Short Takes

It's easy for folks in the states to forget that Tom Green is NOT a product of MTV. In fact, the vast majority of the absurdist bits that made him infamous HERE were actually whittled from his wildly popular show in a distant, some say mythical, land called Canada.

Early Exposure: Raw Meat and Rare Treats opens a window on the comic's fledgling antics that clearly foretell future extremes. Tom's tyranny of his long-suffering parents creeps into being when he paints their house PLAID while they're away. He mixes with unwitting sanitation workers in search of Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers and other sewer wildlife. Tom straps loaves of bread to his brainpan and accosts unsuspecting pedestrians on the street. Best of all, though, is when he and Derek Harvie play "Follow the Porn" along a breezy highway. This disc's a must for diehards. (2000, 75 mins, Fullframe, DD 2.0, No bonus scenes as noted on package, Long-form "Tom Green" theme).

While Endangered Feces: The Very Worst of Tom Green documents the bizarro FRUITS of such early hijinks and offers far more of what most fans are likely hankering for. Tom rechristens the family car as a "Slut Mobile" by airbrushing its hood with a graphic scene of advanced lesbian tongue rasslin. He herds an entire barnyard of critters into his parent's living room. Sidekick Glenn Humplik figures a lot more prominently also. Trouble is that entails witnessing Tom sing an ode to children with his mug microns from Glenn's nekkid keister. A schizoid geezer violently turns the tables on Tom's wacko-on-the-street schtick. Gross-out goodies include fishing feces from a toilet, conducting a "Fun with Science" exploration of urination, and yep, Tom suckles his first bovine teat and humps his first roadkill. (2000, 87 mins, Fullframe, DD 2.0, 35 minutes of bonus footage from Canadian talk shows including the notorious racoon incident).

Unfortunately, Subway Monkey Hour isn't among Tom's shining MTV moments. Namely, the Andy Kaufman-esque, oddly-poignant Cancer special and the downright surreal Monica Lewinsky broadcast. Here Tom's shuttled to Japan, sadly sans Humplik or even ever-tittering Phil Giroux, to spend two less-than-inspired weeks testing the patience of an intensely courteous culture. Tom visits a used panty peddler, simulates man love with a mechanical mall Santa (who inexplicably croons "The Yellow Rose of Texas") and places a talking "adult novelty" onto an automat serving conveyor. Probably what works best is also the simplest. When Green, who speaks Japanese, purposefully misspeaks or feigns misunderstanding even the most basic of instructions. Such as the demand he remove his Godzilla costume, which he uses as an excuse to strip to his underpants. But, at 3 a.m., even Tom seems to recognize the folly of this adventure, "See man, I told you I'd make it! I'm in Tokyo dressed as a FORK! Vomiting!!!" (2002, 50 mins, Fullframe, DD 2.0, Four bonus bits from the MTV episodes, Photos.)