Menu

Whatever Happened to Melvin From The Toxic Avenger?


melvin.jpg

As Arnold Schwarzenegger prepares to co-star in a big-budget remake, it’s a valid question to ask what original Troma nerd Mark Torgl is doing these days. Like all the cool kids, he is of course on Kickstarter, which is the only thing he has in common with Zach Braff. Having finally decided to embrace the fan-convention experience, he started to make a documentary about it with his friend Joe Nardelli, entitled Toxic Tutu. Except that at some point, the dubious decision was made to add a fake plot on top of it – and the acting in clips so far is not, shall we say, at the Tromeo and Juliet level.

Okay, I’ll be blunt – it looks pretty damn shaky. Hell, it looks like a movie where the presence of Lloyd Kaufman on camera might actually elevate the material. But I like the fact that there are rewards for even a $1 donation, and he wants to cast the movie with fans. I’d much rather see a real documentary – like the stars of The Room, Torgl has the real mixed-blessing kind of celebrity, where you’re famous to a cult of fans for a movie that mocks everything about you.

I have a feeling the fake plot may be what needed to be added to prevent serious soul-baring on that issue. But watch the video after the jump if you’re interested and see what you think.