If I wasn’t alerted in advance that I would be receiving Barak Epstein’s Prison-A-Go-Go! in my mailbox I would have shouted with glee as my neighbors stared at me. This is the type of film that I live for, and I loved it before I even watched a single minute. I was going to put this off and watch it over the weekend, but the lifespan of the shrink wrap was limited to about fifteen minutes.

Prison-A-Go-Go! is both a parody and homage of the ‘Women In Prison’ (WIP) genre. This genre is often looked down upon for its often brutal portrayal of violence towards women, but in reality the genre is really just about good-old fashioned hair-pulling and T&A. If you are lucky you get a nice bit of vengeance, too. I’m pleased to report that Prison succeeds on so many levels, even someone with my built-in expectations was extremely surprised with the results. To its credit, the makers of Prison take the Airplane! spoof route instead of the too oft-mimicked Scream style. Unlike that film, Prison never attempts to be legitimate cinema. Making this a genuinely funny film enables it to be accessible to casual B-movie fans not familiar with WIP – but if you recognize an in-joke reference to Caged Heat or The Big Doll House, all the better.

The story starts when, completely at random, Callista (Lauren Graham) is abducted from her home by a mad scientist’s cronies. Soon after, she is brought to a penitentiary where Dr. Hurtrider (the mad scientist, played by Travis Willingham) attempts to crossbreed her with Leroy the porcupine in an attempt to cure disease. In the meantime, Callista’s sister, Janie (Laurie Walton), has to find a way to track her down and rescue her. She commits a crime to land in the penitentiary and has to figure out how to find her and escape the “atrocities” of the prison. These atrocities include, but are not limited to: Anally smuggled goods, bad rock bands, food fights, gay guards, product placement, Lloyd Kaufman, ninjas and even some zombies. I got the feeling watching this film that if there were room for a kitchen sink, the filmmakers would have thrown it in.

And I don’t think I would have minded either.

The cast in this movie is perfect in every way. Rhonda Shear, of Hell Comes to Frogtown fame and co-host of “USA Up All Night”, plays the tough-as-nails wise seductress inmate Jackpot. She shines in every scene and makes a good contrast to Janie’s naivety. Also of note, and quite possibly my only complaint with the film, Mary Woronov is criminally underused in her role as prison director Dyanne Slutface. She is a fairly big-star in the cult film front, starring in several of Roger Corman’s classics such as Death Race 2000 and Rock N Roll High School. Sadly, she is only in what seems like five minutes of the film, and the lines she is given are far from highlights. In her place we get Wilbur (Mike Wiebe), the very green prison warden – and that’s not a bad thing. To get an idea of Wilbur, imagine the Lumbergh character in Office Space played by Luke Wilson. The character is better suited for a temp job than any position in a prison, and he knows it. But this is what makes scenes like the one in which he walks the prison grounds wearing a sweater, never without a cup of coffee or cigarette, all the more humorous.

Much of the humor comes from numerous sight gags throughout the film. I typically don’t like to comment on these because the joy of sight gags is finding them yourself. The biggest running joke is that after the first shower scene – a staple in WIP films – a countdown clock appears in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. This handy gag informs you how long you have to wait until the next flash of imprisoned boob. And there are several. Don’t expect anything pornographic though; it’s R-rated fare all the way. That doesn’t change the fact that most of the female cast here are incredible looking. As I said earlier, Lloyd Kaufman is in this, and I hope he realizes that the women in this movie are more attractive than any Tromette ever. It also goes without saying that Prison A-Go-Go! is better than any Troma film ever.

My background in B-movies is diverse and continuously growing. That said, I can honestly say that Prison A-Go-Go! is one of the funniest films I have seen. If you are a fan of genre cinema, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection.

Presentation
I really can’t complain about the quality of the visual presentation, or even the sound. Both are quite good and more than reasonable for a B-movie. My only complaint is the same that I have with all non-Hollywood Studios ... the lack of subtitles. Hard-of-hearing folks like B-films, too, guys. Don’t ignore a demographic for the sake of saving a few bucks.

Extras
Commentary – Barak Epstein (Director, co-writer), Lauren Graham (art director, actress), Michael Fleetwood (editor), Clay Lightford (camera operator), Sharon Wright (band member). The commentary is amazing. The only problem is there is a wealth of information packed into it, and as a result the participants are often talking over each other. But there is no shortage of energy and enthusiasm. It’s obvious that a lot of care has been put into the movie and that the filmmakers are mostly happy with the result. As a result, listening to the commentary is like being invited to the wrap party or the premiere. It's so good, it should be listened to more than once.

Interview – Barak Epstein (5:26) This is a pretty good interview taken during the Shock-A-Go-Go Film Festival in Los Angeles, CA (December 2004) at the Vine Theatre. Barak explains the inspirations behind his decision to make this film, as well as the film itself. Some of this is covered in the commentary, but here Barak is able to go more in-depth about topics glossed over in the commentary without so many participants fighting to get a word in.

Video-A-Go-Go: The behind the scenes docu-rama! (6:51) Exactly what it sounds like; it’s a non-narrated piece showing how they filmed three scenes, including the anaconda scene and the ninja/food fight.

Deleted Scenes (4:15) These should actually be labeled as a blooper reel, as there is little here that isn’t, at least in portion, in the feature. But they are funny enough to be worth watching.

Prison-A-Go-Go! Auditions (1:04) Auditions for two of the characters in the film, Robbin Simmons as “Rosie” and Travis Willingham as “Lipshitz.” It is nothing you would watch more than once.

Prison-A-Go-Go! at “Shock-A-Go-Go” (3:47) Mini-documentary of 2004’s Shock-A-Go-Go film festival in Los Angeles, with attention to the reactions of Prison-A-Go-Go! cast and first-time viewers.

Trailer Vault - Holy Hell do you get trailers! Here is a list. Included here are trailers for: Prison-A-Go-Go, Feeding the Masses, Suburban Nightmare, Bite Me!, Screaming Dead, Vamps 2, Sinful, Chantal. Just a quick note on the Prison trailer; it starts out with a great depressing score and reaction shots from characters making it look as though it were a real dramatic picture. Whoever edited the trailer needs special kudos.

Prison-A-Go-Go! Super Bonus. This is a collection of clips from the Shock-A-Go-Go Q&As. The clips focus on Roger Corman (18:17), Mary Woronov (11:44), and David Friedman (23:41). A Super Bonus indeed, just look at those running times! There is almost a full hour of up-front and never boring Q&As. If you are at all a fan of genre filmmaking, you owe it to yourself to watch this. Thanks Shock-O-Rama!

Fin
This disc is fantastic. You get a wonderful film with a slew of bonus material that you will have nearly endless fun exploring. You will also feel better about yourself because you are spending money on independent cinema, where your money belongs. Remember, every dollar you spend on creative cinema is a dollar you can’t spend on The Day After Tomorrow. It is also more money spent that you now can’t spend on crack. So there you have it. Wither away as a crack addict if you like, or follow my advice: Get this movie, because it’s good for your health.