Sweet Meats opens with bumbling fast food working Bobby Sweet (Ricky Glore) plunging a toilet full of peanut-spotted crap while his boss screams at him from another room to get the job done. Non-verbal co worker Jerry (Timmy H. Barron) stands watching and giving Bobby a hearty thumps up for a job well done. Stuck in a dead end job, Bobby dreams of a fantastic musical career. There seems to be no way out of his own personal hell. That is, until murder becomes an option.

Welcome to the world of Troma. Broad, silly, and melodramatic, Lloyd Kaufman’s quintessentially American, bawdy brand of cinematic schlock delivers another barf fest that is sure to please fans. Critics on the other hand… This time around, writer, director, and star Glore tempers his film with a bit more heart, and a handful of musical cutaways. The result is still turd-like, but a bit more polished.

Conflict arises when Bobby’s boss Nick (Andrew Gordon) pulls Bobby aside for a talk. It seems that Nick is woefully disappointed by his son Jerry, and his daughter Laddie (Eileen Earnest). Nick finds both of his kids unworthy of inheriting restaurant and tells Bobby that he is to take over the family business. The sad fact is that Bobby would rather just sing. Meanwhile, Laddie is fed up with the monotonous menu offerings and misogyny at the restaurant and begins to hatch a plan of her own. After the untimely death of her father, Laddie ambitiously introduces a new mystery meat to the menu and claims Bobby as her beau. Bobby can sing to his heart’s content as long as he keeps the secret of the now booming restaurant to himself. With Laddie becoming more bloodthirsty, how long can Bobby keep quiet?

To his credit Glore writes, directs, sings, and acts in what is an intentionally ludicrous movie with full commitment. That goes for the supporting cast as well who follow their pied piper of madness into chaos. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. For instance, the pacing of the film stays consistent while the action in the film begs for changes in timing. The delivery in every scene is either smug sarcasm or goofy stupidity and always with the same pregnant pause to allow for the joke to really sink in. When it lands, it’s great. but most of the time we are left waiting for the movie to stop being cute and move on.

I would also note that, for a Troma film, Glore’s Sweet Meats is light on the gore and sex, in favor of a hero with a bit more heart. The miraculous thing is that it works. It works because we ultimately fall for the sincerity of Bobby and his musical aspirations. Troma movies succeed because we love and look past the glaring flaws, the poor taste, and ham fisted delivery for the real message. To begin with, lighten up. More importantly, embrace absurdity. Glore‘s Sweet Meats is a middling movie and a good time for fans of B-movie goodness. It’s a choice cut for horror comedy fans bent on a good time.