Terminal USA

1993 dysfunctional family comedy

Rating: no rating

Plot: A Japanese-American family deals with everyday drama.

Like a more frenetic John Waters' movie, Jon Moritsugu's Terminal USA is just under and hour, just about the most amount of time that somebody can handle something like this. It's got its share of funny moments, and Moritsugu, seemingly parodying either something or several somethings, uses dopey music, intentionally bad acting, dialogue that seems like 80's comedy on acid, and exaggerated sound effects about as well as they can be used. My favorite sound effect? A cute little DOINNG while one of the brothers is enjoying skinhead pornography. That freak in the back bedroom's also got a great masturbation scene, a sequence that involves a rocking horse.

Because that's the kind of movie Terminal USA is--the kind where the act of pleasuring yourself is symbolized with the vigorous movements of a rocking horse. It's also the kind of movie with lines like these:

"I don't want to go to college. It's a load of crap straight out the doggy's ass."
"So you've experienced the joy and ecstasy of the natural configuration of a man and woman?"
"You know, you really sizzled my wiener last night. It was a real wiener roast."
"Did he finger your buds?"
"Confucius say, hospitals are for pussies."
"Sugar snatch snackaroos."

Ok, I'm not typing out anymore of those. There's just no point, my oinky-doinky silly friends.

My favorite character was the goggled pizza delivery man. And my favorite scene was probably the one where a pair of skinheads danced. They danced with great energy, my friends!

I don't know why I'm telling you all this.

I might check out other things by Jon Moritsugu. I like how all of these different individual family concerns all came together into one giant magically chaotic mess during the narrative's climax. But since this is so much like a John Waters' movie, I'm going to refuse to rate it.

Speaking of my brother who isn't speaking to me--this movie starts with the Birthday Party's "Sonny's Burning." I only mention him because this is probably the kind of movie he'd like more than me. He's a sugar snatch snackaroo!

I was just scanning the cast list for this and noticed that Gregg Turkington was in it somewhere. I missed him! He must have been one of the skinheads.