11°c A few clouds
18°c Sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Surf Chimps
Our Rating: 
Winnipeg playwright J.D. Renaud launches a movie geek’s investigation into the entirely unworthy “lost film” Surf Chimps, one of those puerile ’80s kid flicks about an unlikely friendship between a troubled punk and a crazy surfing chimpanzee. And if you think that’s too stupid a concept to believe, Renaud screens clips from a handful of primate movies that really exist.
Renaud does his best to reproduce the movie on the fringe stage with the help of Melanie Dahling as the irritatingly spunky “Kid Who Learns a Thing,” Bill Pats as the belligerent plot-driver “The Antagonist” and Quinn Greene, manfully suiting up in the monkey suit as Surf Chimp.
The hour-long comedy incorporates music, cardboard sets and an elaborate video presentation. The sheer abundance of material sometimes threatens the oft-chaotic production with a wipeout. But the cast gets through it all with admirable aplomb, delivering a bitch-slap to Hollywood-movie cliché with stinging accuracy.
— Randall King
From the Fringe program:
Surf Chimps is the classic film about a chimp who surfs, the kid he teaches and the evil man who tries to keep them apart.
Too bad it was never finished.
This show compiles the incomplete elements that led to the inception and demise of Surf Chimps. Using found script pages, audition footage, musical montages and other behind-the-scenes evidence, the most complete and cohesive presentation to date of this lost piece of primate-based cinematic history can finally be told.
http://www.theplaceholdershow.com/surfchimps/
Recommended For: Mature Audience
Length: 60 min
Tickets: $8
Discount Tickets: $7 for Matinees
Warnings: Subject Matter, Language, Gunshots, Strobe Lights
History
Updated on Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 3:32 PM CDT:
Adds review
- Back to Top
- Return to Fringe Show Reviews
Poll
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.