4 stars out of 5
A lot was different when I saw Matthew John Lawrence’s first feature, Two Pints Lighter, back in 2013: no pandemic, the president wasn’t a corrupt fascist moron, I had feet, the writer/director billed himself simply as Matt Lawrence, etc. But, upon watching his newly-released second feature, Uncle Peckerhead, it’s clear that some things haven’t changed. Lawrence still loves low-rent horror mixed with comedy, he’s still devoted to Asbury Park and its music scene, and he can still make a solid, highly enjoyable movie. In fact, it’s an even better one.
We meet a punk trio called DUH. Judy sings and plays bass, Max sings and plays guitar, and Melissa is the drummer. They’re going on a short, shoestring-budget tour, but right before, the band van gets repossessed! Dang! Luckily — or perhaps supremely unluckily? — they meet Peckerhead. Should you trust a disheveled older guy with a white van? Who offers to drive you around and be your roadie? Whose name is Peckerhead? When you’re an unknown indie band with out-of-town bookings, yeah, you probably do.
Judy is DUH’s self-appointed leader. Judy is a punk but a rather clean-cut, pragmatic, and somewhat uptight one. You know, that person in the band. Chet Siegel portrays her with charm, maturity, and a little vulnerability — it’s a strong performance. Max is a playful bear not real comfortable with stage banter. He’s depicted by Philly rocker Jeff Riddle, who wrote DUH’s genuinely thrilling original songs (which he also performs on the soundtrack with one of my faves, Augusta Koch, formerly of Cayetana.) Melissa (Ruby McCollister) is dark/twisted/sexy; I only wish Lawrence’s script gave her more to say. And not only because McCollister was the selfie-stick girl in the most recent season of Curb.
And then there’s Peckerhead. (You can call him Peck.) His personality is Southern gentleman, a bit of a dandy, but wrapped in a Jersey trash body. Though he’s never called Uncle Peckerhead, David Littleton gives a very avuncular and very amusing performance in the role.
Besides dealing with Peck’s, uh, nightly transformations (no more spoilers), the movie also has fun with many of the hassles of no-budget touring for young bands: jerky promoters, pretentious bands on the bill, nontraditional venues, selling/not selling merch, hoping an audience member will let you crash at their place, etc. There’s a touch of “hero’s quest” here as well, as DUH hopes to conclude the tour by opening a prominent gig at the real-life House of Independents in their hometown of Asbury. (There are many more “easter eggs” for fans of Jerseyana, including t-shirts from the old Asbury Lanes and bands such as The Great Explainer and Bouncing Souls, plus scenes shot in Bernardsville, JB’s Diner, etc.)
Lawrence’s writing keeps things light but never corny. A definite feel of Troma classics pervades the proceedings, and indeed Lawrence offers a clear tip-of-the-cap to Lloyd Kaufman’s cinematic oeuvre. I laughed a lot — perhaps most at the lines “Hands off the vehicle, hombre” and a well-placed “Namaste.” You might even wonder if this movie is (two pints) light on the gore until… um, let’s just say the horror crowd will eventually be sated. (There is one gross-out that was maybe, maybe just a teensy bit over the line for my personal taste.)
Kind of a funny thing: For much of the movie I couldn’t quite figure out in what era the movie is set. Must be modern-day, because of House of Independents but… Armitron watch, pay phones, cassettes — was this the 90s? Or the 80s?!? Nope, it’s current, but the beauty is, punk and ultra-indie bands have often lived, sometimes due to lack of income, in a charming, slightly affected Land Beyond Time. Luddites unite!
Thank you so much, Matthew James Lawrence, for this extremely entertaining gift for all of us still stuck pandemically streaming at home. Support indie cinema by renting or buying Uncle Peckerhead on YouTube, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Alamo Drafhouse On Demand, Google Play, and many other popular sites. #KeepNJWeird
Jack Silbert, curator