Champagne and Bullets belongs on the Mount Rushmore of bad movies

There’s something about a movie like The Room, Troll 2, or Fateful Findings that I find irresistible. These sorts of “so bad they’re good” films are marvelous curiosities where ambition far outstrips resources, ability, and self-awareness to become something much greater than the sum of their parts. Champagne and Bullets (also released as GetEven and Road to Revenge) is a film on par with those classics of outsider cinema.
Champagne and Bullets belongs on the Mount Rushmore of bad movies
It’s Steven Seagal meets Neil Breen.
It’s Steven Seagal meets Neil Breen.
The movie is almost entirely the work of one man, John De Hart. Hart wrote, directed, and stars as Rick Bode in the film. He even performs a musical number early in the proceedings — The bizarre “Shimmy Slide.” During the performance, Hart, who was reportedly pumped full of painkillers after throwing out his back, is stiff and looks around the room as if he’s only performing under threat of violence. And somehow, this lifeless performance of a cringy country rocker isn’t the most awkward scene in the movie.
The relationships and interactions between characters in Champagne and Bullets are just as inexplicable and unnatural as those in The Room. Bode and his partner Huck Finney are cops who lose their badges five minutes into the movie. This precipitates the alarmingly quick mental decline of Finney, who is also going through a divorce after discovering his wife has been sleeping around. He fires a handgun through his bills, drinks bleach to get out of prison, and seemingly starts a cult.
Oh, and speaking of cults, a good portion of the plot revolves around the reemergence of Bode’s old girlfriend Cindy, who is fleeing a satanic coven that “sacrificed a human baby.”
While ostensibly an action film, the fight scenes are few and far between, and staged with all the believability of a theme park stunt show. Hart seemed far more interested in cramming in as much gratuitous nudity as possible. There are three uncomfortably long sex scenes with costar Pamela Bryant, who plays Cindy, all set to songs sung by Hart. In total, they take up 12 minutes of runtime in a movie that is only 90 minutes long. One scene that takes place in a jacuzzi apparently even led Hart’s girlfriend at the time to break up with him. (Warning: One scene not involving Hart and Bryant does depict a sexual assault.)
If you’re a fan of bad movies, cult classics, or the podcast How Did This Get Made, you owe it to yourself to go watch Champagne and Bullets. It’s available on Hoopla, Amazon Prime, and Tubi.
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*Champagne and Bullets* was written, directed, and starred by John De Hart as Rick Bode.
John De Hart performed a musical number called the "Shimmy Slide."
Bode and Huck Finney are depicted as police officers who lose their badges early in the movie.
Huck Finney experiences mental decline after discovering his wife's infidelity.
Finney is shown committing acts such as firing a handgun through bills and drinking bleach to escape prison.
The plot involves Bode’s former girlfriend, Cindy, reemerging from a satanic coven that allegedly sacrificed a human baby.
The film contains three long sex scenes with costar Pamela Bryant, set to songs by Hart.
One scene taking place in a jacuzzi involved the singer's girlfriend breaking up with him.
One scene not involving Hart and Bryant depicts sexual assault.
The film has a total runtime of 90 minutes.

The film *Champagne and Bullets* is presented as a work that achieves greatness despite being low-quality, fitting into the category of "so bad they're good" outsider cinema. The narrative focuses on the troubled life of John De Hart, who serves as the sole creator, writer, director, and star in the movie. Character interactions are described as inexplicable, mirroring those found in films like *The Room*. Key plot elements involve the protagonists, Bode and Huck Finney, experiencing rapid decline involving criminal acts, substance abuse, and personal crises such as divorce and involvement with a satanic coven. The film features minimal action sequences, with fights being staged unrealistically, and includes extended, gratuitous sexual scenes interwoven with musical numbers performed by the creator.

The narrative structure leverages juxtaposition: it frames extreme, chaotic personal drama—crime, cults, and sexual transgression—with the low fidelity and self-indulgent presentation characteristic of intentionally poor filmmaking. The appeal, as suggested by the commentary, stems from the massive disparity between the ambition displayed (creating a full narrative) and the execution (lack of skill or resources). This creates a specific aesthetic space where raw, unmediated expression is valued over conventional cinematic coherence. The focus on the creator's unfiltered state, particularly during the performance of the "Shimmy Slide," suggests an attempt to foreground the internal chaos as the primary subject matter rather than masking it with narrative convention. The implication is that sincerity or extremity, divorced from technical competence, can generate a powerful, albeit abrasive, connection with an audience attuned to recognizing artistic intent, even if that intent is self-referential and flawed. The pattern observed is a regression to authenticity through intentional ineptitude, where the failure itself becomes the defining characteristic of success within its chosen niche.

Champagne and Bullets belongs on the Mount Rushmore of bad movies

Facts Only

Executive Summary

Full Take

Sentinel — Human

Champagne and Bullets belongs on the Mount Rushmore of bad movies

Facts Only

Executive Summary

Full Take

Sentinel — Human