God Bless America (2011)
If there is any genre of film that I can say I love more then any other, it is the dark comedy. I've spoken before of my love for these style of films but it must be said again- a film that can find humor in the darker elements of our world and do it well is one to be enjoyed. However, it is rare to find a specific director or writer who specializes in this style- sure you can have a writer do a script for a dark comedy one day and then something else the next, and likewise most directors who stick to a certain genre tend to focus on the more streamlined ones- horror, comedy, romance, etc, rarely mixing and mashing.
But if there is one man who has consistently proved that he can write and direct the kind of black humor that tickles my fancy, it would be Bobcat Goldthwait.
Now I know many people nowadays have no idea who ol Bobcat is, and those my age or older who do know him as the guy with the funny voice from the Police Academy movies or Scrooged. I will admit, up until a few years ago I thought the same, and then I heard about a movie that, at the time, was titled Stay, but was later released as Sleeping Dogs Lie. The film, which deals with the repercussions of one woman's long held secret concerning her and her dog as well as the importance of complete truth in a relationship, sounded dark and twisted- very me. So I was surprised when reading about the film to discover it was both written and directed by the funny voiced freak known as Bobcat Goldthwait. Upon further research, I discovered it was not his first film- in 1992 he wrote, directed and starred in Shakes the Clown, the "Citizen Kane of Alcoholic Clown Movies". The film was a flop that has developed a cult following that is well deserved- it is a dark comedy about a birthday party clown in a town where clowns are separated into their own communities- birthday clowns, rodeo clowns, and the hated mimes. Took me quite some time to track down copies of both movies as they were not the sort of fare Blockbuster was known to carry, but they were well worth the effort.
In 2009 Bobcat wrote and directed another film, which I can say is my favorite of his works- World's Greatest Dad, starring his close friend Robin Williams, as a man who finds success at a terrible cost, and realizes that it isn't all it's cracked up to be- the film can be summed up in one of the last quotes- "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone. " The film is quite dark, but it has a really good message and I think it should be seen by everyone.
So with those three films under his belt and on my DVD shelf, when it came out that Bobcat was working on another movie, I admit I was happy. More so when the synopsis was released, and by the time the trailer finally hit the net, I was sold. Is it his best work? No, but it is definitely right behind World's Greatest Dad in my book. Today we take a look at God Bless America, a dark comedic satire that could easily pass as a documentary- and that's scary.
Plot
Frank, played by Joel Murray, brother to Brian-Doyle and Bill, is depressed, suffers from migraines, and is losing hope for humanity. He lives in a shitty apartment with paper thin walls which allow him to constantly hear his moronic neighbors and their whining newborn. He fantasizes about killing them, graphically, but doesn't seem to have the guts. While flipping through the channels, Frank is bombarded with the ever growing pot of shit that exists on televisions these days- political pundits spreading fear and hate on the news, reports of right wing religious groups protesting funerals for soldiers and pushing their own messages of hate, whiny and spiteful reality television personalities, and 'talent' shows where nobodies with no real abilities are paraded around and mocked by the masses. In short, Frank is in the same boat many of us are in where television is concerned- it's crap. While going through this, Frank calls his ex-wife to talk to their daughter- a spoiled little brat who would rather play her video games then talk to her father, who she says she hates more then once, and her mother allows both. We have met these parents and children. At work the next day, all everyone is talking about are these same shows and people, and Frank gets into a great speech with a co-worker about all of it and how people just seem to not care anymore- as a quote from the film's trailer puts it, "why have a civilization if we are no longer interested in being civilized?". Said co-worker simply states that Frank doesn't "get it" and that it's all funny- sadly the prime response most people have. After a misunderstanding Frank loses his job, and upon visiting a doctor about his migraines, discovers he has a terminal brain tumor. After watching yet another of the reality shows where a bratty spoiled teenager blasts her parents for ruining her life' because they bought her the wrong car, and hearing his daughter yell at her mother for buying her a Blackberry rather then an Ipod, Frank decides to end it all. As he prepares the show returns, and listening to the teen again, Frank has an epiphany. Stealing his neighbors car, he sets out to kill the girl, and along the way, he meets a classmate of the girls- Roxy, played by Tara Lynne Barr, who tracks him down after the deed is done and convinces him that he should keep at it rather then end his life. Together, the duo decide to kill the people who have made America a mean-spirited mess, or as Frank puts it, 'people who deserve to die'. What follows is a spree that points out just how sad a state things are in, all leading to one big blowout of live television.
Thoughts
If I could describe this film in one word it would be true. Before Frank even decides to pick up a gun, all I could thing was what I was seeing on the screen was exactly what is going on in the world. At one point early in the film a radio host mentions that statistically most young girls want to be Kardashians and most young guys want to be like the guys on Jersey Shore, and treats this fact as normal. I'm twenty-five years old, and I work with quite a few young people, and I can attest- this fact is true, and it is sad. I find it disturbing that the people I work with can't tell you what is going on in the world at large, but can tell you word for word what happened on Jersey Shore last week. Pre-teens and teens getting tattoos and spending all their time on their IPhones, bitching and whining about how much their lives suck and how they can't believe they have to work when all they want to do is party- I digress, I'm going on a tangent. But the fact remains, the shows the movie is satirizing- I've seen them, I've heard about them- the people that watch them and praise them and tell those who say the shows are garbage that "they just don't get it"- I know these people! The bratty child who WANTS AN IPOD NOW and the parents that bend over backwards to make their kids happy and let the kids yell at them- I have seen their parents and these kids! If you removed Frank's character and just had him be a nameless protagonist at the early stage of the film, this could easily be a documentary, because none of it seems in the least bit fictional or fake- it's the reality many of us live in. And that scares the shit out of me.
So right off the bat, you can tell this is a film that is close to my heart. As stated, when I first read the plot, of a man deciding to rid society of these people and the people that inspired them, it struck a chord. It's very much like why I liked Boondock Saints- there is a part of me that would just like to up and kill criminals, and likewise, a part of me that would have no issues killing these assholes. Course that isn't going to happen but the idea remains, and that's where films like this come in handy- the allow us the fantasy that crosses our mind. When I saw the films trailer I knew I was going to enjoy it because it was that same fantasy- the story of one man just ridding society of worthless pop-culture pandering assholes.
Now that is not to say the film is perfect- while I did enjoy it, it had some flaws. The two biggest are that it drags at times- the film clocks in at just under two hours, but could easily have been trimmed to an hour and a half by removing a few little moments here and there. The other, and one I anticipated after reading some message board posts, is the relationship between Frank and Roxy and how the film tries to insinuate an attraction- Roxy has a few moments where she is flirting with Frank and it is disturbing. Luckily the film doesn't push it and even has a moment early on when Frank straight up tells Roxy off, and by proxy, all the guys who look at or try to hook up with younger girls and the over-sexualized young woman who go for much older men. It's not as much a flaw as just another element of society that the film is attacking, but as a viewer I was annoyed that they did not just leave it at that and instead touched on it a few more times- it was meaningless and disturbing.
Back to the positives, the acting is great- I'm a big Bill Murray fan, and you can tell that Joel and him are brothers- they share a similar dry style of humor that fits the film- Frank is a normal guy, and sounds like it. He is rarely over the top, even during his speeches, and seems to have a contained, realistic composure. He is likeable and you root for him throughout the film, or at least I did. Joel does a great job, and I hope he gets more roles like this so he can stand with both Bill and Brian as great actors. Likewise, Tara Lynne Barr is very likeable as the somewhat psychotic Roxy- from the moment you meet her you want her to join Frank's crusade, and one of the most dragging periods of the film occurs when she and Frank separate the loss of her character even for this brief period is annoying because she is such a good character that you don't want her off screen. She also gets a great speech midway through the film about rocker Alice Cooper, in which she explains that you don't 'like' Alice Cooper, you accept him and everything he has done for music. As a huge Cooper fan myself, this scene was just amazing, and also allows Roxy to shows some depth- she's not just being a fangirl she is explaining in detail the impact Cooper has had on music, culture and his fans. It also helps that the film's soundtrack has quite a few classic Cooper numbers that fit the tone quite well. The supporting cast don't really matter as most are in the film for brief moments, but they serve their purposes, either to be victims of Frank and Roxy, almost all of whom deserve their fate, or as examples of what is wrong with the world, either by perpetuating the same stupid shit that the victims do, or just showing how mean and apathetic society has become. They exist as the majority that Frank and Roxy stand in opposition to, and thus allow us to have a good idea of what exactly the two are fighting against.
The film as a whole is a great capsule of the world at large- as Chris Grimey Davidson, a reviewer on IMDB put it, the film 'captures our age of narcissism and stupidity' and stands as an "interesting exploration of the insensitivity and thoughtlessness of modern popular culture.' You can watch the film and laugh but you also need to think an realize that beneath the violence and humor, there is a great point to be made- the world of the film is the world we live in, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to move.
Conclusion
Bobcat Goldthwait has done it again, presenting an entertaining and engaging piece of dark comedy. He is four for four, which is not an easy ratio to have in this day and age. I hope he keeps it up, as he has truly found his niche as a writer/director, touching on subjects most films won't, and having fun with it along the way. God Bless America is a great film, a film people like me, who have really grown sick and tired of the reality television obsessed culture we live, and just want someone to show the rest of the world has screwed up it is. Writer J.G. Ballard wrote of his novel Crash, that he wanted to rub people's face in their own vomit, then force them to look in the mirror. To me, this film accomplishes that, because what you see on that screen is exactly what you get everyday, and it's high time people started paying close attention. I hope a lot of people see this film, but more then that, I hope they understand it.
4.5 Bullet Ridden Teddy Bears out of 5
That's all out of me this time, until the next showing, I'm The Drew, and I Be Awesome.
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