Written and directed by American comedian Bobcat Goldthwait comes this tale of Frank (Joel Murray), a downtrodden sad sack of a man whose miserable and lonely existence away from an estranged wife and daughter is accompanied by insomnia, noisy neighbours, reality television in all it's most evil manifestations and an ever increasing lack of patience. After losing his job and discovering he has an inoperable brain tumour, Frank decides he's had enough of the ignorance and general lack of moral principles he sees permeating through everyday American life and sets about directly addressing the problem
with a gun. Aside from the overly graphic and wanton violence, this is a film with a lot to say. It's almost as if writer Goldthwait is himself getting stuff off his chest that's been festering for years. Much of the dialogue is indeed bitingly funny, including some incisive rants about the pernicious nature of American Idol type singing competitions. The film does sometimes forget itself (one holiday montage sequence seems a loose fit) and some of the murders which Frank and his willing side-kick Roxy (Tara Lynn Page) carry out might threaten to cancel out the more intelligent aspects of the message for some. What is certain is that God Bless America will divide opinion. Frank's a walking contradiction, a liberal man who fights his cause with right-wing methods to find a stage to air his liberal views. This is a film for everyone who's imagined but would never carry out. For those who want to instantly silence that barking dog down the street that's preventing valuable sleep before that big presentation at work the next day. It's for those of us who sit silently in cinema seats respecting other people's right to enjoy the experience only to have ignoramus's gibbering on mobile phones or kicking the back of your seat. While the film might draw criticism for it's depictions and excessive"preachiness", i found it agreeably acerbic. I wonder if Simon Cowell feels the same way.
250 Reviews
A darkly hilarious treatise that could have been so much better
DonFishies3 October 2011
The moment I read the synopsis for God Bless America, I had to see it. It was one of the first films I signed up for at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, and one I had to wait most of the week to get the opportunity to see. I wanted to adore it, despite hearing mixed things about it. But as I found out, this experience might never have been intended to be adored.
Frank (Joel Murray) is sick of everything in his life. His neighbours are inconsiderate, his daughter hates him, and he cannot connect with anyone at work because all they want to do is sit around and talk about reality television. After he finds out he has an inoperable brain tumour, Frank sets out to rid the United States of the filth that corrupts it. He finds an early fan and confidant in precocious teenager Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), and decides to bring her along for the ride with him.
God Bless America is not so much of a film as it is a treatise on what is wrong with pop culture in the modern United States. Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait packs the film full of allusions and satires of reality television primarily, but trickles down to political news shows, celebrity gossip, social networking, texting, and more. Despite how cheap it looks, he manages to depict just the right imagery, the right dialogue and the right attitudes to truly sell the ideas the film brings up. And as the film starts to edge closer and closer to real life, Goldthwait starts getting his characters to start dishing out justice in the most ridiculous ways possible. He does and says what a lot of people are scared to, and bravely attempts to dissect and take down an institution that has been thriving for well over a decade. Nothing is sacred or off limits. While the film was clearly intended to shock and disgust with how darkly hilarious it is, it also sets out to teach and not so secretly try to right the wrongs we continue to allow invade our lives.
But this element of teaching veers into the realm of preaching, and is what holds Goldthwait's film back from being truly enjoyable. While I was initially amused at watching Murray's Frank spout musings about the human condition and what is wrong with society, that amusement quickly faded. By around the halfway mark, it becomes increasingly clear that the film has no real set direction or even a real point of existing. It is an extended rant that would have worked out better as a piece of stand-up. You can easily tell where Goldthwait has veered off track and lost any idea of what points he wanted to make, and he struggles to find his way back more often than he should. The film clocks in at just about 100-minutes, but twenty of those minutes could be chopped out if he stopped circling around and just make his points.
And what's worse is that outside of an absolutely stunning realization, the thesis if you will, during the bloodsoaked finale, he does not cover any real new ground in what he is getting Frank to talk about. These tropes he is taking down one by one are things people have been complaining almost as long as they have existed. Michael Moore is consistently churning out documentaries about them every few years. Yes, the majority of the population around the United States (and hell, worldwide) are embracing these ideals and not thinking any differently. But God Bless America is too subversive a film to ever conceivably be watched by these kinds of people. Does Goldthwait really think he can shock these people into submission with his vivid speeches and grotesque and borderline terrorist tactics? Does he think he can get them to rethink everything they follow and do in their everyday lives? If not, then why bother making the film?
Goldthwait claims that God Bless America is not meant to be a political film. But unless he really wants people to just laugh and forget about it moments later, then there is really no other way one can possibly read it.
While I felt for how agonizing some of the dialogue must have been to deliver, I really enjoyed Murray's performance as Frank. He is a bit player in dozens of TV shows and movies, and it is nice to see him finally get a leading role. He plays Frank as an upstanding and concerned citizen, one who truly believes in the war he is fighting. He has a quiet intensity about him, and seeing him jump between a tongue- in-cheek innocence and a full blown sociopath is truly remarkable. I am glad that Goldthwait took a chance on him, and I can only hope more directors will follow suit in the future. Barr, much like Chloë Moretz in Kick-Ass, is a revelation. She is ridiculously hilarious and downright terrifying all at the same time. From the moment she walks on-screen, she has an aura about her that never dissipates, allowing her to truly make something of her character even with some rather awful dialogue.
I think in the end, I appreciated God Bless America more than I actually enjoyed it. There are some really funny scenes sprinkled throughout, and just as many deeply thought-provoking moments. But it is a film that gets too full of itself much too often, and loses track of what it wants to be even more so. Goldthwait is a talented filmmaker (even if he shamelessly cribs his action beats and styles from some rather obvious influences), but I think he could have easily improved on the flaws that plague the film. I hope that the distribution deal he received affords him some time to make the necessary cuts. There is a truly great film somewhere in there, just waiting to appear.
7/10.
Frank (Joel Murray) is sick of everything in his life. His neighbours are inconsiderate, his daughter hates him, and he cannot connect with anyone at work because all they want to do is sit around and talk about reality television. After he finds out he has an inoperable brain tumour, Frank sets out to rid the United States of the filth that corrupts it. He finds an early fan and confidant in precocious teenager Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), and decides to bring her along for the ride with him.
God Bless America is not so much of a film as it is a treatise on what is wrong with pop culture in the modern United States. Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait packs the film full of allusions and satires of reality television primarily, but trickles down to political news shows, celebrity gossip, social networking, texting, and more. Despite how cheap it looks, he manages to depict just the right imagery, the right dialogue and the right attitudes to truly sell the ideas the film brings up. And as the film starts to edge closer and closer to real life, Goldthwait starts getting his characters to start dishing out justice in the most ridiculous ways possible. He does and says what a lot of people are scared to, and bravely attempts to dissect and take down an institution that has been thriving for well over a decade. Nothing is sacred or off limits. While the film was clearly intended to shock and disgust with how darkly hilarious it is, it also sets out to teach and not so secretly try to right the wrongs we continue to allow invade our lives.
But this element of teaching veers into the realm of preaching, and is what holds Goldthwait's film back from being truly enjoyable. While I was initially amused at watching Murray's Frank spout musings about the human condition and what is wrong with society, that amusement quickly faded. By around the halfway mark, it becomes increasingly clear that the film has no real set direction or even a real point of existing. It is an extended rant that would have worked out better as a piece of stand-up. You can easily tell where Goldthwait has veered off track and lost any idea of what points he wanted to make, and he struggles to find his way back more often than he should. The film clocks in at just about 100-minutes, but twenty of those minutes could be chopped out if he stopped circling around and just make his points.
And what's worse is that outside of an absolutely stunning realization, the thesis if you will, during the bloodsoaked finale, he does not cover any real new ground in what he is getting Frank to talk about. These tropes he is taking down one by one are things people have been complaining almost as long as they have existed. Michael Moore is consistently churning out documentaries about them every few years. Yes, the majority of the population around the United States (and hell, worldwide) are embracing these ideals and not thinking any differently. But God Bless America is too subversive a film to ever conceivably be watched by these kinds of people. Does Goldthwait really think he can shock these people into submission with his vivid speeches and grotesque and borderline terrorist tactics? Does he think he can get them to rethink everything they follow and do in their everyday lives? If not, then why bother making the film?
Goldthwait claims that God Bless America is not meant to be a political film. But unless he really wants people to just laugh and forget about it moments later, then there is really no other way one can possibly read it.
While I felt for how agonizing some of the dialogue must have been to deliver, I really enjoyed Murray's performance as Frank. He is a bit player in dozens of TV shows and movies, and it is nice to see him finally get a leading role. He plays Frank as an upstanding and concerned citizen, one who truly believes in the war he is fighting. He has a quiet intensity about him, and seeing him jump between a tongue- in-cheek innocence and a full blown sociopath is truly remarkable. I am glad that Goldthwait took a chance on him, and I can only hope more directors will follow suit in the future. Barr, much like Chloë Moretz in Kick-Ass, is a revelation. She is ridiculously hilarious and downright terrifying all at the same time. From the moment she walks on-screen, she has an aura about her that never dissipates, allowing her to truly make something of her character even with some rather awful dialogue.
I think in the end, I appreciated God Bless America more than I actually enjoyed it. There are some really funny scenes sprinkled throughout, and just as many deeply thought-provoking moments. But it is a film that gets too full of itself much too often, and loses track of what it wants to be even more so. Goldthwait is a talented filmmaker (even if he shamelessly cribs his action beats and styles from some rather obvious influences), but I think he could have easily improved on the flaws that plague the film. I hope that the distribution deal he received affords him some time to make the necessary cuts. There is a truly great film somewhere in there, just waiting to appear.
7/10.
Don't analyse....enjoy
Stanstyman16 July 2012
The problem with many reviews is that we seek to 'analyse' and not just accept. We look for hidden agendas instead of just taking something at face value. This film is a gem...the main character and his life were easily acceptable and plausible and his outlook on modern American life whilst predictable, knowing the movie's theme...was perfectly understandable. There is a wonderful dark humour running throughout the story and whilst it does stretch the imagination boundaries at times you think to yourself 'so what ..I'm enjoying it'. I could not think of one victim in this film that I also wouldn't have minded bumping off and Tara Lynne Barr is perfect as Frank's young accomplice. One of my favourite scenes involved Frank's visit to his doctor but then I always did have a twisted sense of humour. I recommend you watch this if only as a release valve for your pent up frustrations with modern society and TV talent shows.
"No one has any shame anymore, and we're supposed to celebrate it."
bluestemz18 April 2012
Bobcat Goldthwait's latest feature as writer & director is a hilarious & articulately written black comedy commentary on contemporary American culture, or lack thereof. Yes, mass media's influence on the devolution of society has been tackled before (Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers & Euros Lyn's Fifteen Million Merits, for example) and the script has it's issues (which are plausibility/suspension of disbelief related IMO) but the dialogue does have monologues & diatribes that I think really do shine. The acting is FTW, and the whole small budget meets meaningful repartee feel of the piece threw me back to Mark Osbourne's 2000 film "Dropping Out". Most definitely catch it if you can! 8D
Captures our age of narcissism and stupidity
chw_davidson17 September 2011
I saw this movie's premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. I loved it. Bobcat Goldthwait has given us a hilarious comedy that perfectly satirizes our self-centred, celebrity-obsessed, uncritical age. Throughout the dark comedy Joel Murray delivers a perfect performance as one of the last thinking men, who has grown weary of life and society. In between the action and the comedy, Joel Murray's character delivers scathing indictments of society that had the Toronto audience break out into spontaneous applause. Besides being hilarious, this movie is really an interesting exploration of the insensitivity and thoughtlessness of modern popular culture. This movie is the antidote our "reality show," celebrity-obsessed, know-nothing-and-proud-of-it culture. The film's outlandish violence perfectly captures Horace Walpole's epigram, "This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel." Unfortunately, as the movie points out, few people are now capable of either thinking or feeling.
The film is sort of like the movie 'SUPER' except darker, or you could say it's like 'NATURAL BORN KILLERS' except lighter, or 'BONNIE AND CLYDE'.
Hellmant31 August 2012
'GOD BLESS America': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
A dark and very violent political satire (as well as social commentary) written and directed by actor/comedian turned filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait. The story revolves around an insurance salesman who's recently been fired from his job and discovered he's terminally ill who decides to go on a killing spree to rid the world of it's most morally deprived citizens, before he exits it as well. He teams up with a 16-year-old girl who shares his anger. The movie is a little hard to watch given the subject matter and has a somewhat nihilistic feel to it but the political commentary is spot on and the filmmaking is equally topnotch.
Joel Murray stars as Frank, an insurance salesman who's fired from his job for sending flowers to a co-worker (as well as using company records to look up her address), which she deemed as sexual harassment. He later finds out the migraines he's been suffering are the effect of a terminal brain tumor, which his doctor says is inoperable. He has a daughter who despises him and is spoiled rotten by his ex-wife (Melinda Page Hamilton). All this combined with his increasingly negative views on America and the rude hateful citizens which inhabit it cause him to go on a killing spree. He finds unlikely assistance in the form of a 16-year-old girl named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who's equally upset with society.
The film is sort of like the movie 'SUPER' (from last year) except darker, or you could say it's like 'NATURAL BORN KILLERS' except lighter, or 'BONNIE AND CLYDE' (which it references several times). It mocks 'AMERICAN IDOL', reality TV, conservative talk shows and other pop culture filth. It's commentary is intelligent and right on (although perhaps a bit too harsh at times). The fact that the lead characters are so insightful and well intentioned is the movie's biggest flaw though. How can such likable and otherwise seemingly well balanced people resort to such idiotic and pointless violence. It's like a horror movie where the heroes are the serial killers, which is extremely hard to take as a viewer. It leaves you torn about exactly what the film is trying to say. Which I think is it's biggest strength. A movie that makes you think that much and makes you that uncomfortable deserves credit. Goldthwait makes a very impressive writer and decent director as well! This movie is definitely not for everyone and extremely hard to watch for most but it does have some great social and political commentary and does what a movie meant to disturb should.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ld28EwmjL8
A dark and very violent political satire (as well as social commentary) written and directed by actor/comedian turned filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait. The story revolves around an insurance salesman who's recently been fired from his job and discovered he's terminally ill who decides to go on a killing spree to rid the world of it's most morally deprived citizens, before he exits it as well. He teams up with a 16-year-old girl who shares his anger. The movie is a little hard to watch given the subject matter and has a somewhat nihilistic feel to it but the political commentary is spot on and the filmmaking is equally topnotch.
Joel Murray stars as Frank, an insurance salesman who's fired from his job for sending flowers to a co-worker (as well as using company records to look up her address), which she deemed as sexual harassment. He later finds out the migraines he's been suffering are the effect of a terminal brain tumor, which his doctor says is inoperable. He has a daughter who despises him and is spoiled rotten by his ex-wife (Melinda Page Hamilton). All this combined with his increasingly negative views on America and the rude hateful citizens which inhabit it cause him to go on a killing spree. He finds unlikely assistance in the form of a 16-year-old girl named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who's equally upset with society.
The film is sort of like the movie 'SUPER' (from last year) except darker, or you could say it's like 'NATURAL BORN KILLERS' except lighter, or 'BONNIE AND CLYDE' (which it references several times). It mocks 'AMERICAN IDOL', reality TV, conservative talk shows and other pop culture filth. It's commentary is intelligent and right on (although perhaps a bit too harsh at times). The fact that the lead characters are so insightful and well intentioned is the movie's biggest flaw though. How can such likable and otherwise seemingly well balanced people resort to such idiotic and pointless violence. It's like a horror movie where the heroes are the serial killers, which is extremely hard to take as a viewer. It leaves you torn about exactly what the film is trying to say. Which I think is it's biggest strength. A movie that makes you think that much and makes you that uncomfortable deserves credit. Goldthwait makes a very impressive writer and decent director as well! This movie is definitely not for everyone and extremely hard to watch for most but it does have some great social and political commentary and does what a movie meant to disturb should.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ld28EwmjL8
God Bless Arrogance and Stupidity!
RainbowCastel7 April 2012
I loved this movie. This is "The One" Feel-Good movie I've been missing since long time.
Each day and night after work or watching world and local TV news if you start feeling frustration because of stupidity of people, politicians, dictators, and pointless empty TV shows like the ones in this movie, you need something to calm yourself down.
This is a movie that takes all those rage and poison out of your mind and make you sleep well at night.
It is as satisfying as playing Doom in God Mode, just to shoot those Evils with that Shotgun or your shiny BFG9000, after those long, long meetings with stupid PowerPoint slide readers!
It is as satisfying as a long run in Castle Wolfenstein, bringing down those Nazis shouting Achtung, one by one, after a long night working after hours ... again!
It is as satisfying as scratching and slowly removing that crust off your healing wound. It hurts, tingles and your mind says stop, but you continue playing with it because feels so good!
This movie is like Daily Show on steroids! Take this movie as a medication to your frustrations and calm down.
Each day and night after work or watching world and local TV news if you start feeling frustration because of stupidity of people, politicians, dictators, and pointless empty TV shows like the ones in this movie, you need something to calm yourself down.
This is a movie that takes all those rage and poison out of your mind and make you sleep well at night.
It is as satisfying as playing Doom in God Mode, just to shoot those Evils with that Shotgun or your shiny BFG9000, after those long, long meetings with stupid PowerPoint slide readers!
It is as satisfying as a long run in Castle Wolfenstein, bringing down those Nazis shouting Achtung, one by one, after a long night working after hours ... again!
It is as satisfying as scratching and slowly removing that crust off your healing wound. It hurts, tingles and your mind says stop, but you continue playing with it because feels so good!
This movie is like Daily Show on steroids! Take this movie as a medication to your frustrations and calm down.
I really wanted to love it
agrising6 June 2013
Instead, I liked it and would gladly watch it again. God Bless America had so much potential. Its first half an hour or so goes as you expect, over the top dark humor with non-stop truth hitting relentless social commentary and then...Roxy walks into the movie. From this point on, unfortunately, without saying much, the movie falls into several paradoxes and loses its focus.
At its core, GBA is a good social satire with nonstop commentary on the problems with pop culture and society, but on the same coin, the movie tries so hard that it feels like a rant by an angry liberal rather the good satire it initially set out to be. Furthermore, Roxy becomes one of the characters you want dead as the movie goes and her character, along with her and Frank's relationship, appears so idealized and forced, that it just affects the movie for the rest of its running time.
The good, however, lies in the great shooting scenes, some of the great commentary made by Frank (most of what Roxy says makes you roll your eyes if not question what in the world the movie was going for), the dark humor, the targets for satire, the over the top story, its entertainment, and overall its a solid 9/10 movie but...
The bad lies in the second act, on Roxy's faulty and forced character, its endless rants between our two main character that makes you want them to kill themselves as the next person on their killing spree, the people targeted (whats wrong with high fives and country music? When did this movie become about taste rather than appropriate satire part?) and so on...it just bit itself in the tail.
I really wanted to love this movie. I almost did. Instead every time I went to smile and applaud the commentary, something matter of taste or the character discontinuity got in the way...good movie, definitely one everyone should watch, but sadly, for what it could have been and set out to be, very flawed.
At its core, GBA is a good social satire with nonstop commentary on the problems with pop culture and society, but on the same coin, the movie tries so hard that it feels like a rant by an angry liberal rather the good satire it initially set out to be. Furthermore, Roxy becomes one of the characters you want dead as the movie goes and her character, along with her and Frank's relationship, appears so idealized and forced, that it just affects the movie for the rest of its running time.
The good, however, lies in the great shooting scenes, some of the great commentary made by Frank (most of what Roxy says makes you roll your eyes if not question what in the world the movie was going for), the dark humor, the targets for satire, the over the top story, its entertainment, and overall its a solid 9/10 movie but...
The bad lies in the second act, on Roxy's faulty and forced character, its endless rants between our two main character that makes you want them to kill themselves as the next person on their killing spree, the people targeted (whats wrong with high fives and country music? When did this movie become about taste rather than appropriate satire part?) and so on...it just bit itself in the tail.
I really wanted to love this movie. I almost did. Instead every time I went to smile and applaud the commentary, something matter of taste or the character discontinuity got in the way...good movie, definitely one everyone should watch, but sadly, for what it could have been and set out to be, very flawed.
They're not playing through a story. They're talking to you.
gameplayer1808 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
From the very start of this movie, there is a sense of direction towards you, the viewer. The cast isn't portraying a story in front of you. It seems more like a warning. They're talking to you. They're saying "There's more to life than idle chit chat at the water cooler about the same thing every other person on this planet is talking about."
Throughout the story, you begin to make connections to the world around you. At first, things seem exaggerated, but as it goes on, you realize that this is actually what America is becoming.
The ending is a bit of a fantasy, which is why I'm choosing to give this a 9 out of 10 instead of a 10, but it still sends a message home. Also, the relationship between Roxy and Frank seems to build up to a climax, but nothing really comes out of it, which is a bit of a downer. It seems like the movie could have been 30 minutes longer to really explain what happens when Roxy returns home, but maybe that's just me. I would also have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Frank and his family.
As far as the story goes, I feel like the fact that they were never recognized as criminals was unrealistic, but other than that, the story was rather flawless.
All in all, however, I think that this is a great movie, and that I'm just picking out a few flaws here. It really was a fantastic film.
Throughout the story, you begin to make connections to the world around you. At first, things seem exaggerated, but as it goes on, you realize that this is actually what America is becoming.
The ending is a bit of a fantasy, which is why I'm choosing to give this a 9 out of 10 instead of a 10, but it still sends a message home. Also, the relationship between Roxy and Frank seems to build up to a climax, but nothing really comes out of it, which is a bit of a downer. It seems like the movie could have been 30 minutes longer to really explain what happens when Roxy returns home, but maybe that's just me. I would also have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Frank and his family.
As far as the story goes, I feel like the fact that they were never recognized as criminals was unrealistic, but other than that, the story was rather flawless.
All in all, however, I think that this is a great movie, and that I'm just picking out a few flaws here. It really was a fantastic film.
An American version of Lindsay Anderson's 'If' ??
max-vernon12 August 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Whether or not Goldthwait was influenced by Lindsay Anderson's 1968 film 'If', these two satires bear a striking resemblance.
Firstly, both are anti-Establishment. In the case of 'If', anti-British Establishment of public school, upper class officer caste, and Church of England as Conservative Party at Prayer (the CoE has changed a lot since 1968!). In the case of 'God Bless America', anti-Media Establishment which makes money by dumbing down & anti a wide scattering of Conservative America, including racists, homophobes, anti-Semites & the Religious Right. Trash Culture is the main target but this is slippery customer to pin down which is why the 'exploited retard' is gunned down at the end. Apparently, any desire for TV fame is fair game for Goldthwait.
Secondly, the main protagonists appear to be normal people who are driven to murder & mayhem by a profound sense of disgust at the values which are accepted as good by the majority. Cruelty in 'If' is encapsulated by the famous flogging scene & institutionalised bullying allowed by public school teachers as a way of controlling pupils. In 'God Bless America' we have media owners encouraging audience bullying of a retarded contestant. The protagonist, rightly, says this is on the same level as cruelties witnessed in the Coliseum. Heavy hints of American & Roman Empires in moral decline.
Thirdly, both films have surreal elements, probably to suggest that the violence & gore are a fantasy & nothing else.
Fourthly, both films end with a shoot out between the protagonists and the forces of Conservatism & Reaction. The violent end of 'If' seems a little out of place against the cloistered setting of an English public school & the only handle Anderson was able to use was the school's Cadet Corps which gave weapons training to its pupils. Goldthwait has no problem using America's love affair with the gun throughout 'God Bless America' & even uses one murder scene to throw in a quip about gun control politics. The gun dealer scene is very good indeed.
Fifthly, each film is a morality tale explaining Liberal dislikes of Conservative values, especially where these produce cruelty & injustice. Both are uneven in the writing. Anderson had a much narrower target in the British Establishment. Goldthwait has to take into account the wider complicity of the Great American Public in trash culture and, accordingly, a lot of ordinary people get wasted.
The idea of liberals using the gun to exact revenge is the thing that most jars with each film. Violence is the hallmark of the Right, antipathy to violence, that of the Left. Cinematically, shoot outs have much to recommend them. They end the films with a big emotional punctuation mark. Could better writing have produced better satires without the violence? Violence will attract more of the audience that Goldthwait is satirising but I doubt most of them would get it. Liberals like myself may be left feeling a little dissatisfied that he has to use banality in order to critique banality.
Action or words? At the end of the day, this is a matter of personal taste. There is a lot of fine writing in 'God Bless America'. For me, the best line in the film is, "Why have a civilisation any more if we are no longer interested in being civilised?" Films like this need to be made & fine writing alone is unlikely to sustain audience attention. However, it is a great pity that in order to critique the Right, the Left must indulge in the same narrative as the Right. Kindly people dishing out death doesn't really work.
Firstly, both are anti-Establishment. In the case of 'If', anti-British Establishment of public school, upper class officer caste, and Church of England as Conservative Party at Prayer (the CoE has changed a lot since 1968!). In the case of 'God Bless America', anti-Media Establishment which makes money by dumbing down & anti a wide scattering of Conservative America, including racists, homophobes, anti-Semites & the Religious Right. Trash Culture is the main target but this is slippery customer to pin down which is why the 'exploited retard' is gunned down at the end. Apparently, any desire for TV fame is fair game for Goldthwait.
Secondly, the main protagonists appear to be normal people who are driven to murder & mayhem by a profound sense of disgust at the values which are accepted as good by the majority. Cruelty in 'If' is encapsulated by the famous flogging scene & institutionalised bullying allowed by public school teachers as a way of controlling pupils. In 'God Bless America' we have media owners encouraging audience bullying of a retarded contestant. The protagonist, rightly, says this is on the same level as cruelties witnessed in the Coliseum. Heavy hints of American & Roman Empires in moral decline.
Thirdly, both films have surreal elements, probably to suggest that the violence & gore are a fantasy & nothing else.
Fourthly, both films end with a shoot out between the protagonists and the forces of Conservatism & Reaction. The violent end of 'If' seems a little out of place against the cloistered setting of an English public school & the only handle Anderson was able to use was the school's Cadet Corps which gave weapons training to its pupils. Goldthwait has no problem using America's love affair with the gun throughout 'God Bless America' & even uses one murder scene to throw in a quip about gun control politics. The gun dealer scene is very good indeed.
Fifthly, each film is a morality tale explaining Liberal dislikes of Conservative values, especially where these produce cruelty & injustice. Both are uneven in the writing. Anderson had a much narrower target in the British Establishment. Goldthwait has to take into account the wider complicity of the Great American Public in trash culture and, accordingly, a lot of ordinary people get wasted.
The idea of liberals using the gun to exact revenge is the thing that most jars with each film. Violence is the hallmark of the Right, antipathy to violence, that of the Left. Cinematically, shoot outs have much to recommend them. They end the films with a big emotional punctuation mark. Could better writing have produced better satires without the violence? Violence will attract more of the audience that Goldthwait is satirising but I doubt most of them would get it. Liberals like myself may be left feeling a little dissatisfied that he has to use banality in order to critique banality.
Action or words? At the end of the day, this is a matter of personal taste. There is a lot of fine writing in 'God Bless America'. For me, the best line in the film is, "Why have a civilisation any more if we are no longer interested in being civilised?" Films like this need to be made & fine writing alone is unlikely to sustain audience attention. However, it is a great pity that in order to critique the Right, the Left must indulge in the same narrative as the Right. Kindly people dishing out death doesn't really work.
An Answer to Stone's Natural Born Killers
catblack-692-3143559 April 2012
What a great movie. It's rather as if Goldthwait has made an answer to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers by way of Mike Judge's Office Space. Through the eyes of Joel Murray's Frank, we see a variety of society's ills and thankfully, Goldthwait doesn't dwell on them. To do so would be like gawking at the stupidity when you walk into a Walmart; it's just going to make you dwell longer at the stupidity on display, and you are still in a Walmart.
Instead, we get one of those movies that you either are along with or you aren't, you get or you don't. If you get it, you wish that Frank had a few more monologues, if you don't, you'd think it was advocating random shooting sprees.
Thankfully the script and Murray's brilliant portrayal of Frank has him as a principled, moral character who has his suicide interrupted by one terrible reality TV show too many. Along the way he teams up with a psychotic schoolgirl. He's rebelling violently about what society has become, she's rebelling against what society is.
It isn't a huge film, without a large budget, but well made. I felt that it worked best compared to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, which showed spree killers as celebrities. In God Bless America the characters lament that they haven't even made the news. But in the end, Stone's film glories this shallow quest for fame while Goldthwait's film answers it, showing what happens to America when everyone is unkindly reaching for it.
Instead, we get one of those movies that you either are along with or you aren't, you get or you don't. If you get it, you wish that Frank had a few more monologues, if you don't, you'd think it was advocating random shooting sprees.
Thankfully the script and Murray's brilliant portrayal of Frank has him as a principled, moral character who has his suicide interrupted by one terrible reality TV show too many. Along the way he teams up with a psychotic schoolgirl. He's rebelling violently about what society has become, she's rebelling against what society is.
It isn't a huge film, without a large budget, but well made. I felt that it worked best compared to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, which showed spree killers as celebrities. In God Bless America the characters lament that they haven't even made the news. But in the end, Stone's film glories this shallow quest for fame while Goldthwait's film answers it, showing what happens to America when everyone is unkindly reaching for it.
the preachiness involved in the film sort of dragged the script down
ThreeGuysOneMovie26 May 2012
I liked the concept of the film. There was a lot of dark humor and my fears that I would grow bored with the level of guns and violence, thankfully, did not come to fruition. Where the film starts to go off the rails for me was the reliance on soliloquy to get Bobcat's point across. Especially at the conclusion it seems that they are really hitting you over the head with a mallet. Yes we get it no need to bludgeon the film goer with the obvious.
A lot of the dark comedy bits were really well done. However, some of the preachiness involved in the film sort of dragged the script down. As I mentioned previously, the ending was questionable at best as the Frank (Murray) gives a long soliloquy just in case you had not been paying attention for the last 99 minutes.
check out our full review at 3guys1movie.com
A lot of the dark comedy bits were really well done. However, some of the preachiness involved in the film sort of dragged the script down. As I mentioned previously, the ending was questionable at best as the Frank (Murray) gives a long soliloquy just in case you had not been paying attention for the last 99 minutes.
check out our full review at 3guys1movie.com
Rants punctuated by violence do not a movie make
JoshuaDysart18 August 2012
Hey Bobcat Goldthwait! I hate all the same crap about American culture as you do!
You know what I else I hate? Bland cinematic litanies of crap that the filmmaker can't stand. I hate American movies that have no real narrative ambition except to bitch and plug the filmmaker's rantings into the mouth of his main character... over and over and over again. I hate movies about people who sit around in hotel rooms debating which music is cool and which isn't. I hate movies that don't even have the balls to be straight up exploitation, even though they're obviously fetishizing violence. I hate trite pieces of cinema with no true center. I hate it when a protagonist in a movie is saddled with the rhetoric of decency, yet doesn't do anything proactive at all until he turns to violence. He doesn't turn off the shrieking TV and read a book during his late night bouts with insomnia. He doesn't assert himself like a self- respecting human being on his douchey neighbors or take command of his own life in any way, until he does so through violence. So really, he's just as weak and lost in our "uncivilized society" as anyone else in the flick. And ultimately, for his unearned high moral ground, just as annoying.
Uninspired, unambitious, ethically-muddled, satirically challenged, broadly realized cinema is just as much a part of the problem as bitches with cellphones in movie theaters.
Bobcat "Get off my lawn" Goldthwait, it's not that your hyperbolic vision of America doesn't have some truth to it, it's that we deserve a far more intelligent and interesting attack on what's wrong with our selfish/media-addicted/materialist society than this.
You know what I else I hate? Bland cinematic litanies of crap that the filmmaker can't stand. I hate American movies that have no real narrative ambition except to bitch and plug the filmmaker's rantings into the mouth of his main character... over and over and over again. I hate movies about people who sit around in hotel rooms debating which music is cool and which isn't. I hate movies that don't even have the balls to be straight up exploitation, even though they're obviously fetishizing violence. I hate trite pieces of cinema with no true center. I hate it when a protagonist in a movie is saddled with the rhetoric of decency, yet doesn't do anything proactive at all until he turns to violence. He doesn't turn off the shrieking TV and read a book during his late night bouts with insomnia. He doesn't assert himself like a self- respecting human being on his douchey neighbors or take command of his own life in any way, until he does so through violence. So really, he's just as weak and lost in our "uncivilized society" as anyone else in the flick. And ultimately, for his unearned high moral ground, just as annoying.
Uninspired, unambitious, ethically-muddled, satirically challenged, broadly realized cinema is just as much a part of the problem as bitches with cellphones in movie theaters.
Bobcat "Get off my lawn" Goldthwait, it's not that your hyperbolic vision of America doesn't have some truth to it, it's that we deserve a far more intelligent and interesting attack on what's wrong with our selfish/media-addicted/materialist society than this.
Ironically, the movie is just as annoying as the people, the main characters are trying to kill.
ironhorse_iv27 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I understand the point of this dark satire comedy by writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait and its message, but its delivery is quite disappointing with its overabundant use of foul language and violence. The two main characters disillusioned middle-aged man Frank & cynical impulsive teen Roxy (Joel Murray & Tara Barr) are two people in their state of madness mad at everything that's they deem wrong with contemporary American culture, whom embarks on a violent crime spree to kill people. They just as vile as the very people that fueled their insanity to begin with. They are hypocrites. The film definitely drew attention to the flaws of the antagonists, but they never solve their own issues. The film has absolutely no character arc at all. Both characters don't develop for the entire film. They are exactly the same at the beginning as they are at the end. What did they accomplished? They killed a lot of people and the world will still be as screwed up as it always was. The movie preach morality, but doesn't know what morality is. The acting between these two is well done, I give them that, but nothing out of their mouths seem like real narrative. It's mostly complains and rants about everything. It get annoying and tedious. It was really odd for the Roxy's character to constantly hear the voice of the 50-year-old writer spitting out big words, and 1980's pop culture references coming out her teenager mouth. It's not convincingly. Plus, how is Frank able to talk so long, gathering up the right words to preach against something without once tripping up. The writing is well-written, but it's not well-delivered. It's more violence revenge porn than a movie. In the movie, the character Frank complains about radio stars using shock-value, while in the movie has a lot of shock-values scenes. The dream scene of killing a baby and then later on the film, the Aurora theater type-shooting gives the movie a bad taste. While it does a good job parodies famous mindless media sources such as reality televisions, extreme political talking heads, and music. The piece of cinema has no true center. I hate it when a antagonist is saddled with the rhetoric of decency, yet doesn't do anything proactive at all until they turns to violence. Couldn't these issues be dealt with another way. The film loves to badmouth how bad society has gotten, and how America capitalism is the cause of it. This is the 21st century, let's remember how mindless people were when the media play little part of its society. There are more sophisticate people than any time in history. Morality isn't gone, morality is raise by choice, rather than force down by society norms. Still, there comes a point when you've got to stop complaining about how bad everything is and start pushing the world in a better direction by leading by example. It's call maturing. It's OK to socially awkward. Join the club! Most people are socially awkward anyways. We need to be able to have honest conversations and debates about these issues that our society faces without seeking violence. The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.
great modern picture
rekka-340-1190529 April 2012
I love this movie, Don't get me wrong its a little under budget but I think the message gets across and is true!!! I wish everyone I know would watch this movie. I think this movie knows its place and is written and directed as so. I can't wait to recommend this to all my friends. I like the actors they feel real for the story line and do the things we all wish we could do. I can only hope a film like this can shake up people and not just shrug it off as a small film. This film does tackle a lot of social problems that exist in society today. This is not a JUNO film!! This has a touch of reality that America wants to deny and a extreme that seems to escape every one as it is rubbed in your face over and over again and the easier the lie the easier we swallow
What exactly American has turned into..
saadgkhan2 August 2012
God Bless America – CATCH IT (B+) God bless America is going to be remembered as sarcastic violent take on what American has come to. America is now sucked up into the this pop corn culture, sink into social media face book/twitter, fascinating by the celebrities' lifestyle, turning Americans into jokers on shows like American Idol etc and most importantly putting up their families on TV on the name 0of reality for fame and money. In this movie a terminally old man consider him Clyde and 16years old girls consider Bonnie go on killing spree of the social parasites. If you start analyzing the movie then it's pretty much messed up like why they don't get caught? They're on tape? Their hand prints are all over crime scenes. They drive same car all over USA. If you don't analyze these factors and just enjoy the movie as they are trying to tell us what was important and what has now become important you will laugh your *** off. The dialogues of the movie are the best part of the movie, its clever, witty and 100% true. The movie bash the reality shows, the celebrities, the news anchors, Kardashians, American Idol, Glee and jerks all around us. Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Bar make an awesome unlikely duo. They work great together and make you believe all this for some time. Bryce Johnson and Joel Murray's argument is may favorite in the whole movie. I enjoyed the whole movie except for the ending because there was not a good speech in the end and suddenly the girl come son stage from nowhere so kind of weird but anyhow it's still Pretty darn Hilarious & Violent.
I Never add reviews, but this time!!
vj_dustin17 April 2012
God Bless America! this movie, this is one wake up call! This movie is about how messed up our current generation is. I myself am 21 years old but i have enough maturity to know whats right and wrong, whats acceptable and whats shameful. But kids younger than me (Even in India) are so fcked up right now, i cant imagine the horrible future we have ahead of it.
All in all, God not only bless America but this entire moron world filling up fast with nothing but kids and teenagers idoling Jersey Shore so called stars, iPod Blackberry fanatics and other such low level idiots.
Though i don't see how even God can help us now. Frustration aside, WATCH THIS MOVIE!! but try not to kill someone after watching it, as am i trying desperately now..!!
All in all, God not only bless America but this entire moron world filling up fast with nothing but kids and teenagers idoling Jersey Shore so called stars, iPod Blackberry fanatics and other such low level idiots.
Though i don't see how even God can help us now. Frustration aside, WATCH THIS MOVIE!! but try not to kill someone after watching it, as am i trying desperately now..!!
wow, right on!!!!
rightwingisevil9 April 2012
this film is exactly what i felt about America, the big, fat, over-weighted, arrogant, self-centered, loud, shallow, ridiculous, war-mongaring, you-broke-my-window-i-kill-your-whole-family-burn-your-house-down self justified obnoxious country. highway patrol and local police ambush citizen drivers for making up the budget cut, the superior court representing the law as the traffic fine collector; blue cross discriminating and profiling the subscribers only by ages, they increase your premiums by leaps and bounds once you reach 50 or 55, even you rarely visited any doctor's clinic; threatening citizens by not reported to the jury duty call; everything is taxed; federal reserve is nothing but controlled by a bunch of bankers; unions against the enterprises; benefits, overtime, pensions are always more important than a stable job; entertaining business controls common peoples' way of life, way of thinking; hip-hop and rap always with nasty gangsta brain wash violence and hatred. morons could become two-term president, actors could become governor or even president, and you call it 'the American dream'. illegal aliens could get food stamps and could always buy more stuff than we tax paying families; churches have become the farming zones for real estates agents, lenders and handymen; senate and congress, federal or state, never ever served the voters but themselves; so many dogs in almost every house, barking day and night; only poor kids or illegal immigrant young men join the marine, wounded, crippled or died in foreign countries that we tried to liberate. and this is America that you try to fool yourself that this is the only land that god blessed.
this movie really released certain resentment i felt for this country. there are still a lot of good and decent people in it, but they are not the ruling ones and never would be. but using a few bullets to bless those folks who make us suffered indirectly is not the way to solve the problems either. gun nuts always telling us: 'it's not the guns that kill people; it's the people who kill people.' yeah, that's right, as long as these people killers are untouchable, just bite the bullets and keep suffering, cuz it is we who have made those people become untouchable, so we deserve all of it!
this movie really released certain resentment i felt for this country. there are still a lot of good and decent people in it, but they are not the ruling ones and never would be. but using a few bullets to bless those folks who make us suffered indirectly is not the way to solve the problems either. gun nuts always telling us: 'it's not the guns that kill people; it's the people who kill people.' yeah, that's right, as long as these people killers are untouchable, just bite the bullets and keep suffering, cuz it is we who have made those people become untouchable, so we deserve all of it!
Falling Down, only less
siderite27 September 2012
I've heard about the movie from a guy that was ecstatic about it. Frustrated, as many educated people are, with the ridiculous, stupid and petty show we get on TV every day, he felt vindicated by this movie in which a guy is killing people because they promote the worst. However, in the end, no matter how frustrated I would get, I can't empathise with the main character. Not because he kills people, but because he does it only when he loses his job and he is going to die. That reduces his entire discourse and killing spree to a mere psychotic breakdown. The girl wasn't a lot better either, with her impulses to kill anything she did not agree with, she was just as close minded as the people she wanted to kill.
In a way, it reminds me of Falling Down, with the same idea of a man who can't take the ugliness of the world anymore. But he always had the option to turn the TV off and he did not, making himself his own victim. The lack of realism in the film was also something to throw me off the plot. And the last nail in the coffin is the melange of themes taken from other films: the brain tumour, the unfair laying off on fake harassment grounds, the estranged family that lives with another man, the precocious female companion (and no, I don't mean he stole it from Dr.Who).
The conclusion is that for me this is a failed film. The real problem is not the idiotic content on TV, but the myriads of idiots that like it. The film also reminds me of the movie The Last Supper from '95, a much better satire of society and with a lot more direct impact. If you want to vent your frustration, watch Falling Down. If you want a powerful social commentary, watch the Last Supper. This movie... is just a little sad.
In a way, it reminds me of Falling Down, with the same idea of a man who can't take the ugliness of the world anymore. But he always had the option to turn the TV off and he did not, making himself his own victim. The lack of realism in the film was also something to throw me off the plot. And the last nail in the coffin is the melange of themes taken from other films: the brain tumour, the unfair laying off on fake harassment grounds, the estranged family that lives with another man, the precocious female companion (and no, I don't mean he stole it from Dr.Who).
The conclusion is that for me this is a failed film. The real problem is not the idiotic content on TV, but the myriads of idiots that like it. The film also reminds me of the movie The Last Supper from '95, a much better satire of society and with a lot more direct impact. If you want to vent your frustration, watch Falling Down. If you want a powerful social commentary, watch the Last Supper. This movie... is just a little sad.
this movie made me weep for America,and I am not even an American
Sherief9418 July 2012
This movie is great,intelligent,funny at times,saddening at other times.
Acting by Joel Murray was brilliant.I don't recognize Ms Tara Lynne Barr but I predict for her a bright full acting career.
The movie asks why American people turned into aggressive,mean,unrelenting,hellbent on hurting others creatures.
And why American children became ill-behaved,spoiled,nightmare begins.
It may force to think about things in live,or it may not.it all depends on your character,your way of life.
But believe me,you should watch that movie.
Acting by Joel Murray was brilliant.I don't recognize Ms Tara Lynne Barr but I predict for her a bright full acting career.
The movie asks why American people turned into aggressive,mean,unrelenting,hellbent on hurting others creatures.
And why American children became ill-behaved,spoiled,nightmare begins.
It may force to think about things in live,or it may not.it all depends on your character,your way of life.
But believe me,you should watch that movie.
Confusion remains as to what this movie wants.
corncornrocks15 July 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I went into this movie seeing the trailer, which presented a misanthropic middle-aged man and an equally bitter teenage girl going on a country-wide killing spree. Okay, sounds entertaining, or at least ambitious and original. And this movie truly is. However, this movie seems to walk a fine line between being a blood-soaked fun-fest or a genuine film with something to say.
The ending was hugely disappointing, as it largely revealed the characters to be static and of immovable opinions. Are we supposed to sympathize with a broken man who has just had too much, a la Falling Down? Or is the lesson that we should be "more kind", lest we be killed by some serial killing couple? Typically, I rank great movies on how they change me as a person, challenge my ideals, and make me question the way I think. This movie succeeded in doing that, only to throw away credibility at the end by revealing the characters to be utterly non- sympathetic of the countless people they killed just because they didn't agree with them or thought they were wrong.
On most of these issues I even agree with these people. Exploitation of terrible personality qualities is a problem running rampant in this country, as is our sense of self-entitlement and religious zealots. But people change, and no one deserves to die, period. I don't like this movie because it disagrees with my ideals; I don't like it because the characters thought's were ultimately nullified in my mind when it turned out they were a bunch of psychopathic, contradictory nutjobs.
The ending was hugely disappointing, as it largely revealed the characters to be static and of immovable opinions. Are we supposed to sympathize with a broken man who has just had too much, a la Falling Down? Or is the lesson that we should be "more kind", lest we be killed by some serial killing couple? Typically, I rank great movies on how they change me as a person, challenge my ideals, and make me question the way I think. This movie succeeded in doing that, only to throw away credibility at the end by revealing the characters to be utterly non- sympathetic of the countless people they killed just because they didn't agree with them or thought they were wrong.
On most of these issues I even agree with these people. Exploitation of terrible personality qualities is a problem running rampant in this country, as is our sense of self-entitlement and religious zealots. But people change, and no one deserves to die, period. I don't like this movie because it disagrees with my ideals; I don't like it because the characters thought's were ultimately nullified in my mind when it turned out they were a bunch of psychopathic, contradictory nutjobs.
Everything that is wrong isn't right. Or isn't it?
enteredapprenticering8 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Hands-Up question: how many of you reading this, have ever fantasized about killing someone who acted extraordinarily rude? I mean, seriously fantasizing about it and enjoying the thought, killing the obnoxious loud neighbors, the person who just stole your parking spot and especially the bully who picks on the weak to make himself look strong? I got good and bad news for those who raised their hands: the good news is the protagonists of this movie do just that, spreading the message that if you are spreading fears, are a hater of "..." or just without decency in regards to the people around you, watch out - you might get shot in the head. The bad news is that that if you catch yourself dreaming about killing rude or obnoxious people regularly, say once a week, you are actually a borderline-psychopath and are very likely to behave violent towards others at some future point of time. Well, the protagonists cross the border from frequent fantasy to reality. Do we empathize with the protagonist or with their actions or is it a bit of both? I actually think everyone empathizes with the message and the movie might make the viewer act much nicer and with more decency to anyone he meets. Well, it might at least for the next 60 minutes, until the short-attention span generation forgets to be nice and goes back to elbowing. My vote for this dark but with precise presentation of the state of mind of many members of society: 10 of 10.
Liberals finally kick some ass...
KissMyAss3119313 April 2012
...and it's about f--king time. Admit it, all of us still sane people we just wanna see those stupid xenophobes and reality TV c--ts burn and suffer, or even better wield the sword ourself and bring stupidity down to the ground where it belongs. Intead of holding it up as the description for the twenty-first century. This movie isn't however just a parody of what our civilization has become, it's also a film of heart, humor and, which is rarely the case nowadays, a soul. So the only thing left to say is I highly recommend it for the all you smart people out there. Consume it, take it to your heart and the next time you see "Jersey Shore" while skipping through the channels imagine lightening the cast one fire screaming: BURN MOTHERF--KERS BURN!
Goldthwait's Final Solution
Chris_Pandolfi11 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Frank (Joel Murray) sees nothing around him apart from the collapse of American society. Television is saturated with reality shows that exploit stupidity and glorify shallowness. The nightly news reports little apart from stories of murder and mayhem. Conservative political talk shows have devolved into cruel, bigoted gusts of hot air. People in general, namely his coworkers and neighbors, have become apathetic and stupid; genuine conversation has been reduced to mindless chatter about the latest celebrity scandal. His ex-wife, Alison (Melinda Page Hamilton), has custody of their daughter, Ava (Mackenzie Brooke Smith), who has become a whiny brat. Making matters worse, he has just been fired from his job at an insurance company, simply because an innocent gesture of kindness was misinterpreted as sexual harassment. To top everything off, he's shown that he has an inoperable brain tumor.
He prepares to commit suicide in front of his television set. But then a reality show starts. It documents the life of a spoiled teenage girl named Chloe (Maddie Hasson), who throws all kinds of hissy fits as she nears her sixteenth birthday party. With a newfound sense of motivation, Frank decides to go cross country and murder the pop culture icons whose selfishness, impoliteness, and ignorance contribute to America's downfall. He steals his rude neighbor's sports car, stakes out Chloe just outside her school, handcuffs her to the steering wheel of her car, and, when stuffing a flaming white cloth in the car's gas portal fails, blows her brains out all over the windshield. This is witnessed by a teenager named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr); rather than report Frank to the police, she instead insists that they team up and go on a murder spree, to which he agrees. A latent homicidal maniac, Roxy's list of people she hates is arbitrary and long.
Essentially this generation's answer to "Falling Down," Bobcat Goldthwait's "God Bless America" is a profoundly wrongheaded political and social satire. Although it correctly and accurately addresses America's failings, it offers a solution so venomous and morally reprehensible that it surpasses mere parody and becomes a full-blown case of cinematic intolerance. What disturbs me deeply is that the audiences who see this film are likely to see past this and venerate the character of Frank as an antihero. In reality, he's a hypocrite; he laments about a lack of personal responsibility in this country, never once taking into account that, by murdering rude and annoying TV personalities for corrupting society, he is himself shifting the blame to someone else. It's not their fault America is the way it is. It's the fault of each and every individual that continues to watch, therefore creating a demand and perpetuating the problem.
Other people fall victim to Frank and Roxy's countrywide reign of terror, including movie-theater patrons who laugh at all the wrong places and talk on their cell phones, a mean-spirited conservative talk show host, and several vile religious picketers who are obviously modeled after the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. As they prepare to take out the three judges of an "American Idol"-based reality show, who Frank feels have been needlessly exploiting an untalented William Hung parody, they make plans to "go legit" and move to France. It would be more accurate to say that Roxy makes plans for it, as she's desperate to move to a country that "hates America" as much as she does. Dear God, but the tirades this girl goes off on are annoying and unwarranted. According to her, people who do high-fives should be killed, as should those who misuse the word "literally," those who turn "rock star" into an adjective, the cast of "Glee," David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, and Diablo Cody. But don't even think about insulting Alice Cooper in front of her. Of all the people in world, he's the real deal?
Let me speak from the heart for a moment. I agree that most reality TV shows are pointless and exploitive wastes of time. I agree that we're needlessly inundated with celebrity gossip and that intelligent conversations are a dying art. I agree that certain conservatives have allowed themselves to become spiteful hatemongers. I agree that movie audiences have by and large become disrespectful. I agree that the members of the Westboro Baptist Church are the scum of the earth. I agree that there is much that is wrong with America. But taking out unsavory people in a blaze of gunfire is not the answer. These problems persist only because we give them that power. If you don't like what passes for television these days, simply turn it off. Nobody is forcing you to watch. Read a book, or select a movie or an album that suits your personal tastes, or take up a hobby.
Before you start leaving behind angry comments, yes, I'm well aware that "God Bless America" is a satire and not intended to be taken at face value. But all satire stems from very real aspects of society. To even joke about murdering people in cold blood, even if they happen to be jerks, is downright appalling. And what of that, anyway? Goldthwait is so eager to condemn an entire society that he never once stops to examine or even consider the individuals who are genuinely good. He may be right in that some Americans are incredibly rude, but he's dead wrong in his belief that rudeness is a condition the entire country is afflicted with. I don't think he intended this movie to be a rallying cry for change. I think it was meant to belittle our very existence. We have no value in his eyes. He has devised a final solution, namely that we should all be wiped out. You have no idea how depressed I am right now.
-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)
He prepares to commit suicide in front of his television set. But then a reality show starts. It documents the life of a spoiled teenage girl named Chloe (Maddie Hasson), who throws all kinds of hissy fits as she nears her sixteenth birthday party. With a newfound sense of motivation, Frank decides to go cross country and murder the pop culture icons whose selfishness, impoliteness, and ignorance contribute to America's downfall. He steals his rude neighbor's sports car, stakes out Chloe just outside her school, handcuffs her to the steering wheel of her car, and, when stuffing a flaming white cloth in the car's gas portal fails, blows her brains out all over the windshield. This is witnessed by a teenager named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr); rather than report Frank to the police, she instead insists that they team up and go on a murder spree, to which he agrees. A latent homicidal maniac, Roxy's list of people she hates is arbitrary and long.
Essentially this generation's answer to "Falling Down," Bobcat Goldthwait's "God Bless America" is a profoundly wrongheaded political and social satire. Although it correctly and accurately addresses America's failings, it offers a solution so venomous and morally reprehensible that it surpasses mere parody and becomes a full-blown case of cinematic intolerance. What disturbs me deeply is that the audiences who see this film are likely to see past this and venerate the character of Frank as an antihero. In reality, he's a hypocrite; he laments about a lack of personal responsibility in this country, never once taking into account that, by murdering rude and annoying TV personalities for corrupting society, he is himself shifting the blame to someone else. It's not their fault America is the way it is. It's the fault of each and every individual that continues to watch, therefore creating a demand and perpetuating the problem.
Other people fall victim to Frank and Roxy's countrywide reign of terror, including movie-theater patrons who laugh at all the wrong places and talk on their cell phones, a mean-spirited conservative talk show host, and several vile religious picketers who are obviously modeled after the members of the Westboro Baptist Church. As they prepare to take out the three judges of an "American Idol"-based reality show, who Frank feels have been needlessly exploiting an untalented William Hung parody, they make plans to "go legit" and move to France. It would be more accurate to say that Roxy makes plans for it, as she's desperate to move to a country that "hates America" as much as she does. Dear God, but the tirades this girl goes off on are annoying and unwarranted. According to her, people who do high-fives should be killed, as should those who misuse the word "literally," those who turn "rock star" into an adjective, the cast of "Glee," David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, and Diablo Cody. But don't even think about insulting Alice Cooper in front of her. Of all the people in world, he's the real deal?
Let me speak from the heart for a moment. I agree that most reality TV shows are pointless and exploitive wastes of time. I agree that we're needlessly inundated with celebrity gossip and that intelligent conversations are a dying art. I agree that certain conservatives have allowed themselves to become spiteful hatemongers. I agree that movie audiences have by and large become disrespectful. I agree that the members of the Westboro Baptist Church are the scum of the earth. I agree that there is much that is wrong with America. But taking out unsavory people in a blaze of gunfire is not the answer. These problems persist only because we give them that power. If you don't like what passes for television these days, simply turn it off. Nobody is forcing you to watch. Read a book, or select a movie or an album that suits your personal tastes, or take up a hobby.
Before you start leaving behind angry comments, yes, I'm well aware that "God Bless America" is a satire and not intended to be taken at face value. But all satire stems from very real aspects of society. To even joke about murdering people in cold blood, even if they happen to be jerks, is downright appalling. And what of that, anyway? Goldthwait is so eager to condemn an entire society that he never once stops to examine or even consider the individuals who are genuinely good. He may be right in that some Americans are incredibly rude, but he's dead wrong in his belief that rudeness is a condition the entire country is afflicted with. I don't think he intended this movie to be a rallying cry for change. I think it was meant to belittle our very existence. We have no value in his eyes. He has devised a final solution, namely that we should all be wiped out. You have no idea how depressed I am right now.
-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)
Quite striking social commentary on modern America and where it seems to be heading.
johnnyboyz12 January 2017
Speaking in November 2009, American social-critic Christopher Hedges argued as to how America's decline, certainly as an empire, was inevitable – he lamented how Americans have become 'disconnected from who (they) are, what (they) represent and where (they're) going' and how they have essentially been kept in a perpetual state of adult-infancy through a series of badly judged political decisions over the last 40 years. The result of this, he asserted, was that people will begin to 'search for a demagogue or a saviour that promises moral renewal, vengeance and the glory.'
On the back of this, and if the depiction of America (or more importantly, Americans) in Bobcat Goldthwait's film "God Bless America" is at all accurate, I would say that there was almost certainly something in the fact that the British Channel 4 network decided to air "God Bless America" on the night of Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 US Presidential Election. To understand the deeper meaning of this, one needs to first understand the hypothesis of Goldthwait's film, but also be a little more familiar with the basic view of those such as Hedges who, if his public lectures and television interviews on the topic of America's direction are anything to go by, seems to have had much of what he has to say heard and then adapted to the screen right here.
In conjunction to his other remarks, Hedges commented on as to how America is shifting from a 'print' based society to an 'image' based society – how it was 'moving away from nuanced thought and from the struggle with ambiguity' for 'jargon and clichés'. He continued: 'We are seeing the dying gasps of a culture that is severing itself from print and entering an age of terrifying illiteracy', which will in turn supposedly give rise to certain horrifying things....
The crux of this evident in "God Bless America" – an ambitious, morbid comedy which seems to fuse the droll, even blackly empty, tonality of "America Psycho" with the sheer terror of the apparent barrenness of life as terrifically demonstrated in "Taxi Driver". It is confrontational and quite upsetting, but then most films which try to explore the fatuity or frustrations of a given era are.
Narrative is secondary to subtext here, but for the sake of simplicity I will reveal that the film centres around a middle aged American man called Frank (Joel Murray), who is divorced; lives alone and struggles over custody of his young daughter. He hates his life and those around him. Oddly, he seems to insist on engaging with the very thing he despises most: television, which glamorises fatuity; revels in the obscene and promotes a sort of sordid liberalism where everyone, no matter how contemptible they really are, is a champion in some of the ways Hedges argued. Away from home, he finds himself unable to escape the idiotic monotony of his co-workers and neighbours, who speak of nothing else but low-brow pop-culture. An exemplar of this divide lies in as to how he trades a BOOK with the receptionist at his desk job.
Frank is tipped over the edge when he is fired, in what appears to be a statement from the film on how maddening modern political correctness is when it comes to talking to/making moves on women, before completely loses contact with his daughter. Put briefly, the ingredients bubble up into an explosive rage forcing him across America and it isn't long before he and a young female accomplice named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), whom he meets along the way, are in way over their heads.
The film's tone is flippant throughout, and events seem to have been transplanted to an unreal universe which still strangely seems to be grounded in the real world. The characters are often viciously unlikable and hideously hypocritical – Roxy's left-wing mantra sees her rage against right-wingers who lobby for foreign wars and are against gay-marriage yet exudes a punk-fascism herself.
It is remarkable as to how cine-literate the film is – done deliberately, I'm sure, to disorientate the audience as it makes its overall point on the commoditised nature of American culture. Roxy's backstory is remarkably similar to Mallory Knox's in "Natural Born Killers"; a scene in a lay-by with a state trooper calls to mind "Psycho"; the leads dress at one point like "Bonnie and Clyde" and Samuel L. Jackson's riff on AK-47's from "Jackie Brown" is rehashed seemingly without shame.
Goldthwait's film is not generic, yet we have seen films like it in the past; it is satirical, yet seems to rage against a society whose fascination with funny quick-fixes and the visual image essentially began in the 1960's with a boom in the satire genre. It despises popular culture, yet cannot help but draw influence from it so as to either prove its point or garner a few laughs. The film plays like an amalgamation of the ideas put forward over time by various commentators warning where television; celebration of trash and the Capitalist free market might lead. It is Neil Postman merged with Hedges by way of the now conventional point on how the Western world has largely adopted the model of the universe found in Aldous Huxley's novel "Brave New World": where Orwell feared totalitarian regimes banning books, the reality now is that no one is willing or able to read them having been 'educated' out of liking high-culture and taught to sneer at intellect.
Few things have changed since "God Bless America's" release, but then it has only been three years. In Britain, the 2016 series of "X-Factor" made popular a would-be rapper named Honey-G, who was evidently terrible, and yet came to represent a true-to-life version of the Steven Clark character found within this very film – the fact they are so bad makes them so good. The fact "God Bless America" is as good as it is warrants you seeing it.
On the back of this, and if the depiction of America (or more importantly, Americans) in Bobcat Goldthwait's film "God Bless America" is at all accurate, I would say that there was almost certainly something in the fact that the British Channel 4 network decided to air "God Bless America" on the night of Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 US Presidential Election. To understand the deeper meaning of this, one needs to first understand the hypothesis of Goldthwait's film, but also be a little more familiar with the basic view of those such as Hedges who, if his public lectures and television interviews on the topic of America's direction are anything to go by, seems to have had much of what he has to say heard and then adapted to the screen right here.
In conjunction to his other remarks, Hedges commented on as to how America is shifting from a 'print' based society to an 'image' based society – how it was 'moving away from nuanced thought and from the struggle with ambiguity' for 'jargon and clichés'. He continued: 'We are seeing the dying gasps of a culture that is severing itself from print and entering an age of terrifying illiteracy', which will in turn supposedly give rise to certain horrifying things....
The crux of this evident in "God Bless America" – an ambitious, morbid comedy which seems to fuse the droll, even blackly empty, tonality of "America Psycho" with the sheer terror of the apparent barrenness of life as terrifically demonstrated in "Taxi Driver". It is confrontational and quite upsetting, but then most films which try to explore the fatuity or frustrations of a given era are.
Narrative is secondary to subtext here, but for the sake of simplicity I will reveal that the film centres around a middle aged American man called Frank (Joel Murray), who is divorced; lives alone and struggles over custody of his young daughter. He hates his life and those around him. Oddly, he seems to insist on engaging with the very thing he despises most: television, which glamorises fatuity; revels in the obscene and promotes a sort of sordid liberalism where everyone, no matter how contemptible they really are, is a champion in some of the ways Hedges argued. Away from home, he finds himself unable to escape the idiotic monotony of his co-workers and neighbours, who speak of nothing else but low-brow pop-culture. An exemplar of this divide lies in as to how he trades a BOOK with the receptionist at his desk job.
Frank is tipped over the edge when he is fired, in what appears to be a statement from the film on how maddening modern political correctness is when it comes to talking to/making moves on women, before completely loses contact with his daughter. Put briefly, the ingredients bubble up into an explosive rage forcing him across America and it isn't long before he and a young female accomplice named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), whom he meets along the way, are in way over their heads.
The film's tone is flippant throughout, and events seem to have been transplanted to an unreal universe which still strangely seems to be grounded in the real world. The characters are often viciously unlikable and hideously hypocritical – Roxy's left-wing mantra sees her rage against right-wingers who lobby for foreign wars and are against gay-marriage yet exudes a punk-fascism herself.
It is remarkable as to how cine-literate the film is – done deliberately, I'm sure, to disorientate the audience as it makes its overall point on the commoditised nature of American culture. Roxy's backstory is remarkably similar to Mallory Knox's in "Natural Born Killers"; a scene in a lay-by with a state trooper calls to mind "Psycho"; the leads dress at one point like "Bonnie and Clyde" and Samuel L. Jackson's riff on AK-47's from "Jackie Brown" is rehashed seemingly without shame.
Goldthwait's film is not generic, yet we have seen films like it in the past; it is satirical, yet seems to rage against a society whose fascination with funny quick-fixes and the visual image essentially began in the 1960's with a boom in the satire genre. It despises popular culture, yet cannot help but draw influence from it so as to either prove its point or garner a few laughs. The film plays like an amalgamation of the ideas put forward over time by various commentators warning where television; celebration of trash and the Capitalist free market might lead. It is Neil Postman merged with Hedges by way of the now conventional point on how the Western world has largely adopted the model of the universe found in Aldous Huxley's novel "Brave New World": where Orwell feared totalitarian regimes banning books, the reality now is that no one is willing or able to read them having been 'educated' out of liking high-culture and taught to sneer at intellect.
Few things have changed since "God Bless America's" release, but then it has only been three years. In Britain, the 2016 series of "X-Factor" made popular a would-be rapper named Honey-G, who was evidently terrible, and yet came to represent a true-to-life version of the Steven Clark character found within this very film – the fact they are so bad makes them so good. The fact "God Bless America" is as good as it is warrants you seeing it.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
