When I was a high school freshman, my friends and I would sometimes make homemade movie parodies. Using someone's Dad's Handycam we'd shoot Star Trek schtick, and at the time we thought it was pretty damn funny stuff. Were that video still around, I'd buy a shotgun and blow it into smithereens.

I mention this because that's what Butch Black: The M.E.A.N. Man looks like: Five or six good pals who decided they wanted to remake/semi-parody their favorite moments from the Tarantino-esque crime flicks. I'm not sure which movies exactly, but I'd guess it was all of 'em.

Anyway, Butch is a no-bullshit mega-cop who's trying to track down a villain while dealing with things like atrocious dialogue, cornball movie references, boom mikes that only bother to capture about half of the soundtrack, and the limited quality of equipment purchased with a Sears charge card.

Even at 60-some minutes, this homemade meatball runs waaaay too long. Maybe if a friend of mine had banged this thing together and asked me what I thought, I'd say "Hey, not bad," but if he asked me if it was worthy for any sort of distribution outside the immediate neighborhood, I'd probably laugh and ask him for another beer.

The DVD

Video: Widescreen, and clearly lensed with the sort of camera generally used for the birthday parties of 7-year-old girls.

Audio: Dolby Digital 0.4. I just made that up, but it feels about right.

Extras: A scene selection menu that doesn't work.

Final Thoughts

No offense to Butch Black's suburban aueteur, Dean Robinson, but this mini-flick / "calling card" / home movie was a certifiable chore to endure. I mean, I love Reservoir Dogs as much as the next guy; doesn't make me a good filmmaker.