Posted on 10/25/2008 8:22:07 PM PDT by raccoonradio
(Full Disclosure: Mr. Ochieng is a friend of mine. I even run his website. His review of An American Carol was not too positive. Mine was. It follows.)
An American Carol (2008) Vivendi Entertainment 1 hr. 23 mins. Starring: Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Leslie Nielsen, Trace Adkins, Roert Davi, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, David Alan Grier, Geoffrey Arend, Serdar Kalsin, Kevin Sorbo, Paris Hilton, Bill O'Reilly, James Woods Directed by: David Zucker MPAA Rating: PG-13
Rating: * 1/2 stars (out of 4 stars)
Political satires are conceived out of many ideas, intentions, misconceptions and biases. Now whether these so-called political satires are effectively biting in their cockeyed messaging is an entirely different story. In director David Zucker's languishing, liberal-bashing An American Carol, the mastermind behind the classic cut-up Airplane! forges an uneven and sketchy farce that playfully allows devout conservatives to creatively stick their tongues out at the far left while scathing opinionated left-leaning moviemaker Michael Moore.
For years, the filmmaking Moore has been a desired moving target for jingoistic individuals that deemed the portly, cap-wearing artist an anti-American rabble-rouser. Naturally, An American Carol is an exaggerated off-kilter parody designed to malign Moore's outspoken, critical philosophy on the right wing political scene or anybody else that shares in this same sentiment. Refreshingly, it's interestingly to see how ridiculing it is to bash the "Hollywood bleeding hearts" from a flag-waving perspective through righteous red-state rebels. Besides, if anyone can mock the liberal-minded layers of garrulous celebrity icons such as Moore and Rosie O'Donnell then Zucker is the appropriate satirist for the job.
Sadly, An American Carol is never really clever enough to take advantage of what is perceived as liberal/leftist lunacy in a synthetic romp that tries to wink its eye at the outrageousness behind this "dubious" way of political thinking. Basically, Carol spends its "riotous" moments concocting mean-spirited jokes, recycling sight gags, showcasing annoying repetitive motifs (i.e. watching the Moore-inspired protagonist getting countless face slaps), purporting to sophomoric silliness while pandering to patriotic platitudes, etc. Curiously, Zucker serves up rather lame and tiresome jabs at Moore via "insult humor" through obligatory "fat slob" name-calling and other nonsensical nuances. Granted that Carol has its few flashes of hefty chuckles that are sure to place a cynical grin on one's face. Overall, Zucker's cinematic middle finger is about as funny as an exploding toilet seat for hemorrhoid-induced senior citizens.
Zucker combines the Charles Dickens' tale "A Christmas Carol" with his supposedly uproarious take on an unrepentant Michael Moore. The premise features a bumbling yet controversial moviemaker named...get this...Michael Malone (Kevin Farley, brother of the late great SNL alum Chris Farley) whose movie-related projects are not what you would call safe viewing. Seemingly, Malone despises America. With radical fare such as "Die You American Pigs" and "America Sucks A Big Fat One", Malone is a marked man courtesy of his celluloid "labor of love". Looking like an ideal patsy to manipulate, a group of terrorists recruit Malone so that he can sing their praises and promote their cause on the big screen. In actuality, the terrorists have something sinister in mind and need the clueless Malone to serve as a smoke screen.
Also, we learn that the ungrateful Moore...er, Malone...has another agenda to meet--ensuring the abolishment of America's 4th of July celebration. Thus, Malone gets to hold peace rallies and use his poisonous influence to support his dismay for the country. Sensing that Michael Malone is out of control with his treasonous tendencies, he's visited by the spirit of gung-ho General Patton (Emmy-winner Kelsey Grammer) whose mission is to point out that America is worth the fight for freedom and that the bad guys are...well, VERY bad indeed.
Apparently, Gen. Patton has his hands full with trying to convert Malone as an American worth feeling proud and pronounced. Three other spirits pay a visit to Malone in order to press upon him that war is sometimes a necessary means if liberty is to be maintained in America. Among the ghostly dignitaries is JFK (Malone's hero) that guides the wacky Malone's misguided mindset. Will Michael Malone finally come to his senses and adopt a pro-American stance that's productive for his down spiral status at large? Also, can Malone turn over a new leaf and stop the opportunistic terrorists from hatching their sinister anti-American plans at his hapless expense?
Inherently, An American Carol is all over the place like spilled grape juice on a white tee shirt. Zucker and fellow screenwriters Lewis Friedman and Myrna Sokoloff toss aimlessly the nutty insanity looking for something to stick from an irreverent standpoint. Unfortunately, the material is too slight and simplistic to register as anything beyond a naughty, tepid tease. The empty laughs are forced and fickle-minded. Clearly the joke is on the movie's handlers more so than the targeted Moore being skewered because the saggy guffaws are so inanely juvenile that one actually feels sympathetic for the beleaguered and bespectacled filmmaker being racked across the coals.
Moore is definitely the whipping boy for the conservative movement and that's all well and dandy. Still, what's the motivation behind cooking Moore's goose just because he merely questions the political establishment and holds the contemptible authorities accountable for the average Joe? Is the real inside joke stemming from the fact that Moore dares to challenge the status quo and expose the hypocrisy at hand? There's a cheap and unfair shot in Carol that never materializes creatively other than to point fingers at Moore's/Malone's puffy physicality and labeling the camera-seeking personality as an unfit, gluttonous divisive pop cultural figurehead.
Confrontational issues such as anti-Semitism and slavery are thrown in for good measure as an appetizer for proposed smirking. This tactic isn't as comical as one would believe and leans more on the offensive, foul side of forethought. Whether one has Republican or Democratic blood ties An American Carol's political pap drags on as convincingly as bathroom tissue paper stuck to one's shoe.
Kevin Farley is foolishly inspired as the oafish documentary helmer and has an uncanny resemblance to the liberal-crusading Moore. The gimmickry in having conservative entertainers takes center stage as well. The aforementioned Grammer is on board as General Patton to show the unpatriotic Malone his wayward ways. Jon Voight appears as the spirit of George Washington to remind the traitorous Malone of his national pride to be an American. Fox-TV news commentator Bill O'Reilly shows up and soaks up the atmospheric mockery. Robert Davi plays a Muslim leader named Aziz whose instruction was to lasso the clueless Malone for their Taliban-oriented film project. Leslie Nielsen (Zucker's favorite go-to goofball) dons a fatsuit as a reminiscing grandfather recollecting Michael Malone's indifference toward the 4th of July during a current-day Independence Day celebration.
As the film marches through ridiculous historical figures that range from Hitler to Jimmy Carter, Carol reduces its chicanery to ill-conceived proportions that paints a dreary picture mired in sophomoric sludge. The subversive inspiration for this mishap--Michael Moore--should be flattered that such misdirection considers him a hostile hothead in the perceived lopsided landscape of liberalism.
There's an ugly rumor that the vast majority of film critics are liberals. Naah, it's no rumor.
It was tough finding a film review of An American Carol that praised it. No wonder many people in "flyover country", you know, the OTHER 50 per cent of the the country, don't go to to many movies these days. Why bother. Well, I hope that people of any political stripe will see this film. I enjoyed it (and for the record am conservative on many issues and liberal/moderate on others). Rumor also has it that the Democratic party used to have a conservative wing, but I guess they were banished...
I thought it was laugh out loud hilarious! And a good positive message, too!
As you could tell from the ads, Kevin Farley plays a Michael Moore-like director, Michael Malone. He is recruited by some terrorists to make a training film. He is haunted by ghosts such as JFK, Gen. Patton (Kelsey Grammer), the Angel of Death (Trace Adkins), and George Washington (Jon Voight). Washington shows him the church he used to pray at when New York City was the nation's capitol. Across the street...Ground Zero.
JFK shows him how we should "pay any price, bear any burden" for freedom. Patton shows him war is sometimes necessary--if we hadn't fought the Civil War, we might still have slavery!
The film shows us "the Real America" and the price we have to pay for freedom. There are tons of sight gags and physical humor (think Three Stooges, or the "Airplane" films director David Zucker gave us). The film spoofs A Christmas Carol and shows the folly of Malone trying to ban July 4th. Can he learn the error of his ways?
A film for people who realize that there are other viewpoints. By the way, I thought the Malone character was actually sympathetic. A good guy who just needs a little American history lesson.
I loved “An American Carol.” Unfortunately, if you are clueless about American politics, as most living in this country are, you won’t “GET IT.”
My SOP for years has been to read the reviews. If the talking heads don’t like a movies, it is probably OK.
It works for me.
Well, I’m as conservative as anyone on this web site, and I thought the movie completely missed the mark. I was hoping for a well made movie with a decent delivery of a Pro-America story line that would at least give pause to liberals. But the movie was so poorly delivered, it was like a freshman doing something for his theater class in college. There were some people laughing and I did to in places, but it just wasn’t an effective delivery of the message.
Meanwhile “W” is tanking.
It was terrible, a real embarrassment.
But I thought it was reminiscent of the work he did in
Naked Gun, Airplane, etc. The crowd seemed to like it too,
at least at the showing I attended—and in Mass., too!
“you won’t “GET IT.””
Yep, you have to be up to speed on politics. Even if you are there are things one would miss. Probably would need to see it twice to take “most” of it in.
Frank Ochieng asked “Still, what’s the motivation behind cooking Moore’s goose just because he merely questions the political establishment and holds the contemptible authorities accountable for the average Joe? Is the real inside joke stemming from the fact that Moore dares to challenge the status quo and expose the hypocrisy at hand?”
Does Frank realise Michael Moore owned stock in Haliburton (while claiming he owned no stock) and completes his post production work in Canada to avoid using expensive union labor?
So much for holding authorities accountable for the average Joe and exposing hypocrisy.
Sure, it was funny in parts, but I didn’t think it was as effective as I was hoping.
Good points! I remember the author of “Do What I Say Not What I Do” bringing that up.
The inaccuracies and factual omissions in Moore’s works
were covered in an ‘04 book, “Michael Moore is a Big
Fat Stupid White Man” which I read and enjoyed.
And as I said, Ochieng is a friend of mine—he was in my place
a couple weeks back with his girlfriend as we watched game 2
of the ALCS. I put up his website http://www.moviefrank.com
CGTGOC Review:
I LOVED IT! Unlike most Hollywood comedies (eg: Meet the Parents, Vacation, RV ect...) you didn’t leave this movie thinking: “this could have been funnier”.
No laughs were left on the table, no gags left undone.
The only thing is you leave thinking there is hope for Michael Moore, which of course there isn’t.
FlingWingFlyer: I agree.
My dad for instance didn’t know about Rosie’s o’Donalds Christian extremists comments so a whole bunch of the movie didn’t make sense to him.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.