Tank Girl is ridiculous 90s fun and has Ice-T as a mutant kangaroo man

Submitted by ggroover97 t3_yg45ew in movies

Tank Girl is a fun 90s guilty pleasure. I've never read the original British comic, but considering it was co-created by Jamie Hewlett, who also co-created Gorillaz, I was instantly intrigued. Think Mad Max but infused with 80s/90s punk culture.

Even if you didn't read the comic, the movie is loaded with comic art. There are even damn good animated sequences sprinkled throughout the movie. These sequences look like they would have aired on MTV in the 90s alongside Æon Flux and The Maxx.

The cast is also wild including Lori Petty (who I initially knew as Livewire in Superman: The Animated Series), Naomi Watts as Jet Girl, and Malcolm McDowell as the villain (who voiced Metallo in Superman: TAS) who makes people walk on glass and sucks out the water out of them. He even gains a deadly mech arm. What's not to love?

I love Petty's humor and quips throughout. There's even a female masturbation quip in this. Am I wrong to think Lori Petty would have made a great live-action Harley Quinn in the 90s?

Finally we have the human/kanagroo hybrids, the Rippers with Ice-T playing one of them. It's such odd casting considering the look of the creatures but considering Ice-T was paid $1 million for this, he ended up okay.

While I do think Tank Girl is a lot of fun, I wish the movie reflected more of the look of the comic. The movie looks drab opposed to the comic art which leaps off the page. If only this movie had the chaotic aesthetic of Mad Max: Fury Road. An animated series with Lori Petty would be ideal as well. Maybe the Margot Robbie reboot will fare better in this department.

What do you think of Tank Girl?

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PixelPantsAshli t1_iu6x3ii wrote

Tank Girl was my first indication that I might not be straight.

Lori Petty, I still love you.

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S_Z t1_iu7qd16 wrote

Have you seen Station Eleven?

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PixelPantsAshli t1_iu9lfs0 wrote

No but mentioning it in this context is reason enough to add it to my list.

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S_Z t1_iuadsa2 wrote

It is lyrical and deeply moving. Ya girl Lori has a great part.

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FalconBurcham t1_iu8c3n0 wrote

It was 90s Winona Rider for me, but Lori Petty confirmed it with this movie. I even dated a girl who looked like a cross between Petty and Drew Barrymore would look like. Haha

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ThaRhyno t1_iu9lxto wrote

Also Orange is the New Black. She’s somewhere in there. Whole show was great. Worth a watch.

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just-some-person t1_iu7o4jq wrote

One of the best Soundtracks of the 90s as well. Bjork, Portishead, Tricky...so great.

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amckoy t1_iu8bpo6 wrote

Listened to it today. Excellent soundtrack. Fun.

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1MoreRedNightmare t1_iu6x0nq wrote

Naomi Watts with black hair...that brought me in

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dow366 t1_iu6r3kz wrote

Would any of you boys like a lube job?

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such a guilty pleasure of a movie

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Vehlin t1_iu7zzvz wrote

"Anyone else want an oil change?"

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Avid_Vacuous t1_iu6tqjl wrote

"Ain't gonna be no crumpets and tea!"

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GargantuanGorgon t1_iu73g3y wrote

I love Tank Girl and don't consider it a guilty pleasure at all. It's such a fun movie. The mutant roos didn't work for me as well as some other elements, but I love that the film went for it anyway.

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MoronTheBall t1_iu800jx wrote

When she has to create a diversion so she sings Cole Porter. The absolute best.

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MsAlyssa t1_iu7454v wrote

I thought she was Gwen Stefani when I first came across it. It definitely caught my attention and I enjoyed it I remember liking it but I haven’t seen it in so long.

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ggroover97 OP t1_iu7823x wrote

Surprised there was no No Doubt in the soundtrack

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yousyveshughs t1_iu7wmdv wrote

They very fairly unknown at that point, and the movie came out about half a year before Tragic Kingdom was released.

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fibz t1_iu754bn wrote

Man, those kangaroos wanted to fuck her so bad

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ggroover97 OP t1_iu6rs52 wrote

I'm also thinking about who would direct a Tank Girl reboot. My mind immediately went to George Miller, but he already has Mad Max.

Here are some ideas:

  • Sam Raimi (Evil Dead movies, Spider-Man movies, Doctor Strange 2, etc.)
  • Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate)
  • Edgar Wright (Cornetto trilogy, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Baby Driver, etc.)
  • Paul Verhoeven (RoboCop, Total Recall, Starship Troopers, etc.)
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mrbrick t1_iu6uj0m wrote

Margot Robbie’s production is apparently developing a new tank girl film.

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Banjo-Oz t1_iu85sgk wrote

Her Harley Quinn is SO inspired by Lori's Tank Girl performance. Nothing will change my mind on that.

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Dontbeajerkdude t1_iu8m0as wrote

Modern Harley Quinn is basically just girl Deadpool. And Deadpool, who started out as a Death stroke clone is now basically just man Tank Girl.

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Banjo-Oz t1_iu8w615 wrote

In attitude a bit, I guess? The snark reminds me more of Tank Girl than DP honestly. She's also not as meta as Deadpool though. Deadpool is basically male She Hulk in that respect (at least John Byrne She Hulk, where she was at her most fourth wall breaking).

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Dontbeajerkdude t1_iu8xykr wrote

She violently kills people, loves fast food, makes puns, bad jokes and pop culture references. Plus she's bisexual and horny.

You could probably make a game out of who said it by mixing their dialogue.

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ggroover97 OP t1_iu6ukx8 wrote

I know. It’s in my post.

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mrbrick t1_iu6v5a7 wrote

My gosh I’m sorry. I read everything but that last paragraph.

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digital_organism t1_iu7oack wrote

It’s such a good film a modern remake would be so cool especially if made by a deadly woman (I know the original is teenage fan-service but it is meta).

Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, the greatest vampire movie)

Ana Lily Amirpour (A girl walks home alone at night, such a punk)

Lucile Hadzihalilovic (Évolution, would love to see this director do a black comedy)

The real problem would be casting as Lori Petty is perfect for the role…I hope it’d be someone more exciting than the likes of Margot Robbie (yawn)…

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shigensis t1_iu8ih36 wrote

I'd go with Miller or Wright if I wanted to get close to the comic probably.

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Many-Outside-7594 t1_iu70uyv wrote

Ah the 90's.

I remember when this was on HBO amd saw it as a >10 little kid. So it was right up my alley.

I wish we could have gotten a few more movies like this back then.

Crazy to remember a time when Tank Girl and Bio Dome ruled the world.

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Banjo-Oz t1_iu85q24 wrote

I keep wondering when we are going to get 90's era nostalgia movies like we have been getting 70's ones for awhile and a few 80's ones lately. Something like Stranger Things or Once Upon a Time in Hollywood set in the 90's..l

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rdmasters t1_iu7u0ni wrote

There is a Margot Robbie remake in the works???

(dies)

One of my favorite movies, alongside Buckroo Banzai, The Princess Bride, Flying High, and Godzilla 2000.

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SuspiciouslyEvil t1_iu7quir wrote

Got my boyfriend to watch it and he loved it. He said "it's just Deadpool with a woman" which totally nails it.

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mediarch t1_iu6sifa wrote

Ice T is a technically a member of Black Sabbath. Dude's a badass

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lvfunk t1_iu79xb2 wrote

The tank is? Glad.. Sad...MAAAAD

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Banjo-Oz t1_iu85h72 wrote

Extremely fun movie. I was always sad it got critically savaged so bad, not to mention messed with during production (I hate that the ending got cut and replaced with a five second animation, given parts were already shot!). At least the director - who should have gone on to good things for the vibrant style she brought - finally got a decent gig working in TV a few decades later (Dr Who, amongst other shows) but I wish she had made more films like Tank Girl.

Lori, Jeff and especially Malcolm are absolute standout performances in this movie. I always thought Lori could have played Harley Quinn back in the day (indeed she kind of did in Gotham as a cameo) and I think Margot's version is at least partly inspired by Lori's TG performance.

The movie is far from perfect, but given the backstory that's not surprising. It is far, far better than its reputation, however. Also an absolutely killer period soundtrack that makes me nostalgic for the era now.

The Cole Porter scene is stunning and really ahead of its time for the kind of zaniness you'd see in movies today.

I've never even considered an animated followup despite the source material, but if it brought Lori back to the role I would be 200% down for that!

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ImpracticallySharp t1_iu8a0m3 wrote

I had read the comics before watching the movie, and I thought it was a completely neutered and bland version of the comic.

Looking up interviews, it seems like the creators agree:

> Rachel Talalay has since said that the film was taken out of her hands by studio execs and watered down

And Alan Martin (who wrote the comic) says:

> I still think that the script sucked from the very beginning, so there wasn’t much of a chance for it to work out well. It was all American locker-room humour, there was nothing surreal or alternative about the jokes, I find it very painful to watch because the dialogue is so bad.

Jamie Hewlett:

> "They forgot to film about ten major scenes so we had to animate them ... it was a horrible experience."

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FalconBurcham t1_iu8coig wrote

I enjoyed the movie, but I don’t know the comics. Sounds like it’s good that I didn’t read the comics first.

This reminds me of Foundation on Apple’s streaming platform. I read Asimov’s books. The so-called adaptation is so poor it’s offensive. I haven’t made it past the 3rd or 4th episode. It shouldn’t even be called Foundation.

I think it’s impossible to leave a prior impression at the door when you watch an adaptation.

Glad the latest Dune went well (admittedly, I still like the 80s version for its strangeness—I think it captures the weirdness of the books. But the latest is truer to the source).

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theslothening t1_iu90umg wrote

You should keep watching Foundation simply for the Cleon storyline. Ignore the rest of it (the parts actually adapted from the books) and the Empire half of the show would be one of the best shows on TV if it were completely self contained and expanded upon.

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FalconBurcham t1_iu9u9ea wrote

Yes, I did like the Cleon storyline in the show. I think they could have left Foundation out of it entirely and just developed a new show around that idea.

I’ll probably give Foundation another shot just for that when I run low on shows (which I’ve been saying forever… and Amazon just started showing Peripheral, which I haven’t even started, so… haha)

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Ivy_Moon475 t1_iu8uqhl wrote

The movie got me into the comic. Well worth two dollars and fifteeen cents!

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andrewharlan2 t1_iu96uif wrote

I'm a software engineer. When I write tests and need a monetary amount, I use $2.15 because of this movie.

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dirtycaver t1_iu784w9 wrote

I saw the film prop for the Water and Power airplane thing in a nudist camp in Florida many years ago. Very interesting. I enjoyed the movie- I enjoyed the campy humor, but a more serious (less comic book) version would also be an interesting take in the same storyverse.

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MIDNIGHTZOMBIE t1_iu7n9hh wrote

I REALLY want to try chest water. It must be sooooo good.

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rataplein t1_iu7nyxy wrote

fuck the pipe scene.

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Smh_nz t1_iu7siv5 wrote

One of my favs!!

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shigensis t1_iu8jf83 wrote

I don't remember much from the movie (I think I saw it IN the actual 90's), But it didn't really live up to the comics, which I had enjoyed a lot. My copies are pretty much falling apart from rereads. Now that I think of it, I even have the movie adaptation, but again neither story nor art matches the originals.

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blip44 t1_iu8z415 wrote

Ice-T agreeing to do the role because he thought he was going to play a stripper is the best.

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Schmilsson1 t1_iu6udsy wrote

Nowhere near as fun as the comics, alas. Be interesting to see a new version for streaming that captures that vibe more.

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Content-From-Reddit t1_iu7enoy wrote

I actually met Lori Petty last weekend. My main takeaway is that she probably has a drinking problem.

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mildkinda t1_iu7ir5p wrote

I remember the comic strip but still havent seen the film. One of these days... LP is bril, though. She (relatively) recently was in Orange is the New Black and was awesome.

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EastClintwood89 t1_iu7ujb1 wrote

Also my favorite bro to play in Broforce. I've completed whole levels by just plowing through with the tank.

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aegaetis3379 t1_iu8kmht wrote

Your mother and my mother were hanging out clothes

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CrystalStilts t1_iu8ku61 wrote

Whenever people talk about the water crisis I think of showering in sand from this movie.

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T_raltixx t1_iu8likl wrote

There's a great film in there somewhere. It screams studio interference. They really didn't understand comic books being for adults and/or non-superhero. Great central performance.

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tikhead t1_iu8qbpw wrote

While I did enjoy the movie, I feel like the soundtrack was my favorite part.

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BlondieBabe436 t1_iu8up6q wrote

I've read the comics, and they are quite fun and amusing. The movie really got the vibe down and it's a wild ride from start to finish!

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erasrhed t1_iu9g1ly wrote

The first half is great. Then it sort of gets tired by the end.

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bodiddlysquat26 t1_iu9lqrv wrote

IIRC this soundtrack has a one off song from Scott Weiland.

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dac79nj t1_iuao8q4 wrote

Saw this movie in '96 or '97 and loved it. West End Games put out a tie-in RPG that I wanted to play but I couldn't get my friends to give it a try.

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MadAsH3ll t1_iub0if1 wrote

That's me in the mask. No, the other one in the mask!

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