Cause for Concern (2002) (V)

Director:

Ryen McPherson

Genre:

Reality-TV

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholic | Alcoholism | Alley | Drunkenness | Fistfight

Cast

Donald Brennan	...	Himself
Donny	...	Himself
Rufus Hannah	...	Himself
Peter LaForte	...	Himself
Todd Richard Lewis	...	The Bumhunter

Also Known As:

Bumfights: Cause for Concern (USA) (DVD box title)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

New Zealand:(Banned) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Canada:(Banned) (Quebec) | UK:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

La Mesa, California, USA

Company:

Indecline Productions

Trivia:

Banned in the UK for a video release. BBFC justifies this with the following statement: Bumfights - Cause for Concern consists substantially of camcorder footage of homeless people ('bums') being abused, assaulted, and humiliated. These scenes are intercut with footage of street brawls and soft pornography. Under the Video Recordings Act 1984 the Board must have special regard to any harm to those likely to view a video and to any harm to society through the behaviour of those viewers afterwards. The Act singles out particular elements as being potentially harmful including criminal behaviour and violent behaviour or incidents. The BBFC guidelines for '18' rated works state that the Board may "cut or reject... any detailed portrayal of violent or dangerous acts which is likely to promote the activity" (page 16). The Board's guidelines for violence also state as particular concerns "callousness towards victims, encouraging aggressive attitudes[and] taking pleasure in pain and humiliation" (page 9). In the Board's view, the video breaches these guidelines by exploiting the physical and other vulnerabilities of homeless people. The Board considered the possibility of cuts. However, given the extent of the unacceptable material, cuts were not considered a viable option on this occasion.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Date Movie (2006)

Bumfights.....Huh?!?! "KidFights"!....

....Is more like it! Bumfights : A Cause For Concern : Volume 1 is a hash of fights and street people being paid to perform stunts. The two main "stars" in the video is, Rufus and Donny. These two "bums" are often drunk (or on drugs) when performing there bits. The video also has a Happy Campers soundtrack, which, may I say, suits it. Anyway, I didn't know what to think of Bumfights at the start, to be truthful I sort of liked it. But now, I hear the producers have gone to even sicker lows in order to sell there videos. Oh yes, this time it is people even more venerable than homeless people it is the mentally ill. And that's just sick. After hearing that, my view on there videos hasn't been the same, now I don't really care for "Bumfights".

Back to the matter at hand, most of the fights in the video are not between the "bums"(So, Why call it "Bumfights"?), it is pre-recorded fights between, teenagers and young adults, whom, most of either can't fight or there fights are just staged. And yes, Angela Taylor does appear in the video, but not naked, just in a bit of a saucy manner. The "bumhunter" segments are funny at the start, but soon, they tend to get boring. And the same guy who played the "Bumhunter" at the start doesn't play him throughout. Some other guy also plays him, and he is even crappier than Todd at playing him. Other footage in the video includes more fights caught on camera, on the streets. Overall, the hype of Bumfights is overrated. I can't say I was shocked by it, Cause I wasn't. If you really want to see "Bumfights" I'd recommend get a lend of a mates, because simply it isn't worth $20 bucks. The most shocking release of "Bumfights" I have seen is a mondo-Shockumentary, Bumfights Presents: Terrorists, Killers & Middle East Wackos....but we will save that for another time. Overall, 4/10.

Not Rated: Strong Language and Violence. (18+)