Sushi Girl (2012) (1st viewing) d. Saxton, Kern (USA)
Six years after a diamond heist goes sour, crime boss Tony Todd marks the prison release of Noah Hathaway (the lone arrest made) with a special old team reunion to answer a few questions about what went wrong, a gathering whose centerpiece involves seafood delicacies served off lovely Cortney Palm’s prone naked body. Director Saxton has assembled a notably unconventional and skilled cast that includes not only Todd (who exec-produced) and Neverending Story alumnus Hathaway, but James Duval, Andy Mackenzie, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Danny Trejo, Sonny Chiba, and casting coup non pareil, Mark Hamill as a fey psycho whose stringy locks bring to mind ’70s era Paul Williams on a really bad day. Watching this venerable team of underrated talents square off should be entertainment enough for most, but the ultimate equation is less than the sum of its parts. Clearly Saxton and co-writer Destin Pfaff have a deep love for Reservoir Dogs, but stunt casting + ornate production design + nasty torture sequences does not a Tarantino breakout make…especially if the memorably chewy Tarantino dialogue fails to show up (Todd’s ominous “oven timer” monologue notwithstanding). The result is a well-produced film with lofty ambitions, full of sound and fury...that ultimately feels like much ado about nothing.
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