''Wasabi Tuna'' is a 2003

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Cafe Entertainment Studios

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...

starring

Jason London Jason Paul London (born November 7, 1972) is an American actor, known for his roles as Randall "Pink" Floyd in director Richard Linklater's film '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993), as Jesse in '' The Rage: Carrie 2'' (1999) and as Rick Rambis in '' O ...

Barney Cheng Barney Cheng (born February 1, 1971) is a Taiwanese-American actor, director, writer and producer. Cheng was born in Taipei, Taiwan. His family emigrated to the United States when he was 12 years old and he grew up in Brea, California. He spe ...

Tim Meadows Timothy Meadows (born February 5, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the longest-running cast members on ''Saturday Night Live'', where he appeared for ten seasons and for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy ...

Antonio Sabàto, Jr. Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

Alanna Ubach Alanna Ubach (born October 3, 1975) is an American actress, known for her roles as Serena McGuire in ''Legally Blonde'' (2001) & ''Legally Blonde 2'' (2003), Isabel Villalobos in '' Meet the Fockers'' (2004), Maria in '' Sister Act 2: Back in th ...

, Guillermo Díaz,

Alexis Arquette Alexis Arquette (born Robert Arquette; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress. Early life Arquette was born in Los Angeles, the fourth of five children of Lewis Arquette, an actor and director, and Brenda Olivia "Mardi ...

Megan Cavanagh Megan Cavanagh (born November 8, 1960) is an American actress, who is best known for portraying Marla Hooch in ''A League of Their Own'' and the voice of Judy Neutron in '' Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius'' and ''The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Ge ...

, and Arturo Gil.

Anna Nicole Smith Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan; November 28, 1967 – February 8, 2007) was an American model, actress, and television personality. Smith started her career as a ''Playboy'' magazine centerfold in May 1992 and won the title of 1993 ...

is featured as herself.

Directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

and produced by

Lee Friedlander Lee Friedlander (born July 14, 1934) is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban "social landscape," with many of his photographs including fragm ...

, the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

was written by Celia Fox, who also

executive produced Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. ''Wasabi Tuna''

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

d on August 20, 2003. It was issued on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on October 28, 2005, by Indican Pictures.

Plot

This

camp Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

screwball comedy Screwball comedy is a subgenre of the romantic comedy genre that became popular during the Great Depression, beginning in the early 1930s and thriving until the early 1940s, that satirizes the traditional love story. It has secondary characteristi ...

of errors, that includes many over-the-top

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

s, is set at

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

against the backdrop of

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

. Five friends,

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

er Evan (played by London); interior designer Harvey (played by Cheng);

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

Dave (played by Meadows);

spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

instructor Fredrico (played by Sabàto); and Emme (played by Ubach), a sassy young woman obsessed with style and classic movies, have all been anticipating the West Hollywood Halloween Parade on Santa Monica Boulevard, which is the biggest and brashest block party of the year. Their annual tradition of joining the festivities in outrageous costumes has become part of local legend. It is the night before Halloween, however, and they still have not decided what to be. Evan and Harvey, who are

femme ''Femme'' (; , literally meaning "woman") is a term traditionally used to describe a lesbian who exhibits a feminine identity or gender presentation. Alternate meanings of the word also exist with some non-lesbian individuals using the word, ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

boyfriends and business partners, have come up with food-themed

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

costumes that everyone refers to as "

wasabi Wasabi (Japanese: , , or , ; ''Eutrema japonicum'' or ''Wasabia japonica'') or Japanese horseradish is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and mustard in other genera. The plant is native to Japan and the Russian ...

tuna." Emme offers another suggestion — that they all dress up as

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

members. They all opt for the gang theme, but are unable to find the appropriate attire at the local stores. They then decide to seek out

real life Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...

gang members in order to achieve the authentic, straight-from-the-hood look they want. While doing interior design work for an extremely wealthy

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

woman who is actually in the

illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

, Harvey and Evan become unwitting drug couriers. After they are arrested, there is a comic scene at the WeHo sheriff's station with them attempting to talk their way out of trouble. Dave goes to

East L.A. East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

, where he comes across a real gang member named Romeo (played by Díaz). He makes a deal with Romeo to loan him his

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

in exchange for his

lowrider A lowrider or low rider is a customized car with a lowered body. These customized vehicles are generally individually painted with intricate, colorful designs, rolling on wire-spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Lowrider rims are generally smalle ...

gang car. A case of mistaken identity makes a vengeful, rival gang get after them. There is a comic

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

scene. Also, by driving Romeo's lowrider they are unknowingly carrying an illegal cache of weapons.

Reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

actress Anna Nicole Smith's (appearing as herself) pet dog, Sugar-Pie, is kidnapped. All is havoc, as a group of

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

s who dress like Smith, Santa Ana Anna (played by Arquette), Eenie Anna (played by Gil, who is a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

), Brown Sugar Anna and Hot Spicy Anna, believe that Harvey stole their idol's dog and band together to get Sugar-Pie back for Smith. A wild chase ensues as gang members, drug dealers, drag queens, and the police force are after the partygoers. They end up in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

, where an old

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

man, Mr. Ling (also played by Cheng), is in partnership with the Armenian drug shrew. Everything culminates with the

clash of personalities A personality clash occurs when two (or more) people find themselves in conflict not over a particular issue or incident, but due to a fundamental incompatibility in their personalities, their approaches to things, or their style of life. A persona ...

colliding in a feisty showdown. A free-for-all street fight, involving the gang members, drug dealers, undercover

DEA The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

detectives, a trio of female

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

s and the Santa Ana Annas, erupts and everyone battles it out with flying fists, feet and wigs. Anna Nicole Smith herself arrives and saves the day. As she shamelessly mocks herself, Smith clears up the Sugar-Pie mess, hands the drugs over to the police and invites the group to her Halloween party, where they change into their "wasabi tuna" costumes.

Soundtrack

The lead single, 'Nothing Like Cali,' by ''The'' ''Brüse Bros.'' Johnson_Barnes)_and_Black_(aka_Donel_Smokes).html" ;"title="Blu_(rapper).html" ;"title="appers Blu (Blu (rapper)">Johnson Barnes) and Black (aka Donel Smokes)">Blu_(rapper).html" ;"title="appers Blu (Blu (rapper)">Johnson Barnes) and Black (aka Donel Smokes) is subsequently also found on the 2003 unreleased project, '''The'' ''Brüse Brothers Academy LP, on the ''DME Music'' (now, ''Dimond Mind Recordings'') label.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0348354, title=Wasabi Tuna
''Wasabi Tuna''
at Rotten Tomatoes
''Wasabi Tuna''
at Yahoo! Movies
''Wasabi Tuna'' Photo GalleryScreenwriter's Utopia - ''Celia Fox Talks WASABI TUNI''DVD Verdict Review - ''Wasabi Tuna''
(archived on March 3, 2016) 2003 films 2000s action comedy films 2003 comedy films Drag (clothing)-related films 2000s English-language films American action comedy films Hood films 2000s American films