‘Miami Connection’ is a Grandiose Disaster [So Bad it’s Great]

‘Miami Connection’ is a catastrophic film that is enjoyable, in spite of itself.

Welcome to So Bad It’s Great. This recurring segment will champion films that may not be good in the conventional sense but still had their heart in the right place. The titles featured here will be overly earnest, unintentionally silly, and undeniably fun. Strap in and enjoy the ride!

On this installment of So Bad it’s Great, I am looking back on Miami Connection. Miami Connection is not a good movie. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The script is bad. The acting is beyond bad. The dialogue is atrocious. Nothing about the film is good. But therein lies the magic. Miami Connection is so bad that it circles back around to being supremely entertaining, largely on the basis of its unironic sincerity. 

It is clear that this misguided effort is a labor of love. And that love shines through. Somehow, directors Woo-sang Park and Y.K. Kim display a zest for filmmaking that works to cancel out everything wrong with the film. And that is no small feat because Miami Connection gets an awful lot wrong.  

This tragic picture follows a group of friends in Florida that practice martial arts and also play in a band called Dragon Sound. When the pals get wind of drug trafficking in their hood, they decide it’s time to fight back. The results are anything but predictable. Yet, one thing is for sure: You will be entertained! 

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Everything from the slow-motion action sequences to the saccharine, synth-pop soundtrack is misguided and cheesy and that serves to make it impossible to take this flick seriously. But that makes Miami Connection worthy of celebrating for what it isn’t, for what it could have been, and as an inept effort that is so full of heart that it becomes kind of endearing, in a strange way.   

One of the film’s best/worst elements is Dragon Sound, a band made up of the core group of friends at the center of the story. Anyone that has ever heard music before will be able to tell the band desperately needs a new lyricist. But in spite of that, it’s hard to deny that the messaging contained within their dopey tracks is kind of charming. Although, singing about Tae kwon do, friendship, and good triumphing over evil likely won’t score them a record deal anytime soon.  

In addition to really bad music, the film also features a number of peculiar subplots that serve absolutely no narrative purpose. The best of the bunch may be Jane’s (Kathy Collier) relationship with her dangerous brother, Jeff (William Ergle), who is involved with a rough crowd. When Jane introduces Jeff to her boyfriend, John (Vincent Hirsch), Jeff punches John in the face. There’s no real escalation or buildup to the right hook. Jane merely introduces the two men and then Jeff punches John in the face. John has done nothing wrong. And Jeff has no reason to be jealous of John. Whatever the cause of Jeff’s deep-seated jealousy, it’s a little hilarious. And a lot creepy. Like, back off of your sister, man, and quit acting like she’s your girlfriend. Even with the more lenient laws on marrying kin in the southern US, I suspect it’s still probably illegal to wed a sibling. So, cool your jets and find a therapist. 

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Also noteworthy is the subplot regarding Jim’s (Maurice Smith) absentee dad. This was clearly meant to add a human-interest element to the narrative. But instead, hilarity ensues. We see Jim recite a lengthy, exposition-laden monologue (through tears) about not being able to find his father. But several days later, a letter from his dad shows up and a spontaneous celebration breaks out. I would be excited if I had a long, lost dad and I heard from him. Don’t get me wrong. But the reaction is so over-the-top that it borders on surreal. After Jim receives the letter, his friends lift him up and carry him away on their shoulders in a slow-motion montage like he just won a heavyweight championship. It’s so bizarre and truly must be seen to be believed. 

After enjoying a brief, regional release in central Florida in 1988, Miami Connection was all but forgotten. Thankfully, Drafthouse films acquired the rights to this beautiful disaster in 2012, allowing the flick to finally find its audience. Although Miami Connection fails on every possible level, it’s still a sincere effort that winds up being so bad it’s great! 

If you’d like to chat more with me regarding good/bad films, hit me up on Twitter @FunWithHorror.

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