So Long, and Thanks for the Mammeries - Bitchslap Trailer

Beating the ambitions of Quentin Tarantino to the punch by what looks to be an ultra-polished version of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (complete with crazy camera angles, remote desert ranches, and busty gals kicking mighty man-butt) comes the not-nearly-as-great-titled, Bitch Slap.  Here is hoping that director Rick Jacobson is not limited to just injecting Michael Bay-isms and modern speed-ramp cinematography into the mix, which this trailer implies.

Movies Online (the source of this trailer) also has a review up. They indicate there is a little bit of the old Memento reverse-narrative thing going on in there as well as a sampler of pop philosophy which (hopefully) tip the hand that ambitions go beyond simply remaking the film (although there are many recognizable Pussycat shots in the trailer).  With the success of exploitation mish-mashes Grindhouse and Doomsday this stylishly shot updating of the Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! ‘big-tits-and-sexy-violence’ grrrrl-power cult trash-terpiece from Russ Meyer is certainly hitting my guilty pleasure button mightily. The question is: will Bitch Slap be clever or pandering?  The cast includes Sam Raimi-produced-TV regulars Lucy “Xena” Lawless and Kevin “Hercules” Sorbo, and the stunts are handled by Zoe Bell (who does not seem to be significantly in front of the camera this time, despite the success of her starring turn in Deathproof).  I find it curious that they are omitting any sort of dialogue (one of the chief strengths of Meyer‘s flick) from the trailer. 

What makes “Bitch Slap” different is a “B” Story device that runs throughout the film to illuminate character, backstory and relationship histories not previously revealed. Like the movie “Momento,” [sic] these scene flashbacks take place in reverse; so by the end of the film, the audience has a wholly different take on who these women are and why they are behaving so badly. “Bitch Slap” also employs a mysterious Female Narrator who comments periodically on the folly of humanity, the plight of the human condition and the vagaries of life and love through quoting the likes of Dostoevsky, T.S. Eliot, Sun Tzu and even Buddha. Bet you never heard THAT in “Jailbait Babysitter!”

Bitchslap is due out late 2008 (the trailer says Christmas, although the IMDb indicates early 2009).  And more information is likely to seep out of San Diego as the Comic Con gears up down there tomorrow.

(While quite safe for work, THIS IS YOUR CLEAVAGE WARNING BEFORE YOU HIT PLAY after the Jump.)