“To be or not to be trashy,” that is Troma’s question. With Tromeo and Juliet, Troma’s take on the William Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet, they combined both class and trash, making an incredibly good film. Imagine Romeo and Juliet, but with more punk rock music, dismemberment, and lesbian sex.
Tromeo and Juliet is generally considered the best film in the entire Troma catalog. While it doesn’t have the diehard fanbase that The Toxic Avenger has, the overall quality of Tromeo makes it unsurpassed in Tromaville. The acting is legitimately good and production quality is nothing to laugh at.
Filmed on a budget of just $350,000 in the summer of 1995, Tromeo and Juliet went on to be one of the best reviewed Troma films. Even though Tromeo is one of Troma’s most inexpensive films, it was of such great quality that Lloyd Kaufman was invited to screen it at the Cannes Film Festival (Beware Children At Play! trailer caused people to walk out).
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Lloyd Kaufman managed to get a respectable cast for Tromeo and Juliet. The cast consisted of many notable actors and actresses such as b-movie queens Debbie Rochon and Tiffany Shepis, Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), and is narrated by rock god Lemmy Kilmeister (Motorhead). To top things off, Kaufman paid James Gunn of Guardians of the Galaxy fame $150 to write a screenplay of Tromeo with him.
Tromeo and Juliet has the best soundtrack of any Troma film. Many of the musicians featured on the soundtrack worked for free or just pennies, out of their love for Troma movies. The soundtrack features major bands like Motorhead (known for “Ace of Spades”) and Sublime (known for “What I Got”, “Santeria”, and “Wrong Way”), as well as smaller bands like Ass Ponys, Supernova, and Superchunk.
Tromeo & Juliet On Blu-ray
Body Piercing. Kinky Sex. Dismemberment. The Things That Made Shakespeare Great!
The first film written by James Gunn, who went on to write 2004’s Dawn of the Dead and write/direct Slither, Tromeo & Juliet moves Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed love from 16th Century Verona to a crumbling modern-day New York, where young Tromeo (Will Keenan) and Juliet (Jane Jenson) must defy their families endless feud in order to be together for eternity.
Featuring all the body piercing, kinky sex, car crashes and dismemberment that Shakespeare always wanted but never had, Tromeo & Juilet is the most subversive and original literary adaptation ever put on-screen!
“A fun mix of Shakespeare, lesbian sex, lacerations and Motörhead… It’ll give you more info on making an independent movie than a year of film school…”- Jordan Harper, Riverfront Times Support Indie Filmmakers – Buy From Troma
Watch Tromeo and Juliet For Free!
If there’s only one Troma film to ever watch, it’s definitely Tromeo and Juliet, as it’s as close to mainstream as they’ll ever get.
Or watch Tromeo and Juliet for free on YouTube
Tromeo and Juliet Trivia
The film is more or less a faithful adaptation of the play except with the addition of extreme amounts of Troma-esque sexuality and violence, as well as a revised ending. The film’s title is a portmanteau of “Troma” and “Romeo and Juliet”.
Lloyd Kaufman, Merle Allin and Ami James have non-speaking cameos in the film. A scene featuring Ron Jeremy as a homeless man was filmed but ultimately deleted from the final cut of the movie.
The first draft of Tromeo and Juliet surfaced in 1992, written by Kaufman and Troma employees Andy Deemer and Phil Rivo, written entirely in Shakespearean verse and supposedly featuring The Toxic Avenger as a side character. The feedback from other Troma employees and Michael Herz was unanimously negative, so the idea was scrapped.
Tromeo and Juliet was shot in the summer of 1995 for $350,000, one of the least expensive films in Troma history.
In addition, Tromeo was selected to play at the Cannes Film Festival, the Fantasporto festival, the Mar del Plata Film Festival and the Italian Fantafestival, where it won the award for Best Film of 1997.
In return for their song “Mr. Superlove”, The Ass Ponys’ lead singer requested only a check from the company for $9.95, for the purpose of framing it on his wall. See more…
Despite many claims, the film is not entirely in iambic pentameter. The scene where London Arbuckle dives through the window caused a stuntman to nearly die. For many years after the film was released movie goers thought that all the tattoos and piercings on Debbie Rochon were real.
James Gunn was paid $150 for the screenplay.
The footage of the car flipping over is recycled for many Troma films including Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990), Terror Firmer (1999), and Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000).
Debbie Rochon plays Jane Jensen’s nurse/nanny, despite being a year younger than her in real life.
Posters for various other Troma films are visible throughout both households. Tromeo and Juliet Trivia – IMDb
Tromeo and Juliet is available at Amazon. The Tromeo and Juliet soundtrack is available, as well.
As always, a special thanks goes to Troma and Lloyd Kaufman for making these awesome independent movies available to watch for free!
** Yes, this IS the Troma film that features the infamous giant penis monster. **
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