Review:
"Mad Heidi"
Release Date: June 21, 2023
Rating: Not Rated Running Time: 92 minutes In this day and age when Winnie the Pooh gets the horror treatment, it was only a matter of time that Switzerland’s most beloved literary character would be transformed into a lederhosen-kicking badass for a tongue-in-cheek exercise in exploitation. Sorry, that make that Swissploitation. Selected to open last year’s Other Worlds Film Festival, and scheduled for a one-night national on June 21 via Fathom Events, the unapologetic splatterfest that is Mad Heidi reimagines everyone’s favorite sweet and innocent orphan into a merciless avenger of the Alps. Filled with rage only matched by her defiance, Alice Lucy’s very adult version of Heidi seeks to bring down the fascist regime led by Casper Van Dien’s cheesemaker that has ruled Switzerland for more than two decades. Heidi is forced to get her hands bloody when her boyfriend is executed for the crime of producing, selling, and distributing illegal dairy products. Yes, Swiss President Meili has outlawed all cheese except the inferior products he sells. Directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein fully embrace the inherent silliness of Mad Heidi as they pit the Mountain Girl against a spoilt man-child of a wannabe dictator clearly inspired by a certain disgraced former U.S. President. In the process, they gleefully turn the world’s most famous neutral country into a war zone drench in blood and strewn with body parts. Given Mad Heidi’s hit-and-miss absurdist sense of humor, Hartmann and Klopfstein are obviously less interested in grossing us out with the ultra-violence on display than by making us laugh by the preposterous sight of a man being tortured with scolding hot cheese or a death by accordion. And, as outlandish things get, Hartmann and Klopfstein never treat Heidi as a figure a ridicule, even when they dressed her in a modified Swiss miss outfit for combat. Heidi remains a symbol of hope and strength at a time when her country needs a hero. As for her adversary, Casper Van Dien’s despot is often addressed as a “Very Swiss leader,” a surprisingly durable running joke designed to call attention to both Van Dien accent, which is thicker than a wheel of Appenzeller cheese, and his Trumpian demeanor. The presence of the Starship Troopers star even gives Hartmann and Klopfstein the excuse to pay homage to Paul Verhoeven with a satirical government-produced PSA attacking the lactose intolerance, whom President Meili considers to be a vital threat to Swiss society. There is also a nod to Russ Meyer, who would probably appreciate the Mad Heidi’s campiness and its celebration of its lead protagonist as an ax-wielding champion of the people. “I’m not a good girl anymore,” Heidi declares after her first kill. Mad, bad, and dangerous to know—this Heidi still brings light to the heart even when she’s castrating an opponent with relative ease. Robert Sims Aired: June 14, 2023. Web sites: https://madheidi.com/ |
|