An American Carol: a review.

[Sonofmogh]

This is a movie parodizing liberal documentarian Michael Moore (who is definitely fair game (and in need of an asskicking )) The obviously conservative movie assumes the format of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in which the main character "Michael Malone" played by Kevin Farley is visited by three (or four) spirits who try to teach him the "error of his ways". These spirits include General Patton, George Washington, JFK, an "the angel of death" (Played by Trace Adkins? :confused:)

The movie isn't so much a "funny parody" as it is a hyper-conservative attack on Michael Moore and liberalism as a whole. As a conservative myself I had a smile on my face the whole time, but I never found myself really laughing... chuckling at a few clever parts, but it wasn't a "gutbuster" by any means.

The film features over-the-top commentary about liberalism including a musical number showcasing college teachers as former drug-using hippies in the 60's who are now preaching their views to impressionable kids (which is not entirely untrue, but was definitely pointed and hyperbolic).

The main character is constantly being slapped by everyone and there is a running joke throughout the movie about how "He's only a documentary film maker". It's an endless stream of fat jokes too and little kids are constantly refering to him as "***hole"... it's quite over-the-top.

The movie wasn't bad, but I'm a conservative so it catered to my political views. There were some funny and thought provoking moments in the film like "Rosie O'Connell's" short film depicting "fundamentalist Christians" hijacking airplanes and blowing themselves up, and a hilarious terrorist training video explaining the importance of checking the address of your bombing location, etc.. These moments are the exception as most of the movie is nothing more than shots at Michael Moore, liberalism/pacifism, and Blatent Rah-Rah Patriotism.

The script seemed to have been written with the question "how can we make this character look like a dumbass?" constantly in mind. Every second of the movie (and I mean EVERY SECOND) is a joke at the main character's expense (there's a side-plot involving some terrorists trying to blow up a country music festival too). From the second the movie begins it portrays him as an America-hating douschebag filming his latest documentary "Die You American Pigs" from the "island paradise Cuba" and from that point onward it's constant portrayals of him being an idiot (Example: When Patton appears he says "You're the general from that movie!").



In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend it. If you're a liberal you'll be forced to walk out of the theater halfway through. If you're a conservative, feel free to see it, you'll probably get a chuckle, but I'm not imploring you to go spend money on a ticket.

[Cubecubed]

This is a movie parodizing liberal documentarian Michael Moore (who is definitely fair game (and in need of an asskicking )) The obviously conservative movie assumes the format of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in which the main character "Michael Malone" played by Kevin Farley is visited by three (or four) spirits who try to teach him the "error of his ways". These spirits include General Patton, George Washington, JFK, an "the angel of death" (Played by Trace Adkins? :confused:)

The movie isn't so much a "funny parody" as it is a hyper-conservative attack on Michael Moore and liberalism as a whole. As a conservative myself I had a smile on my face the whole time, but I never found myself really laughing... chuckling at a few clever parts, but it wasn't a "gutbuster" by any means.

The film features over-the-top commentary about liberalism including a musical number showcasing college teachers as former drug-using hippies in the 60's who are now preaching their views to impressionable kids (which is not entirely untrue, but was definitely pointed and hyperbolic).

The main character is constantly being slapped by everyone and there is a running joke throughout the movie about how "He's only a documentary film maker". It's an endless stream of fat jokes too and little kids are constantly refering to him as "***hole"... it's quite over-the-top.

The movie wasn't bad, but I'm a conservative so it catered to my political views. There were some funny and thought provoking moments in the film like "Rosie O'Connell's" short film depicting "fundamentalist Christians" hijacking airplanes and blowing themselves up, and a hilarious terrorist training video explaining the importance of checking the address of your bombing location, etc.. These moments are the exception as most of the movie is nothing more than shots at Michael Moore, liberalism/pacifism, and Blatent Rah-Rah Patriotism.

The script seemed to have been written with the question "how can we make this character look like a dumbass?" constantly in mind. Every second of the movie (and I mean EVERY SECOND) is a joke at the main character's expense (there's a side-plot involving some terrorists trying to blow up a country music festival too). From the second the movie begins it portrays him as an America-hating douschebag filming his latest documentary "Die You American Pigs" from the "island paradise Cuba" and from that point onward it's constant portrayals of him being an idiot (Example: When Patton appears he says "You're the general from that movie!").



In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend it. If you're a liberal you'll be forced to walk out of the theater halfway through. If you're a conservative, feel free to see it, you'll probably get a chuckle, but I'm not imploring you to go spend money on a ticket.
as a liberal, i had no plans to see it. thank you for informing me that these plans were completely justified.:)

[Vedicardi]

Wow sounds like a bunch of douchebags that disagreed with someone found a camera and just started making personal attacks.

[Der_Lex]

After my first edit of the thread, let me lay down the ground rules for it:

Discussing the movie on its own merits is fine. Bashing any political party or its adherents is not. If the latter happens again, the thread will get closed. If the user who made the offending post did so explicitly to get the thread locked, there will be consequences for that user.

*stern moderator hat off*

Carry on! :D

[HiAperture]

Wow, parody movie is a parody. SHOCKING.

[Der_Lex]

Wow, parody movie is a parody. SHOCKING.

From the sound of it, though, it's a bad parody movie.
Then again, considering Zucker's post-Naked Gun track record, that shouldn't be very shocking either.

[HiAperture]

From the sound of it, though, it's a bad parody movie.
Then again, considering Zucker's post-Naked Gun track record, that shouldn't be very shocking either.
Probably, haven't seen it myself. Just most of the points seem to sound pretty much like I would expect (mind you I don't like parodies that much since they are rarely good).

[Sonofmogh]

why do people hate micheal moore? he presents his arguments in an intelliengent and funny way. you can disagree with him, but he is harmless to you

Well, I don't see any reason in changing the topic to why Micheal Moore isn't very popular... save that for another thread...on a different forum.

I'm simply reviewing a movie, I'm not going to spew forth my political opinions.

As I said, I'm a conservative. An anti-religious, pro-science, government hating conservative, but a conservative nonetheless. And this movie was "entertaining" simply because I had nothing better to do. I enjoyed the shots at Michael Moore, but the film just wasn't an all around funny movie. There were very few parts that made me (and the 5 others in the theater) laugh out loud, I grinned throughout the whole film, there was no point where I went "pffft, now that's just stupid", but very few portions of the movie were incredibly funny... Kevin Farley did a good job and I can see more hollywood roles in his future, but the whole film was basically like listening to conservative talk radio for an hour and a half.... but with video.

There were even parts of the movie where it seemed to be more of a parody of conservative attacks against Moore than a parody of Moore himself. One scene that comes to mind is the scene where they show Moore how history would've been different had Abe Lincoln agreed with Moore's pacifist values and in this alternate timeline Moore is a wealthy slaveowner in Alabama... and his slaves are all celebrities like Gary Coleman (I guess Coleman needed some money to get his power turned back on).

They passed off conservative values as fact (which I suppose is expected in a conservative parody movie), for instance they showed most middle easterner's "yearning for democracy" while the crazy (and bumbling) radical islamist's work on their latest plan to blow themselves up for 72 virgins.

It just wasn't well constructed.... there were some moments of comedic genius. For instance at the "Moovealong.org" banquet the liberal celebrities got up at the podium and preached about ending world hunger and the subsequent camera shot shows people at the banquet gorging themselves on massive lobsters and stuff... that was a pretty good example of subtle comedic timing, but most of their jokes were right out in the open and highly obvious and expected.

They depict Moore leading a campaign to "Abolish 4th Of July" because he hates America so much. They take Moore back in time to the 1930's at the onset of WW2 and Moore pleads with Hitler saying something to the gist of "Obviously us Americans are responsible for your aggression... we've pissed you off somehow so simply tell us how we can change so that the world can be at peace."

The movie assumes that George Washington and JFK and Patton agree that the Iraq war is a just and noble cause... like I said, if you have a liberal bone in your body I'd give you an award for courage and stamina if you're able to sit through this whole thing. Conservatives... well, it's not really funny. It has humorous moments and most of it is mildly chuckleworthy, but it's no different than listening to Rush Limbaugh for 1 and a half hours.... I enjoyed the depiction of the ACLU as literal "zombies" trying to tear the 10 commandments off the wall of the courthouse and preventing security guards in the subway from searching the backpack of a suicide bomber... Patton grabs a shotgun and starts killing ACLU lawyers... it made me chuckle, but those are the kind of dry jokes you can expect throughout the film.

Basically if you already really wanted to see the movie, go see it... it'll be okay. If not, then don't. If you hate Moore then you'll probably enjoy it... if you like sitting in your seat smiling in agreeance with the values that are proported in the film, then that's what you can expect. Don't expect a comedy of the calibre of Airplane or Monty Python.

[Fausttt]

What a shame, as a moderate liberal, I was looking forward to seeing this movie. I enjoy a good natured ribbing from time to time. Maybe I'll watch it if it ever comes on TV. . .

Thanks for the review.

[Flawless]

It's becoming MORE exceedingly obvious that Hollywood in general couldn't write a good satyr anymore.

I can't think of the last one that was legitimately pretty good, hell, as bad as it sounds I think Scary Movie might be the best of the worst in recent parodies.

:cool:

Also, the only thing more frustrating than the lack of good parody movies is all the people... ah, nevermind ... not worth the political debate, hey look a cat!

[Fausttt]

It's becoming MORE exceedingly obvious that Hollywood in general couldn't write a good satyr anymore.

I can't think of the last one that was legitimately pretty good, hell, as bad as it sounds I think Scary Movie might be the best of the worst in recent parodies.

while not perfect, Tropic Thunder was kind of a satire on the hollywood scene. It had some funny moments. But that is for another thread.

[Flawless]

while not perfect, Tropic Thunder was kind of a satire on the hollywood scene. It had some funny moments. But that is for another thread.

Ahh, yeah that is possible. I haven't seen it yet, should be out on Blu soonish I think.

[Sonofmogh]

while not perfect, Tropic Thunder was kind of a satire on the hollywood scene. It had some funny moments. But that is for another thread.

Yeah, I thought Tropic Thunder was pretty good.

and don't worry I'm sure this movie will hit TV relatively soon... I just would've expected more from David Zucker.

[Der_Lex]

Yeah, I thought Tropic Thunder was pretty good.

and don't worry I'm sure this movie will hit TV relatively soon... I just would've expected more from David Zucker.

You expected more from David Zucker? After the ... Movie travesties he's been putting out for years now? The Naked Gun movies were the last decent comedies the man has made.

Tropic Thunder, however, was a lot better than I expected it to be. In the trailers only Robert Downey Jr. stood out, but it turned out the whole movie was a nice combination of lowbrow (but funny)and more subtle jokes. even Tom Cruise was good in it, in that's no small feat.

[baldassbat]

I see your trick Der_Herring. I expected more from you. stop trying to hide things from me.

Meantime, I hadn't even heard of this movie and I'm just liberal enough to probably hate it. Then again, I despise Moore so maybe it could work. I'd love to make a movie that would mock the entire political process and culture of hyperbole our system has created, but it would offend everyone so no one would watch it.

[Dr. Wagner]

This movie sounds to me as funny as a root canal. I'll admit I'm coming from the Left side of the spectrum, however funny is funny, no matter which side it's coming from. I liked Team America and I love South Park, even if I disagree with Parker and Stone on most things. However this movie sounds like an excuse to make fun of Michael Moore and make fat jokes for two hours. I mean really? Is Michael Moore that much of a big deal that he deserves his own spoof?

If anything these guys are elevating him to another level. Just goes to show how successful Moore is at getting under conservative's skin.

[Der_Lex]

I see your trick Der_Herring. I expected more from you. stop trying to hide things from me.


You seem to know more than I then, because I'm still wondering what you're referring to... :confused:

[brobot]

Hidden moderator

[Der_Lex]

Hidden moderator

Well, that explains it. I blame this on not having slept well and on not expecting anyone to comment on the changed sig anymore... :D

[Sonofmogh]

You expected more from David Zucker? After the ... Movie travesties he's been putting out for years now? The Naked Gun movies were the last decent comedies the man has made.

Tropic Thunder, however, was a lot better than I expected it to be. In the trailers only Robert Downey Jr. stood out, but it turned out the whole movie was a nice combination of lowbrow (but funny)and more subtle jokes. even Tom Cruise was good in it, in that's no small feat.

Yeah, like scary movie 3 and what not? Yeah, I can't stand those... but Airplane.

The movie might be slightly better than I'm portraying it. It has a similar style of humor as say, South Park, in that it's in your face and designed to offend.

If you're a conservative you'll probably at least enjoy it. If you're not then it really depends on your sense of humor. If you go into it knowing that it's meant to offend you, then you might find it entertaining. I'm not sure. There are people out there saying that they thought it was one of the funniest things they've ever seen, I know the reviews like on Metacritic and Rottentomatoes haven't looked upon it very well.

[Der_Lex]

Airplane! is one of the best, if not the best spoof movies of all time. But it's been downhill for Zucker ever since, though. Police Squad and the Naked Gun films were still top of the hill, but it's been a sharp, deep plummet ever since. It's a shame, really.

Still, humor is a subjective thing, so I'm sure there'll be people who enjoy this.

[defenestrater]

^ I tend to agree with you Der Lex, but I think Zucker had already lost it by Naked Gun 3.

I'm not trying to get into a debate about Michael Moore, but I am surprised they made a movie making fun of him in 2008. Surely this would have been more relevant years ago. Making fun of him now is almost as sad as people who still tell Monica Lewinsky jokes. Which I guess just reinforces the notion that Zucker lost the plot a long time ago.

[Fausttt]

even Tom Cruise was good in it, in that's no small feat.

I have never minded Tom Cruise as an actor. I never thought he was as good as people made him out to be, but not bad. Just because he's gone completely bat-sh*t crazy doesn't mean I can't enjoy any of his movies.

[Der_Lex]

I have never minded Tom Cruise as an actor. I never thought he was as good as people made him out to be, but not bad. Just because he's gone completely bat-sh*t crazy doesn't mean I can't enjoy any of his movies.

I consider him an oddly uneven actor. I tend not to like him in 'lighter' action-based roles or comedy roles, but when he has some heavier material to work with, he tends to do well (maybe I should dub this 'the Jim Carrey effect?'). For example, his scenes were the only good thing about Lions for Lambs, which was a very poor movie otherwise, but on the other hand in MI:3 and War of the Worlds he did nothing for me. Like I said, I usually don't like him in comedy parts, hence my surprise that he was good in this one.

[Sonofmogh]

I consider him an oddly uneven actor. I tend not to like him in 'lighter' action-based roles or comedy roles, but when he has some heavier material to work with, he tends to do well (maybe I should dub this 'the Jim Carrey effect?'). For example, his scenes were the only good thing about Lions for Lambs, which was a very poor movie otherwise, but on the other hand in MI:3 and War of the Worlds he did nothing for me. Like I said, I usually don't like him in comedy parts, hence my surprise that he was good in this one.

Maybe you like Tom Cruise in ****ty movies and dislike him in good ones?

War of the Worlds in all honesty was one of the best films of this decade. I walked out of the theaters thinking that it was easily in my top 30. MI:3 was kinda a rehash. It may have been a good movie, but the plot is never moved forward it's just another Tom Cruise action movie... unlike say Terminator 3 where the story arc takes another mile of twists and turns, dips and dives... not that T3 was anywhere near T2 in terms of epicness.

[Der_Lex]

Maybe you like Tom Cruise in ****ty movies and dislike him in good ones?

War of the Worlds in all honesty was one of the best films of this decade. I walked out of the theaters thinking that it was easily in my top 30. MI:3 was kinda a rehash. It may have been a good movie, but the plot is never moved forward it's just another Tom Cruise action movie... unlike say Terminator 3 where the story arc takes another mile of twists and turns, dips and dives... not that T3 was anywhere near T2 in terms of epicness.

I thought War of the Worlds was all right, but nothing beyond standard blockbuster fare. I saw it in the theater when it originally came out and only two things from the movie still come to mind today: the tentacle scene in the basement (which was good) and the reveal of the alien (which was a very, very bad decision...it'd have been better not to have shown them at all. The story definitely didn't need it). I also couldn't help but feel that it didn't really bring anything to the table that the original version from 1953 hadn't already offered... it merely updated the sense of paranoia and disaster by having a lot of 9/11-ish imagery in it.

I have to admit that I liked the other Spielberg/Cruise sci fi collaboration, Minority Report, a lot more (even though it took its liberties with the short story it's based on). More interesting both visually and story-wise, and the characters were a bit less one-dimensional than they were in War of the Worlds.

I wouldn't say that I only like Cruise in bad movies (although Lions for Lambs certainly was bad), I usually like him in parts where he has a bit more to work with than the standard action hero fare they tend to give him. My favorite Cruise movies would probably be the aforementioned Minority Report, Collateral, Vanilla Sky, Interview With the Vampire, Rain Man and Legend (although the latter might be a nostalgia thing). I still need to see Magnolia some day as well, so I can't comment on that one.
I'm actually looking forward to Valkyrie as well, but that's mostly because it will have Dutch actress Carice van Houten in it. She's one of those rare few actresses who combines attractiveness with genuine acting talent, and I hope she gets her well-deserved Hollywood breakthrough with it.

[FujiSkunk]

You expected more from David Zucker? After the ... Movie travesties he's been putting out for years now?

Pardon the threadjack, but this needs a response. Zucker is not responsible for most of the "Fill-in-the-Blank Movie" movies that have come out, and the ones he did have a hand in are certainly the better of the batch.

Zucker directed Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, and produced Superhero Movie. While they aren't Airplane! or even Top Secret, these three aren't so bad as to be completely unwatchable.

Epic Movie, Date Movie and Disaster Movie, along with Meet the Spartans, were "written" (sic) and "directed" (sic) by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. These guys wouldn't know good satire if walked up and bit them on the @$$. Zucker had absolutely nothing to do with these debacles.

For completeness's sake, Scary Movie and Scare Movie 2 were directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, who is also much better than Friedberg and Seltzer could ever hope to be. I'm Gonna Git You Sucka remains his best film, though.

Threadjack over!

[Der_Lex]

Pardon the threadjack, but this needs a response. Zucker is not responsible for most of the "Fill-in-the-Blank Movie" movies that have come out, and the ones he did have a hand in are certainly the better of the batch.

Zucker directed Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, and produced Superhero Movie. While they aren't Airplane! or even Top Secret, these three aren't so bad as to be completely unwatchable.

Epic Movie, Date Movie and Disaster Movie, along with Meet the Spartans, were "written" (sic) and "directed" (sic) by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. These guys wouldn't know good satire if walked up and bit them on the @$$. Zucker had absolutely nothing to do with these debacles.


I think his two Scary Movie outings were bad enough as it is, though. The fact that the other 'Movies' after those were even worse doesn't excuse that. And as for them not being completely unwatchable, you obviously have a much higher tolerance for bad movies than I do. :D

To be fair, though, I admit that I am very critical about movies, mostly because I spend most of my day watching movies and TV shows for work... your tolerance for crap or even mediocrity tends to go down after a few years of that. The upside of it is that I get paid for watching the really bad ones that I wouldn't have voluntarily seen in the theater. :D

[bierfaht]

is it bad that the south park guys are producing the only halfway decent satire these days?
...misses the days of naked gun, even hot shots! would be pretty good these days...

[c0nd0rd4myt]

I'm rather liberal (or at least, this bout around, I tend to move around some) and I hate michael moore. even when I agree with some of his viewpoints, his logic and "fact-seeking" is horrificly flawed. to ask a senator would he be comfortable with a son or daughter in Iraq, and base anything of that, is absurd. NO parent would be "comfortable" with their child in a war zone, thats gotta be the scariest thing a parent or spouse could go through.

and than his "the only place that has free healthcare is Guantanamo Bay, Cuba", is just dumb. HELLO! ITS A PRISON!

[c0nd0rd4myt]

is it bad that the south park guys are producing the only halfway decent satire these days?
...misses the days of naked gun, even hot shots! would be pretty good these days...

i'm surprised nobody's mentioned a MEL BROOKS comedy yet.
I mean come on! he's the master at parody movies.

[FujiSkunk]

i'm surprised nobody's mentioned a MEL BROOKS comedy yet.
I mean come on! he's the master at parody movies.

The point was, there haven't been any decent parodies even up to the level of Hot Shots! lately. Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, Mel Brooks hasn't made any movies lately. He's been spending his time on Broadway.

Sadly though, even Brooks's quality slipped a bit in his later offerings. Robin Hood: Men in Tights has its fans, but it didn't hook me, much as I wanted it too. And does anyone even remember Dracula: Dead and Loving It?

[defenestrater]

And does anyone even remember Dracula: Dead and Loving It?

I remember Dracula: Dead and Loving It. God help me, I wish I could forget it.

[bierfaht]

dracula dead and loving it was crappy

but
men in tights is still great

[0tj]

but it's no different than listening to Rush Limbaugh for 1 and a half hours....

If this is true, then I will probably love this movie.....Then I'll go listen to Rush for 3 hours.:D

[HyeJinx1984]

LOl, I'm a pretty liberal guy, but I really wanna see it. At least I did. I don't mind conservatives poking fun at liberals, believe me there's a LOT to poke fun at, and obviously the other way around... but if what you're saying is that it's not really just a goof, but an actual attack movie, I may stay away. Also, I hope it's funny... I get nervous when it's the right making the jokes, because as we all know...

Liberal jews tends to be funnier than conservative christians :p (oh come on, that's not offensive, yuck a little)

[navaha42]

Parody/Propoganda movie? No thank'ee.