Fast Sofa Movie Review

I found Fast Sofa, the novel, in the discount bin in early 1994, intrigued that it came with a 45-rpm vinyl soundtrack attached right into the binding. The story, about an L.A.-livin', heavy metal obsessive named Rick who takes an odd (and pretty short) road trip, most notably visiting his favorite porn star, Ginger, in Palm Springs.

Amusing enough, and a quick read. And Fast Sofa, the movie, keeps the guts of this road trip intact -- enough to realize that our pal Rick is on a real road to nowhere. Jake Busey makes for a creepy and considerably miscast hero, though Jennifer Tilly's wanton Ginger is enough fun for the both of them. Stealing the show, however, is Crispin Glover, as a shut-in sophisticate named Julian who tags along on the latter half of Rick's abortive journey. His outfit alone is reason enough to rent the tape.

But most of Fast Sofa consists of nonsensical vignettes strung together with even more nonsense. Rick gets beaten up after attempting sex with a 16-year-old he meets in a bowling alley. Next scene he has miraculously tracked down the attacker and blows up his car with a crossbow. Still, there's so much loud music, multi-frame editing, and crazy violence you might not even notice that the writhing, oft-naked Tilly has a body double.