A few months ago my coworker Sam casually asked if I had seen “Riki-Oh: Story of Ricky” yet. Being that we work in the sales department of a local alternative video store, such questions are not at all uncommon. I replied that I had not and he nodded in acknowledgment as it is now a well established in-joke that I should change my email address from filmgurl79@hotmail.com to “haventreallyseenthatmanyfilmsgurl79@hotmail.com”. He then casually mentioned that obviously my boyfriend had seen it. I replied that I didn’t think he had. Cue incredulous looks from Sam. Later that afternoon my boyfriend wandered by the office where Sam and I work as he was about to start a rentals shift. “Hey, you’ve seen “Story of Ricky” right?” shouted Sam. “Uh, no. What’s that?” replied my boyfriend. Cue more incredulous looks from Sam. “Seriously, you would love this movie. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet…” continued Sam as he attempted to describe it for us and finally ended up just insisting that we watch it. Soon. That afternoon, my boyfriend being the (lovable) completist collector nerd he is, ordered a copy of the DVD. A few weeks later it arrived and it has been sitting on our (rather packed) DVD shelf waiting for the opportunity to be programmed ever since.
Being that one of my boyfriend’s choices last month got bumped so that we could screen the preview screener of “Bubba Ho-Tep” we had just received at work (since the planned screening in Vancouver in February didn’t happen this was especially exciting for most of our friends who were already organizing elaborate pilgrimages); I relented and gave him one of my weeks this month so that he could show what are now two of his most prized possessions: the sick and hilarious “Riki-Oh: Story of Ricky” and his bootlegged copy of “Braindead” (made from the Japanese laserdisc) which I picked up for him a couple of Christmases ago (and in so doing officially became “the best girlfriend ever”).
It was a strong turnout again with 12 people showing up, however my sister and I were the only girls. Only a couple of people had seen it before, one of them sharing the fact that for a whole month he and his housemates had communicated entirely in “Riki-Oh” quotes. I was jazzed. In preparation for the occasion I had been sure to provide a variety of refreshments for our guests. I had leftover Easter chocolate eggs, Girl Guide cookies, and the piece de resistance: a large plate of fluorescent pink Peeps (for those not familiar, Peeps are those obnoxious marshmallow treats generally shaped like a cute animal – bunnies in this case) with an atomic half-life that rivals that of plutonium. Then my sister showed up with an entire tray of rice-crispie squares. With added honey. For some reason sugar and gore just seem to go together.
Get some “Story of Ricky” in part two of ENTER THE DEN OF SIN: PINK PEEPS VS. RED GUTS – “THE STORY OF RICKY”>>>
