Operation : Pussycat (2004) is a breezy 42 minute tribute to Russ Meyer by Japanese director Ryuichi Honda.

Pussycat basically takes the template of Meyer's classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!- Three garish, criminally inclined strippers hit the road, leaving a body or two in their wake, and eventually make their way to a crippled old pervert's house where they try to scam/seduce/beat him out of his hidden stash of loot.

First, I'm going to assume this short was more a fun exercise than a serious endeavor. At least. I hope so. It is clearly low budget, even more so than the b-classic it imitates, but even on the cheap I cannot imagine why you'd want to waste time and money on this kind of pale retread unless it was just for fun.

Indifference. It might be the bane of any critic. You can talk about love. You talk about dislike. But, what if your impression was only a shrugging, "Meh?" That is a far harder hurdle.

Yeah, it was cute to see Kei Mizutani, Nao Eguchi, and Yukari Fukawa go-go dance and karate chop their way through the film, but like everything else in this homage, they pale to the source. They aren't nearly as sexy, busty, or powerful as Meyer's original trio of babes. It is safe to say Haji, Lori Williams, and well-endowed force of nature that is Tura Satana would crush their counterparts under the heels of their go-go boots.

There is nothing particularly outstanding about Operation : Pussycat. By the same token, there was nothing awful about it. I mean, the budget was lacking, but that I can forgive. Direction was fine. Casting was okay. It is fast paced and short on running time, so I never felt restless. But, the bottom line is, it just doesn't do anything clever or remarkable. As a tribute to Meyers, it really only reminds you of just how superior a b-helmer he was because this film cannot even muster a fraction of his energy.

The DVD: MVD Visual.

The Picture:

Non-Anamorphic Widescreen. Well, another video shot feature, and it isn't high end video either. As if the low budget image wasn't enough, conditions on the Japanese coastline weren't very accommodating so some seriously overcast skies and poorly lit interiors just dull the image further.

The Sound:

2.0 Stereo, Japanese language with default, non-removable subtitles. Again, low budget, but at least the soundtrack does a good job of replicating 60's bepopping tunes, including a great closing number with blatant double entendre lyrics and a guy singing "Push-ie cat, pushie-cat..."

The Extras:

Trailer.

Conclusion:

I've been to a midnight screening of Faster, Pussycat!, Kill!, Kill! and it was a riotous, memorable occasion. I doubt Operation: Pussycat for all its good intentions and inspiration could muster the same. I am about as serious a cult film and foreign film lover as you are likely to find, but even I strain to see the value of a low budget, weak, modern imitation of a 60's cult classic. Worth a casual look, but thats about it.