This week on Alcohollywood, we’ve got a very special guest: Nathan Rabin, former head writer for The Onion AV Club and current contributor to The Dissolve! He joins us to talk about the the samurai western gangster musical film mash-up Bunraku! In a post-apocalyptic world without guns, a drifter (Josh Hartnett) and samurai (Gackt) must team up with a saloon owner (Woody Harrelson) to defeat a mob boss (Ron Perlman) for unknown reasons. What follows is a stylish, but ultimately schizophrenic exercise in style and theatricality for its own sake. Take a listen below, and check out our custom cocktail and drinking rules!
SUPPLEMENTAL READING: Nathan Rabin has written on Bunraku previously for The Dissolve. Plus, he’s currently celebrating the one-year anniversary of the release of his latest book, You Don’t Know Me But You Don’t Like Me. Pick it up now!
LISTEN HERE OR DOWNLOAD:
THIS EPISODE’S DRINK: The Man With No Shame
Since this movie has such a fresh and fruity color palette, we decided to make something appropriately colorful. Citrus and berry flavors combine with a light, refreshing rum to mirror the dramatic colors of the film’s campy lighting scheme. We also throw in a dash of bitters to even out the sweetness. Garnish with ornate Japanese string puppet.
2 parts silver lime flavored rum
1 part framboise
2 parts orange juice
2 parts cranberry juice
1 part soda water
dash, Peychaud’s bitters
1) Combine rum, framboise, juices and bitters in a Collins glass; stir.
2) Top with soda water and garnish with raspberry, lime slice and lemon slice. Enjoy!
DRINKING RULES FOR BUNRAKU:
- Any time the color palette changes theatrically
- Every time someone delivers a one punch knockout
- Whenever a character (or the narrator) speak in fortune cookie metaphors
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Faith No More’s Mike Patton, as the narrator, says, “Revenge is an act of style.”
Join us next week as we get a second dose of Ron Perlman with the caveman epic Quest for Fire!
