The upcoming release of Booty Or Bust 9: Booty Forever is a moment to look back at the Booty phenomenon, surely among the major cultural events of our time. Who could’ve guessed, from its humble initial release in only three small cinemas, the status that these films would attain over the last 10 years?
The characters are now familiar names: Sören Freen, Yvonne DeMorlac, Norman Geist, Catherine Fintag Post. We may love or hate them, we may even love to hate them—but above all, we accept them. They’ve become part of our family; they’ve become our mirrors. The hairstyles are copied, as are the clothes, speech patterns (including what every parent of a pre-teen knows, even the comical, stuttering response of “Fat” Pauly Torkin, “Wha-wha-what could you possibly mean you… I mean me…huh ?”), we buy what they buy, we love what they love.
An astonished public has watched the first eight entries in the Booty Or Bust series continue their unbroken ascent. There’s the rare yet occasional false note, like the notorious “Sexorcism dialogue” in Booty Or Bust 7 : No Time Like Booty Time, but the public will forgive and accept all things Booty. Like a wayward child, it can do no wrong, with each new release we welcome it back.
Something appealing in the series’ basic premise, as well as the record box-office receipts, guarantees that we can expect new Booty installments for an indefinite period of time. Producer Larry Fishbaum said in a recent Variety interview, “Why the hell not ? It seems nobody ever gets sick of Booty! If they keep coming back, I’ll keep putting them out.” But despite Fishbaum’s jocular insouciance, he’s a feeling man, and a regular donator to the Red Cross. These are films of the heart and mind; that risk all and succeed.
Like everyone who saw it, I too was captivated by the initial offering, Booty Or Bust: Who’s Got Da’ Booty? Its combination of virtuosic acting, intelligent and insinuating dialogue and cinematic linguistics came together to explode like a perfectly blended Molotov cocktail. So much so that no one noticed its four-hour running time or the dialogues in Sanskrit, unusual for a film in what’s usually considered a light genre.
One’s tempted to say that the strength of the series lays in the unforgettable set-pieces found in each film. The conversation on the burning bridge between Barbara Lomax and Brontus MacManeer stands as the major cinematic moment of the last few decades. Who’ll ever forget hearing Brontus’ cry, “Look down Barbara! Down! Those are shoes and I like the color red!” And then, the Sacrificial Archery scene in Booty Or Bust 3: A Time For Booty or Kitten Platt’s resurrection from the Golden Lake in Booty Or Bust: Gimme That Booty. Despite these stunning set-pieces, the Booty Or Bust films remain unified works of art where no single element prevails.
If in the first eight films we’ve been introduced to the Trufin and the Larnex, the Node-Related Tricept and the Shord, Booty Or Bust 9 suggests a wholly new take in the Booty canon. The excitement has risen ever since the release of the first so-called “Chubby Balloon” teaser. Crazy? Unheard of? Absolutely: it’s Booty Or Bust.
But what’s the secret of Booty Or Bust? From where does its ongoing fascination stem? Perhaps we received a hint in the unforgettable monologue from Booty Or Bust 4: I’m Talkin’ Booty when Frantisek Preen says to Amanda Thorndike, his heart on fire, “You know Amanda, peoples is always asking me what I’m about. Like if a man can be summed up in just a few words! But you can’t do that! You can’t just sum up a person, nobody can! Not even an idiot—even if they’re smart as hell! So you know what I sez to them? I look ‘em straight in the eyes and I tell ‘em: Booty, that’s what I’m about, just Booty, plain and simple.”
Booty, plain and simple. Booty Or Bust 9 : Booty Forever opens across the country on April 1.