And it is 83 minutes of outrageous humor. At least as funny as "Blazing Saddles," maybe more so in many parts. And it skewers the Left. I mean it ties them to a skewer and roasts them.
Get yourself a copy and enjoy. The trailer only covers 1% of the humor!
Movie trailer.
I dunno, the director sounds like he's yet to learn the lesson the rest of us learned in kindergarten, that life is unfair:
ReplyDeleteIf you made a film, and it bombed at the box office opening weekend, who would you blame? The weakening economy? Inclement weather? Ominous tarot cards? If you were David Zucker, you would only have one logical solution: left-wing conspiracy.
Zucker's latest film, An American Carol, pokes fun at filmmaker Michael Moore and includes elements of the classic story "A Christmas Carol." The film opened weakly, grossing only $3.6 million.
Zucker cried foul, claiming, among other things, that some theaters advertised the film as R-rated (when it is actually PG-13), did not display the poster at all and deliberately created image and sound issues during screenings.
Such outlandish charges are difficult to prove, but An American Carol was doomed from the start, thanks to poor marketing. The studio did not screen the film for critics, and its print and media campaign have been almost non-existent. If you hide it, they won't come. Zucker may have been spouting ridiculous ravings in order to get the film some free publicity but the technique failed; in its second week, the film dropped 60% from opening weekend. But even if the film had marketing muscle, it would have been a failure - not because it's partisan, but because it's not funny.
and:
There are some running gags that aren't funny the first time and get even worse by the 12th time. For example, the movie harps on the notion that Malone isn't a real filmmaker because he only makes documentaries. The joke is repeated throughout the film, but framed in the same way every time, making the gag tiresome quickly.
Also, did you know that Michael Moore is a bit rotund, and might like to eat a lot? The filmmakers sure think so, and thus have Michael Malone eat everything! Isn't it zany how he eats a slice of pizza that has a bug on it? Or grabs and eats a twinkie that's been stuck to a TV all night? Man, how do they come up with such brilliance? The film also attempts to incorporate physical humor, but it's executed with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop. Not only do you see the gags coming a mile away, but many of them are performed with such haphazard editing and camera work, it makes you wonder if we're really watching outtakes from the film and the good takes forgot to be put in. (Unless…it's part of that conspiracy! It all makes sense now…swap out the good takes for bad ones, and the film looks incompetent as a result! Brilliant!) Talent-wise, there's little of note. Kevin Farley proves to be the Jim Belushi of the Farley family: a pale imitation of the better-known sibling who passed away too soon. Kelsey Grammar does what he can and is actually the highlight of the film, though he's no George C. Scott. Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper and Leslie Nielsen do nothing more than go through the motions to get their paycheck.
And then there's Bill O'Reilly. Anyone who watches the fiery FOX News commentator knows that when someone comes on his show with such radical views (as happens here with Malone and a Rosie O'Donnell clone), he bursts a blood vessel in his head from yelling so much. But the O'Reilly depicted here is calm but terse in his criticism of the radical viewpoint. It's either a wholly-unrealistic performance or a surprisingly good acting job by O'Reilly. Your call.
It's too bad that An American Carol fails to bring the funny, because it's actually a nice change-of-pace to see satire from a conservative viewpoint when most, if not all, of what's out there today comes from the other side. So in that regard, the film is a welcome sight. But in every other regard, particularly those of comedic excellence and adept film-making, An American Carol wouldn't even be blessed by Tiny Tim.
Just wanted to have things fair and balanced, there are plenty of good reviews on the IMDB site as well..........