When the whole city is obsessively listening to a radio adventure serial about the escapades of a handsome millionaire crime-fighter named The Angel and his arch-enemy Scarlet Scorpion, only a fashion designer Glória (Andrea Beltrão) seems to notice how life imitates art: there has been a crime spree in the area but the police won't take Glória's observations about the similarities to the Angel series seriously. Luckily Álvaro, the writer of the serial and the actor who plays The Angel (Herson Capri), takes a liking to her. The main plot is presented in colour and the adventures of the Angel are visualized in exciting black & white sequences which emulate the style and atmosphere of old TV shows, such as Batman and Superman, complete with crazy supervillains, numerous fistfights and a recognizable theme song.
True to his trashy style, director Cardoso makes a lot of references to pop culture and exploits female nudity. Sure, this is fun for a while, but since I feel that I'm missing out a lot of the nods to Brazilian celebrities and programs, it gets a little alienating at times. Due to some pacing issues, the switches between real life and the Angel sequences are not always as smooth as they could have been. When they start, the Angel scenes are always funny though. Actually, I wouldn't have minded if the whole movie had been about The Angel, but I guess the point was to examine the relationship of fiction and real life.
In the end, The Scarlet Scorpion is an interesting curiosity but it's probably best suited to those familiar with Brazilian culture. Even so, there are many things for anybody to enjoy, such as the music, the fights and the villains, so anyone interested in obscure cult comedies can check this one out.
True to his trashy style, director Cardoso makes a lot of references to pop culture and exploits female nudity. Sure, this is fun for a while, but since I feel that I'm missing out a lot of the nods to Brazilian celebrities and programs, it gets a little alienating at times. Due to some pacing issues, the switches between real life and the Angel sequences are not always as smooth as they could have been. When they start, the Angel scenes are always funny though. Actually, I wouldn't have minded if the whole movie had been about The Angel, but I guess the point was to examine the relationship of fiction and real life.
In the end, The Scarlet Scorpion is an interesting curiosity but it's probably best suited to those familiar with Brazilian culture. Even so, there are many things for anybody to enjoy, such as the music, the fights and the villains, so anyone interested in obscure cult comedies can check this one out.