Tank Girl

Directed by Rachel Talalay starring Lori Petty, Naomi Watts and Malcolm McDowell playing at Sony Fresh Pond

"Tank Girl" is brill. Based on a witty, Brit-y, cool cult comic book, this live-action movie introduces a heroine who could erase bunny bimbo, Jessica Rabbit, with one irreverent stomp of her oversized MC boot. Tank Girl could be the product of a rather revolting orgy involving Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Madonna, and Courtney Love. She's the baby that could be born if Thelma impregnated Louise with a turkey baster. But at the bottom of her cliff, this girl's driving off in her tank, swigging from a Forty and laughing out loud.

Artist Jamie Hewlett and writer Alan Martin were a couple of British blokes who emerged from the subterranean 'zine scene with the chronicles of Tank Girl, whose major pursuits include drinking too much beer, smoking cigarettes and snogging any kangaroo that comes her way. Occasionally in the comic books, she's sent on missions such as delivering colostomy bags to the President, but Hewlett and Martin merely flirt with the concept of plot, reveling instead in irrelevant violence and super-cool style.

When Tank Girl went Hollywood, some compromises were necessary. But director Rachel Talalay, who produced "Cry Baby" and "Hairspray" for darling weirdo John Waters, and sharpened her directorial talons with the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series, energetically faces the challenge of fleshing out "Tank Girl."

Talalay succeeds in capturing the colorful, playful nature of a comic strip. The scenes come fast and funny, and aren't bound by the conventional live-action restraint of continuity. In the course of the film, Tank Girl wears dozens of different get-ups, the work of brilliant costume designer Arianne Phillips, which are sure to inspire suburban pre-teens across the land.

Tank Girl's bleached blond mohawk is corn-rowed one scene, patently flipped the next. Even her eyes switch color, sometimes blue, then green, then one of each. Thank you, colored contacts! And yet we're spared the tedium of witnessing these transformations, exempt from time's progression and the mirror-time necessary to look as cool as Tank Girl.

It's too bad that Talalay seems obliged to package these scenes of glorious heat lightning in the same ol', same ol', bad guy/good guy, action-movie plot. Although spoofing the conventional action movie is hardly original, Talalay's failure to comment on or corrupt the form seems naive, and betrays Tank Girl, forcing upon her the burden of morals. It's ironic that the three dimensional characters of the comic book become flat, at least in their simplistic division between good and evil, in the medium of film.

Although the plot skeleton is ancient and predictable, the flesh of the movie is as firm and bouncy as Tank Girl's own. Talalay effectively juxtaposes the live action with short segments of animation, computerized effects, puppet animation and arty close-ups of Hewlett's drawings which rightly communicate the KAPOW! of comics. There is an extravagant Busby Berkeley dance number to Cole Porter's "Let's Fall in Love," and several other scenes totally unnecessary to the plot. It is these scenes which make the movie great.

Inevitably, hard core fans will miss the nasty edge of the comic book version, and those wary of Hollywood commercialization will prick up their ears for the faintest whisper of `sell-out,' but obscure British references and gleeful violence don't always merit a $25 million budget. At least not obscure British references. Even those hard-core comic geeks who were down with Tank Girl before she became so freaking cool, ought to get a kick out of this sneak peek into their adorable idol's history. The movie's plot can be appreciated as a prologue, how Tank Girl got her tank, that sort of thing.

It's 2033. There has been a water shortage since a comet hit earth thirty years prior. The bad guys are the Department of Water and Power, and they control the flow of the precious commodity. The head of the DWP, and major wet blanket, Kesslee, is played with exacting villainy by Malcolm McDowell. McDowell is, of course, the arch enemy of our beloved rebelle Tank Girl (as well as of any actor trying to get a bad guy role these days).

Tank Girl is Rebecca Buck, a cocky 23 year old with a head of platinum chaos and a soul of pure spitfire. The bad guys have the water and she doesn't think that's fair. It's never clear why Rebecca cares so much about water, bathing doesn't seem to be a big concern for her, and beer is her beverage of choice, but never-the-less she becomes entangled in a dutiful battle with the bad.

Kesslee catches Rebecca and puts her in a dreadful prison hoping to convince the riotous grrrl to swallow her morals and fight on his side of evil. Instead, the venomous feminist spits in the face of bad men everywhere, and escapes in a pilfered tank which she grows to love with the passion David Hasselhoff had for his car, Kitt.

Rebecca becomes Tank Girl, and with the help ofnew found sidekick and best buddy, Jet Girl,starts plotting revenge. Jet Girl is played byNaomi Watts, who does a terrific job oftransforming from reticent to rebel. Watts managesto create her own distinct character and playsquite an anarchistic anthem on her second fiddle.

Tank Girl herself is incarnated by Lori Petty,whose previous performances in "A League of TheirOwn" and "Point Break" gave little indication ofher leading-lady spunk. Petty is charismatic asall get out, swaggering about like an imminentfirecracker spinning on the sidewalk. Her whisperybaby-girl voice, which threatens to be irritating,instead coats the filth emerging from her mouthwith delicious irony.

The girls gang up with a band of rebel 'roos,the Rippers, and fight for their right to have aproverbial pool party. The Rippers, are a cliqueof half-man, half-kangaroo mutants, played byactors with elaborate make-up, and exceedinglyclever costumes designed by Stan Winston. Theyeach have definite personalities. The one who isreminiscent of rapper Ice-T, is played withsurprising depth by the rapper Ice-T. The Rippersare quite revolting in appearance, with scummyteeth and skin like hairy pumpernickel bagels, yetsomehow they're so charming it isn't impossible tounderstand the impulse to shag one. They are halfhuman, after all.

The movie drags a bit towards the end, as allthe loose ends are neatly tied up, and one wonderswhether they couldn't perhaps be shorn off, likeso many strands of platinum hair. But all in all,"Tank Girl" is a terrific romp. Visually, it's ascool as anything. The acting is spirited. There isa heavenly soundtrack with great songs by L7,Belly and Tank Girl's own Holey mother, CourtneyLove. The glory of "Tank Girl" is that it doesn'ttake itself too seriously. Swagger in with a stashof smokes and a paper bagged beverage (don't wastewater) and get tanked.