these heights; any french fry that can survive on its own without the aid of salt, ketchup, or other, is automatically elevated from "side" to "star", and since these are consistently the main course with these movies, they were a delightful distraction from the lackluster feature. 

The Movie: F

The Fries: A