The Toxic Avenger (1985)

What a time capsule of the 80's.

The Toxic Avenger is a cult classic B-movie about a nerdy mop-boy who falls into a vat of toxic waste and become a super-hero. Sort of Swamp Thing meets Darkman meets The Punisher.

This is a classic case of a good idea ruined in execution. Let's break it down.

GOOD: satirizing the fad of health clubs and the preening douchebags they spawned by depicting them as 'roided-out spree killers who humiliate Melvin the mop-boy when they're not mowing down random pedestrians in hit-and-runs. Bonus: the origin of the point system (6 pts for a kid, 6 more if you can hit the seeing eye dog with him).

BAD: so much over-acting and elastic facial expressions that it's impossible not to cringe every time they're on screen.

GOOD: satirizing the rampant drug use of the time by having the drivers of the toxic waste truck stop for a cocaine break, thus providing the catalyst for Melvin's transformation.

BAD: dude pulls out a plastic bag with about a half pound of flour in it and both drivers bury their faces like they're trying to make snow angels with their nostrils. There's no need to belabor a point like that.

GOOD: providing numerous low-level bad guys to highlight the corruption of the city

BAD: more costumed creeps per capita than Gotham City. Not every single henchman needs to look like a reject from KISS.

GOOD: a love interest whose literal blindness to the character's deformities is matched only by her metaphorical blindness to his vigilante justice.

BAD: stealing jokes from Young Frankenstein by having Blind Chick constantly hit Toxie in the nuts with various objects while she smiles obliviously. It was only funny when Gene Hackman did it.

Now I realize that this movie is from Troma Films, home of some of the crappiest movies ever to be intentionally produced. They didn't care about auteurism. They didn't care about plot, pacing, editing, or suspending disbelief. And that's fine. You can still watch Toxic Avenger and not care. But if you're at all interested in making a movie, I would suggest this one just to demonstrate what not to do.