Leprechaun in the Hood

Credentials: 40% Certified Rotten (Rottentomatoes.com)/ 3.3 out of 10 (Imdb.com)

Plot: The fifth (FIFTH!) entry in the “Leprechaun” saga follows the second most famous leprechaun in America (played by Warwick Davis) as he hunts down his missing golden flute. Apparently, said musical device is busy alternating possession between a pimp/record producer (played by Ice-T, talk about range) and a trio of aspiring, yet wholly untalented rappers. While those four geniuses are busy screwing each other over, the Leprechaun drops some rhymes, smokes a little grass and hangs out with his “zombie fly-girls.” Alright, Irish and hip hop communities. The time is yours to debate who is more annoyed by this movie.

Thoughts: The “Leprechaun” franchise was never very good to begin with. However, the one thing it excelled at was coming up with ridiculous gimmicks to hide how long in the tooth it was getting. Heck, without the Leprechaun blazing the trail, Jason Voorhees never would have found his way into space.

                At a certain point, the “Leprechaun” franchise became the “Vacation” of the horror/comedy world. The little green guy traveled to Vegas, space, and finally… the hood. Where ever the producers could send him to keep things interesting.

                And they almost succeeded this time. “In the Hood” is one of the better entries in the series, but as always, the gag wears thin. The fish-out-of-water, “Odd Couple” combo of an ancient Irish demon chilling in Compton is fun for a while, but it’s a one-note joke.

                Screenwriter Doug Hall dragged it out as long as he could, but eventually my attention started to wander.

Much like “Snakes on a Plane,” the best part of “Leprechaun in the Hood” is the moniker. Both movies were blessed/cursed with titles so hilarious they could never be lived up to.

Ice T seems like he’s having a blast playing the evil pimp/producer Mack Daddy. And he should be having a blast, considering he’s being paid to regurgitate the tired persona he spent decades cultivating. I’m pretty sure he could have played that character in his sleep. Honestly, I can't prove he didn't. Like the script, he was fun for a bit, but you get sick of him.

Our three wannabe rapper heroes aren’t really worth mentioning by name, but two of them have huge muscles and the third spends the whole movie talking about being a virgin.

                Fans of horrible rap music rejoice! This is the movie for you! Our trio of not-so-lovable losers frequently breaks into rap tunes so bland and unappealing they wouldn’t even be welcomed on the after midnight rotation of MTV 8: The Ocho.

                Sadly, the movie is in love with these performances and peppers them in as often as possible. Well, either that or Hall and director Rob Spera were really desperate to pad the runtime a bit.

Warwick Davis is a good sport and he dutifully punches the clock on yet another “Leprechaun” sequel. He's got a lot of energy, but most of his lines sound like something Dr. Seuss scribbled on a bar napkin in between tequila shots.

As the leprechaun, Davis sports some pretty sporadic mind-control powers. For example: He can get a character to shoot himself in the head, but he can’t get anyone to hand him his stupid flute back! How does that work!??! (No word on the staus of his Lucky Charms)

                The movie veers headfirst towards the creepy when it introduces a subplot about the leprechaun’s horn dog ways. That little dude gets around! Apparently ancient Irish demons will bang anyone and anything that moves. It gets uncomfortable, especially when the local drag queen gets involved.

             Here’s a rundown of some of the worst lines “Leprechaun in the Hood” has to offer:

• “Lep in da hood, come to do no good!” (Theme song)
• “A friend with weed, is a friend indeed.”-Leprechaun
• “It’s like Robin Hood, only we’ll be robbin’ in da hood!”-One of the idiot rappers
• “I didn’t come to play with fruit, I just came to find my magic flute!”-Leprechaun to the drag queen)
• "Free at last, free at last! Thank god almighty, I’m free at last!”-Leprechaun, I’m sure MLK was doing backflips in his grave.

Video Evidence

"A friend with weed, is a friend indeed!"

 

Looney Toons humor...

 

Ice T's fro is the stuff legends and dreams are made of             

So if you like lame sight gags and mind-numbingly bad rap music, this’ll be your “Gone with the Wind.” One last thing: Why couldn’t we have called this “Leprechaun in da Hood?” Why bother with “the?” Food for thought.  Bumblebee tuna.