Bobcat Goldthwait
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What follows is a cross-country kill-for-thrill jaunt (equal parts “Paper Moon” and “Falling Down”) that ends on the set of an “Idol”-like singing show.
In some ways, "God Bless America" is faintly reminiscent of Michael Douglas' 1993 film "Falling Down" -- with a little "Natural Born Killers" thrown in, since Frank, by accident more than anything, ends up with a bloodthirsty teenage accomplice named Roxy (ebullient newcomer Tara Lynne Barr) riding shotgun with him on his road trip from hell.
With rudeness, cruelty and self-absorption now universally heralded American attributes, with cynical political opportunists, unworthy “talents” and lowlifes dominating reality TV, the time is certainly right for a “Falling Down” remake.
Genetically akin to “Falling Down” and “Natural Born Killers,” with a twist out of “The Professional,” “God Bless America” is what’s known in Yiddish as a geschrei or in French a (ital) cri de couer: (ital) an impassioned outburst, a shout to the heavens, a cry from the heart.
Bobcat Goldthwait, directing yet another hilariously inappropriate film rooted in appropriate points, does it again with a Falling Down-esque tale of two people's revenge on stupidity.
It sounds like a funny idea, a sort of satirical Falling Down, but somehow the shoddiness of the film-making and the flatness of the writing dilute the anger and inspire a numbing tedium.
Network (1976)
Directed by Sidney Lumet
influenced God Bless America (2012)
Themes Characters Dialogue
Borrowing bits and pieces from Network, Bonnie And Clyde , and Taxi Driver , God Bless America takes off on a honey of a premise: An angry middle-aged man—divorced, recently unemployed, and just informed he has an inoperable brain tumor—decides to murder one of those whiny brats on a My Super Sweet 16-like reality show.
Goldthwait describes God Bless America as a "violent movie about kindness," and he has created a Howard Beale (of Network’s “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more” fame) for our debased times.
He is also smart and articulate in explaining his revulsion with aspects of current American civilization — so articulate, indeed, that sometimes he sounds like a combination of Al Franken , Rachel Maddow and the "I'm mad as hell" speech in " Network ."
Combining the pop-culture parody of Idiocracy with the mad-as-hell-and-not-going-to-take-it-anymore frustration of Network and Falling Down, God Bless America has an intriguing formula, but it’s one that’s never fully utilized.
In press throughout this film’s tour from its premiere at Toronto last year to this re-cut premiere at SXSW, Goldthwait has at times referenced Peter Finch’s speech at the end of Network as an inspiration.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Directed by Daniel Myrick
influenced Willow Creek (2013)
Plot Visuals
But once their characters venture deep into the woods and set up camp, the film has nowhere to go but down the same narrative path as almost every found-footage tale since The Blair Witch Project began the craze back in 1999.
Despite the impressively committed performances by the two leads and the screenplay’s touches of sly humor, the proceedings are mostly all too redolent of the endless found-footage horror films that have followed in the wake of The Blair Witch Project.
As a horror movie, it's dull and derivative, its most obvious inspiration being The Blair Witch Project -- although you could say it takes its lead from any number of the ever-proliferating found footage horror fare of the past few years (which includes another Bigfoot-themed film, Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes ).
That’s nearly as groundbreaking as the film that unofficially started the found footage craze, 1999’s “The Blair Witch Project.”
He’s also clearly studied the most famous and effective of found-footage thrillers: The Blair Witch Project, to which Willow Creek bears more than a passing resemblance.
The film is clearly influenced by The Blair Witch Project, but Goldthwait ratchets up the suspense in an eccentric mixture of reality and fiction that consistently engages against all odds.
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Directed by Oliver Stone
influenced God Bless America (2012)
Plot Themes Characters
The movie jokingly references Bonnie and Clyde , but a more natural touchstone might be Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers , with a passing nod to Joe vs. the Volcano .
In some ways, "God Bless America" is faintly reminiscent of Michael Douglas' 1993 film "Falling Down" -- with a little "Natural Born Killers" thrown in, since Frank, by accident more than anything, ends up with a bloodthirsty teenage accomplice named Roxy (ebullient newcomer Tara Lynne Barr) riding shotgun with him on his road trip from hell.
Genetically akin to “Falling Down” and “Natural Born Killers,” with a twist out of “The Professional,” “God Bless America” is what’s known in Yiddish as a geschrei or in French a (ital) cri de couer: (ital) an impassioned outburst, a shout to the heavens, a cry from the heart.
Natural Born Killers‘ Mickey and Mallory killed for kicks.
The movie jokingly references Bonnie and Clyde , but a more natural touchstone might be Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers , with a passing nod to Joe vs. the Volcano .
With hints of movies like Harold and Maude, Falling Down and Bonnie and Clyde lurking deep within its DNA, God Bless America is one of the most blisteringly fun blood-soaked, violently over-the-top flicks in some time that cleverly manages to not only entertain but get you thinking as well (which is a rarity).
Borrowing bits and pieces from Network, Bonnie And Clyde , and Taxi Driver , God Bless America takes off on a honey of a premise: An angry middle-aged man—divorced, recently unemployed, and just informed he has an inoperable brain tumor—decides to murder one of those whiny brats on a My Super Sweet 16-like reality show.
While Williams provides him a very capable leading man, more than able to convey the wealth of conflicting emotions necessary to make the film ring true, Goldthwait ultimately pulls his punches, leaning for safety on a story structure rather obviously borrowed from Tootsie (which itself borrowed from Some Like it Hot) in order to give the picture a comfortable, if somewhat forced resolution.
And if calling her “Juno” didn’t send her into a homicidal monologue about Diablo Cody that will make even the most dedicated United States of Tara fan take up arms, it would be an apt way to describe her wit.
Goldthwait has a good old time both emulating and sending up " Juno "-esque "sassy teen" dialogue in a long exchange between Frank and Roxy's very odd couple, but I don't get the sense that the filmmaker appreciates that his own negatively idealized teen character is every bit as much a construct as Diablo Cody 's adorable pregnant waif/pixie was.
And despite Goldthwait's antipathy for the Tea Party, Roxy's kill list also includes hippies, people who wear crystals, people who buy "anarchy" T-shirts, and Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody ("the only stripper who suffers from too much self-esteem").
Later in the film, daringly, Goldthwait's script does name names, including Diablo Cody , who Frank despises for having created, in " Juno ," a heroine who is actually very much like the one in this movie.
As part of Roxy’s rant, she goes into how much she hates Diablo Cody (Oscar-winning screenwriter of Juno), and, in one of the film’s sicker jokes, disses Green Day while praising Alice Cooper and the Goth movement.
It’s akin to THE LAST SUPPER, GOD BLESS AMERICA, or THE RUNNING MAN, where it’s meant to build on current situations and blow them up to ridiculous proportions.
Something like Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America at least assures you there’s a method to all its madness (teach as many “lessons” before getting caught).
First, the arrival of Edgar Rice Burroughs (played by the co-star of World’s Greatest Dad, Daryl Sabara) at the home of John Carter is boring and long and creaky.
Stories in which people pass others’ work as their own tend to be darker, whether dramatic a la Morvern Callar or as black comedy like in World’s Greatest Dad .