THE ADVENTURES OF EL FRENETICO AND GO-GIRL

THE ADVENTURES OF EL FRENETICO AND GO-GIRL
Directed by Pat Bishow
Written by John Sanborne and Pat Bishow
Produced by Owen Cooper
Edited by Pat Bishow and Owen Cooper
Director of Photography - Owen Cooper
El Frenetico - Charlie Pellegrino
Go-Girl - Frances Lee
Heinrich Syphon - Jon Sanborne
THE ADVENTURES OF EL FRENETICO AND GO-GIRL is one of those wonderful videos that leaves me reaching for things to say, but coming up empty handed. It's sole purpose for creation seems to be to define the word "subversion."
When this arrived in the mail with THE GIRLS FROM H*A*R*M*, there was a note from director Pat Bishow asking me to review H*A*R*M* first. Perhaps Pat was a little embarrassed at the primitive nature of the filmmaking, I'm not sure. Always one to oblige the filmmaker, I did. That was a mistake.
One thing a filmmaker should never do is apologize for their work, no matter how bad they know it to be. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and this one is a zero-budget gold mine of fun and wit.
Like with H*A*R*M*, Bishow draws his inspiration from the television programs of the 1960s, most notably Batman. The same camp style dominates, and upon a glossed-over first viewing one would say the intended market was an audience of children. All the elements are in the right places: evil villains determined to take over the city, costumed crime fighters ready to stop them at every turn, and those endings that are never quite cliffhangers. On the surface this appears like anything on television from Saban entertainment. A closer look reveals something completely different.
Told in three separate "episodes", Mexican wrestler EL FRENETICO helps keep his city crime-free when he's not buried face-first in a pint of frothy ale. Along for the ride is his lesbian companion, GO-GIRL, who just happens to be the brains of the bunch. Both characters are fleshed out by backstories galore that are only hinted at, such as a criminal trial that pushed EL FRENETICO to loose his faith in mankind and hit the bottle. If that's not enough, GO-GIRL must come to terms with a past relationship that drove her former lover to fight for the forces of evil. If only other live action comicbooks were this richly drawn out.
Together the pair must deal with snack food megalomaniacs who want to poison the city with caramel-filled snack cakes and rogue fashion terrorists who kidnap the area's top models in an effort to force hideously ridiculous designs upon the fashion world. If both plots sound lightweight, it's because they are. The plots are just reasons to explore the dynamics of a world where superheroes are as common as McDonalds. Bishow wants to show the human side of superheroes, the side never seen, the side more interesting than any villain could ever be.
It's clear Bishow is stuck in his childhood, his films lack that adult self-awareness which force substance and style to take center stage. Bishow only wants to entertain. Those sharp enough are in for a treat when they see there is much more going on than just the fun and games. There's enough subversion here for everyone.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Chateau/4732/ElFreneticot.html