Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. is a 1990 American superhero comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz and distributed by Troma Entertainment.
Plot
The film follows Sergeant Detective Harry Griswold, a clumsy N.Y.P.D. cop investigating a string of murders involving kabuki actors. While attending an amateur kabuki play, Harry witnesses thugs gun down the entire cast. In the ensuing gunfight, Harry is forcibly kissed by one of the dying actors, unknowingly becoming blessed with the powers of kabuki. Before he knows it, Griswold finds out that he has the ability to transform into Kabukiman, a colorfully dressed slapstick superhero who has the ability to fly and access to such unique weapons as heat seeking chopsticks and fatal sushi.
With the assistance of the beautiful Lotus, he helps clean up the crime-ridden streets of New York and try to stop maniacal businessman Reginald Stuart and his Goons, who plan to fulfill an ancient evil prophecy that will summon The Evil One whose demonic powers can enslave the world.
Cast
Rick Gianasi as Harry Griswold / Sgt. Kabukiman
Susan Byun as Lotus
Bill Weeden as Reginald Stuart
Thomas Crnkovich as Rembrandt
Larry Robinson as Rev. Snipes
Noble Lee Lester as Capt. Bender
Pamela Alster as Connie LaRosa
Shaler McClure as Felicia
Fumio Furuya as Sato
Jeff Wineshmutz as Hernandez
Joe Fleishaker as Joseph
Brick Bronsky as Jughead
Production
While filming The Toxic Avenger Part II in Japan, where the first Toxic Avenger film had been a major hit, Kaufman and Herz were approached by Tetsu Fujimura and Masaya Nakamura of Namco to create a kabuki-themed superhero film, supposedly based on an idea by Kaufman. Namco became a producer, giving Troma a $1.5 million dollar budget to begin preproduction. The film was partially underwritten by the Japanese company Gaga Communications Inc.
At a total of $4 million, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. was Troma's most expensive film at the time of its production. A kabuki theater was constructed at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, New Jersey, for the film. Shooting took place in Hoboken, as well as in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York.
Creative differences troubled production from the start; both Namco and Herz wanted a mainstream-accessible film geared towards teenagers, whereas Kaufman wanted the usual Troma-esque sex and violence style. The film was eventually cut into both PG-13 and R-rated versions.
Release
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. premiered at the American Film Institute in 1990. Although Kaufman screened Kabukiman at the Cannes Film Festival for several years, the film did not see theatrical distribution until 1996, when the PG-13 cut was exhibited.
Reception
Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, called the film "funny in a Mad Magazine-manque sort of way", and concluded: "Is Sergeant Kabukiman a movie that bashes the Japanese? Of course it is. But the punishment it metes out is about as vicious as administering 40 lashes with a wet sesame noodle." A reviewer for the New York Daily News gave the film a score of two-and-a-half stars, writing that, "Amid the effluvia-driven slapstick, gross-out gags, fat jokes and cheerfully cheesy FX, Sgt. Kabukiman offer some legitimately funny sequences. And it benefits from Gianasi's likeable, physically adept performance."
In 2010, Sgt. Kabukiman was included in the book 150 Movies You Should Die Before You See by Steve Miller, who wrote that, "although it's technically one of Lloyd Kaufman's best pictures — he actually had a budget for special effects this time — his attempt to be both mild and spicy means it ends up being mostly bland." Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert reviewed it on their TV show in 1996, though it's not clear whether they had seen the R-rated or PG-13 versions (the recap at the end of the episode did not list any rating for the film). They gave it two thumbs down, with Roger liking it more than Gene, but both men agreeing it was a poorly-made exploitation film that was mildly amusing but not something they'd recommend to viewers.
