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5.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Billboard Frolics remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like your animation with a side of unsettling surrealism, you might get a kick out of this. If you prefer cartoons that have a plot or make any sense at all, stay far, far away.
Honestly, this thing feels like someone took a bunch of advertising scraps, threw them into a blender, and added a jazzy soundtrack. It’s barely a movie, but it’s definitely something.
The whole premise is just billboards coming to life. That’s it. It starts with Eddie Camphor and his buddy Rub-Him-Off—a name that, yeah, sure, let's just move past that—doing a song and dance to a tune you definitely know.
Then it just goes off the rails. There’s a Cuban tourism dancer, singing tamales, and some Russian rye bread that somehow has better rhythm than I do. It’s a total sensory overload.
There’s a bit with a chick from a 'My Ami' ad that gets inflated by an air pump. It’s one of those moments that feels like it’s trying to be cute but ends up being deeply, deeply bizarre. It’s like the animators were just throwing ideas at the wall to see what would stick.
It’s not quite as charming as All Wet, which at least had a sense of place. This just feels like a collection of gags that needed a home. It makes as much sense as the plot of Riders of the Law, which is to say, absolutely none at all.
The ending is the best part, honestly. A cat attacks the chick, and suddenly the whole neighborhood of posters decides to intervene. You’ve got a police car, a dog, and finally, a giant arm and hammer from a baking soda ad that just whacks the cat. It’s abrupt. It’s violent. It’s over.
It’s a strange, short trip. I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone with a functioning brain, but hey, if you’re bored, it’s only a few minutes of your life you'll never get back. 🤷♂️