Last year, my senses and threshold for bad taste were both assaulted by Hack Movies’s Cockhammer, a farcical tour-de-force full of silly stoner humor and over-the-top gore. Imagine my surprise when a spin-off arrived, carrying Yuletide greetings to boot. This time, Strageland’s most infamous stoner duo come bearing their own unique gifts of dick and fart jokes galore in Nixon and Hogan Smoke Christmas.
It’s Christmas Eve, and our title characters only have one wish this year: a nice, fresh bag of Columbian smoke-weed. Santa Claus is happy to oblige, and he’s even indulged himself. The only problem is that he swiped the wrong stash from Sasparilla the Weed Witch, and this particular batch has turned him into the undead. He then enlists our intrepid duo to finish up his delivery route, which will be necessary to save Christmas as we know it. Along the way, they encounter everything from mad scientists to evil warlocks, and, they might even stumble upon the true meaning of Christmas itself…that is, if Sasparilla doesn’t rape Santa of his magical powers first!
Hack Movies prides itself on being a place where “comedy kicks horror in the nuts,” but there’s not a whole lot of either here. The horror elements show up in the form of demons, zombies, and some outlandish gore bits, but it’s really a comedy at heart. Your results there will vary depending on the amount of illegal substances you’re on while you watch, unless you have a high sober tolerance for silly, repetitive, and crass dialogue and situations. If the film’s disclaimer about offensive material isn’t enough to warn you, it tosses in some simulated masturbation and scat play within the first ten minutes, just to let you know it’s not messing around. Needless to say, the guys and gals at Hack haven’t developed any sense of shame since Cockhammer, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nixon and Hogan embody this (which isn’t surprising considering the latter is portrayed by writer/director Strange), as they’re a couple of absurdly horny doofuses that bumble their way through the movie. Their banter and antics somehow make them just endearing enough, and, thankfully, the 70 minute running time doesn’t keep them around for too long. The film’s brevity is probably its best aspect, as there’s rarely a dull frame to be found with so much silliness constantly being shoveled on. It’s all certainly juvenile, but there are a couple of genuine chuckles here and there when grue and scat aren’t being doled out in equal measure.
If you have a high tolerance for such gross-out antics, or if you’re in need of some Troma-esque Christmas cheer, this one will hit the spot. To check it out, hit up the Hack Movies website to snag a copy, which will come with a 16:9 transfer and 3 hours of special features, which include 2 commentaries, a blooper reel, behind-the-scenes vignettes, and trailers. Nixon and Hogan Smoke Christmas won’t exactly dash alongside holiday classics, and it’s not something to make a tradition out of, but this is one Christmas feature you aren’t likely to forget. It might be memorable for all the wrong reasons, but, then again, so is your perpetually-drunk uncle who always stumbles in around the holidays. Rent it!
