If you want to change your life, start by changing your mind. On May 10th, 1987, Oakland, California is the playground for one of the most wild nights in human existence that few outside of the city actually know about. In one end of the city, teenagers Tina (Ji-young Yoo) and Lucid (Jack Champion) are a part of the underground and inclusive punk culture, spending nights having a good time with alternative underground music. But a common presence of unruly Nazi skinheads always puts a violent damper on the good times, and it soon becomes clear that the good guys are going to have to fight fire with fire.

On another end of the city we find Barbie (Dominique Thorne) and Entice (Normani), two best friends who work minimum wage jobs and also deal with constant racism and sexism. As a budding rap group known as “Danger Zone,” their potential big break arrives in the form of getting to battle growing rap star Too $hort. Are they ready for showtime? On the same day, debt collector Clint (Pedro Pascal) is officially retiring and ready to turn to the next phase of his life, but an unfortunate encounter puts him down a path of no return. All of this is going on during the Lakers vs. Warriors playoff series, where Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis) is attempting to stave off elimination with a legendary performance. Post-game, his life is about to change forever.

With the devastating departures of the Warriors, Raiders, and Athletics in the span of five years, one couldn’t fault longtime residents to reminisce about the past and all the things their city was and may still be. For Ryan Fleck, one half of the filmmaking duo with longtime partner Anna Boden, his growing up in the city serves as an ignition point for Freaky Tales. It’s a hodgepodge of four offbeat and sometimes frisky stories introduced by the Bay Area legend Too $hort rooted around the theme of the underdog just enough to say they’re technically interconnected, but not in any notable way that transforms the viewing experience or raises the weight of the story.

Freaky Tales is the first release of Boden and Fleck in six years since Captain Marvel, and as one could imagine, the movies couldn’t be more different. There’s a deliberate, stylistically low-fi element that exists from the beginning to the end of runtime, and the duo are definitely leaning into their pre-MCU, past indie leanings by showcasing their love for the late 80’s/early 90’s through cute references of movies and culture. Stated and unstated references to Scanners, Repo Man, The Warriors, Hoosiers, The Last Dragon, and numerous other flicks (some brought up by an A-lister in a brief cameo) are present. Music composed by Oakland native Rafael Saadiq reflects the time period with emphasis on the g-funk and gangsta sounds.

Freaky Tales has no shortage of style. There’s a commitment to the ludicrousness of it all and a reverence for “The Town,” The cast is having fun. From the villainous stalwart Mendelsohn, the everywhere-in-everything Pascal, to the affably charismatic Ellis (still awaiting that Top Gun: Maverick boost), and the collective vivacity of Hubbard and Normani, none are mailing it in. Some of its peaks in the separate stories carry an infectious, crowd-pleasing energy, with the climax to “Don’t Fight the Feeling” being some of the most fun I’ve had with any release this year. That said, this segment is the least connected to the other parts, and the other parts themselves feel tangential to one another instead of embedded within each other and building upon what we know.

In a way, it’s as if when the previous completed segment shows up in the next story, it comes off as a cameo rather than a momentum builder to the Boden/Fleck screenplay. Unfortunately, the duo choose to skimp on details as it pertains to the bright green energy that surges in the background sky and through some of the characters. It’s clearly related to something involving a self-help course called “Psytopics,” but by the film’s end, there’s little exploration of what is on the surface a cool addition.

It’ll be hard for Freaky Tales to escape the comparisons that it’s a weaker carbon copy of the nonlinear storytelling Quentin Tarantino has made a name off of. Still, Freaky Tales works fine enough as a whimsical collection of multi-genre tales paying homage to the nostalgia of Oakland. The teams may be long gone, but Fleck’s tribute assures us that the love remains.

C+

Photo credits are courtesy of Lionsgate.