Before we even begin with this week's Stay Indoors Saturday, take a moment, and watch the original trailer for the film. All done? Great. It is this trailer, and the marketing wizards responsible for it, that has led to this film being the Rosetta Stone of shitty video game movie adaptations. The reasoning behind this global misconception? In our humblest opinion: Most people don't realize this film was fully intended to be a comedy. From the first moments of the credits rolling in Space Balls
Street Fighter: The Movie was actually a gag. We'll get to the many, many amazing incidents of Tex Avery inspired camp, but first: the food. We could have designed a meal based on the geography of each one of Street Fighter's
Decadent enough to have been snaked from the table of some XXL pantheon of obese demigods. Still, fuck me, life-threateningly delicious. They pave the streets of Mexico City with these things. (It makes driving both dangerous and delectable.) For the fish tacos, we went with a super simple California incarnation. Any regional disputes about what constitutes a fish taco, we refer you to this handy guide. Now, to the film. Jean-Claude Van Damme and the problem with consanants
Van Damme accepted the role of Guile at the zenith of his action star career. 1994 saw both Time Cop and Street Fighter hit theaters and Van Damme had recently released Universal Solider and Hard Target
Van Damme seems to be the only member of the cast to remain clueless about the movie's intent. He remains the dramatic foil in a film dripping with ham. Also, you can't understand a fucking word he says. All of his lines are articulated with as much finesse as a ball-gagged hostage demanding their own ransom over a barely functioning payphone. From the first "Yuh've last yur bawlsh" (you've lost your balls) to "Son hof ha beetch" (son of a bitch), Van Damme's cluelessness propels the film instantly and permanently into the realm of hard comedy. It's too bad nobody bothered to tell him. He delivers his dialogue with such sincerity; it merely serves to heighten all of the comedy existing around him, fueling the many, many sub-plots crammed into the film. Speaking of which...
Blanka and the case of force-fed exposition Nearly every character from Super Street Fighter II Turbo (no Fei-Long, WTF!) makes an appearance in the film. They are all introduced, by name, just to make sure we all know how deeply loyal the director is remaining to the source material. Raul Julia, in one of his many scene-chewingly superb appearances, addresses Vega and Sagat by delivering the following,
The forced exposition unceremoniously mashed into the film like applesauce before nap-time seems like an unnecessary layer of work on the part of writer/director Steven E. de Souza
Raul Julia and the true face of acting genius Raul Julia was suffering from lung cancer throughout the entire filming of Street Fighter: The Movie and the film would be remembered as the last one Julia made before losing his battle. This film, and his brilliantly ham-faced performance, would be the last entry in Julia's career. It is only after re-watching this film, in a comedic context, that we finally understand how great the loss of Julia is to the acting world. In a production full of barely intelligible dialogue, sets that a porn director would deem low-rent, and sharing screen time with walking erection in the form of JCVD, Raul Julia shone like a falcon set ablaze by a dying star.
Street Food: Fish Tacos & Elote
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed
1/2 medium yellow onion, peeled, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 or 2 serrano chiles, cut in half, stems removed (depending on how hot you want it)
1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems
Salt to taste
Pickled Red Onions via Bon Appetit 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced