The Lunatic

Stars: Julie T. Wallace (TV's miniseries "The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil"), Paul Campbell, Reggie Carter, Carl Bradshaw. Although the box cover falsely suggests that viewers are in for some softcore fluff, The Lunatic is a surprisingly good comedy that features foot-tapping reggae music (from Black Uhuru, among others), some great belly laughs, and just a bit of social commentary. Oh, and plenty of raunch. Paul Campbell stars as Aloysius, a small village Jamaican semi-madman who...well...talks to trees. And the trees talk back (complaining of "bee rape" and nosey nearby "born again bushes"). Aloysius' life changes drastically one day when a German tourist named Inga (Julie T. Wallace) drops in his lap (literally) and becomes acquainted...again and again. Wallace, who was excellent in "The Life And Loves Of A She-Devil" (in the role later played by Roseanne Barr in She-Devil) is very good as the sexually voracious matron who--after adding another Jamaican villager to her stable--rules with the iron law of "poom-poom." (As in: no comply with Inge's wishes, no "poom-poom.") Eventually the trio decide to pull off a robbery--a notion that only the lunatic seems to have any moral qualms about--and the results are suitably comic. One of the funnier films of the year (the argument over whether the Queen of England does or doesn't defecate is a gem), The Lunatic is admittedly bawdy, off-color, and outrageously rude at times. It's also bold, smart, and refreshingly sassy. Audience: Not for everybody, The Lunatic should score big with adventurous filmgoers. It's too bad that the cover features a partially nude model (who never appears in the film), since those looking for titillation will be disappointed, while those looking for a good comedy might overlook this title.