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Reviews
Santasm (2008)
Belongs in the canon with White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life
I cannot say enough good things about this short film. It's got heart. It's got laughs. It's got an amazingly talented pair of leads. And the music! My God, the music is just sublime. My family hates me because I make everyone sit down to watch it every Christmas Eve, but those Grinches can sit on it! I honestly don't understand why this film isn't more well-known, but I guess it probably has something to do with distribution in the U.S., but so what? Anyone with a lick of internet sense can buy it on Amazon or find it elsewhere online! Or it could be because it's not flashy or enough of a blockbuster for the holiday movie-going audience. But whoever said a holiday movie has to have explosions and profane language and men and women doing what men and women should only do behind closed doors? Lots of great holiday movies were made once upon a time without any of those elements, and they're GREAT! And so is Santasm! This holiday season, make sure it's on your viewing list. You won't be disappointed!
An American Carol (2008)
whaaaa???
I really, really, really, really, really want to see Kevin Farley succeed as an actor, if only because he's paying his dues and obviously wants it very badly. By now, I have to think he's got enough experience to know what does and doesn't work comedically and I'm ready to see him shine.
Mr. Farley shines about as brightly in American Carol as a kump of petrified wood, but it's not his fault. It's really, really not his fault. The fault is not even in the script or with the director, it's in the premise. The idea that right-wing celebrities and media figures somehow need an opportunity to "get their own" runs smack into the reality: that these people, unlike the Hollywood elites, have actually been running this country and driven it to the very precipice of permanent disaster. If the film maker wanted to invite these figures into the theater as comedic devices, they simply can't work as underdogs. It's like "Springtime for Hitler" in "The Producers." The gag only worked because it was a fantastic irony. But there is no irony in An American Carol. Zucker wants us to take his premise seriously. But, unless you live in a bottle (as some of my fellow reviewers appear to), that threshold of believability is just way too high.
The jokes fell flat. The premise itself damned this film. It could not be funny. And so, it's not.
I sincerely wish Mr. Farley the best of luck in his future work and congratulate him on working with Mr. Zucker. It's a shame Mr. Zucker couldn't fit him into a picture as funny as Airplane or Naked Gun.
Little Britain USA (2008)
Same writing and, unfortunately, the same laugh track.
I loved the original Little Britain and was prepared to really like LB:USA since HBO's got a track-record of nurturing good writing. But, here's the thing: the laugh track in the original serves (at least in my opinion) as a bit of double-irony. The jokes are puerile and play on basic stereotype. They're easy to laugh at already. No laugh track required, so its addition works as a counterpoint to the irony. Not so in the American version; it actually feels like a degradation of the jokes. Or maybe I'm overthinking this thing. Tell you what. If you've seen and liked Little Britain, you'll like Little Britain: USA, because it's god-damned funny and Tom Baker still does the narration. If you've never seen it, try it. But don't act like you didn't know it's not American-style. The word Britain's right there in the title.