The main character in the movie is Frank, a man who couldn't possibly be more frustrated with his life. Divorced, his daugher hates him, recently fired, has a brain tumor, and thinks the society he lives in is shit. About to commit suicide, he sees a reality show on tv where, spoofing Sweet 16, the spoiled birthday girl berates her parents for not getting the car she asked. He decides to kill her first, and then kill himself. A classmate of hers, Roxy, sees what happens and encourages Frank to take down everyone who commits acts of similar stupidity or cruelty. As in, clean up the rubbish in American society.
With a premise like that, you can rest assured that the film has plenty of incredibly over the top, violent scenes, mostly involving the murder of bigot religious groups, a hateful neo-conservative tv commentator, or even minor annoyances, like loud teenagers in a cinema or an asshole that double parks. And those are really hilarious, just for the absurdity of the situation. You could say the film can get kind of sick or twisted (this is, after all, a teenage girl encouraging a middle aged man to kill people), but hey, isn't that what dark comedy is about?
It does get a little out hand, when she wants him to love her or something. At least Frank refuses.
Like I said, the film is not just big, loud and dumb sequences. There are plenty of conversations, particularly between Frank and the idiots he is trying to correct. The topics they go through are fantastic: how we live in a generation that celebrates mediocrity and rewards stupidity, and hateful, untrue messages make more money than honesty. How television has become a freak show, a distraction, and the effects it has on everyday life.
The film starts out with plenty of those insightful converations (in particular one in his office), only to wear out a bit later on. It still spouts out some smart phrases every now and then, and there's always more subtle criticism. In one moment, Frank's company fires him after he gives a coworker flowers, reflecting the paranoia America has against sexual harrassment; Frank's daughter bitches about wanting an iPhone instead of the Blackberry she got, mimicking the Sweet 16 spoof; and whenever someone turns on the tv every show is exploiting the American Idol spoof' where a man is ridiculed for his perfomance only to later on pretend to commit suicide just so the media can keep milking off the story.
This is the "oh no you didn't say that!" generation, where a shocking comment has more weight than the truth.
That was the point where I was convinced the movie is fucking genius. You see, television in my country works the same way: the biggest show in the air introduces a story, as in, one of the celebrities there "fights" another, and at least 5 shows the next day discuss the fight and interview said celebrity. Back at the big show, the fight could go on or end, only to introduce another one in the latter case. It's all obviously staged and formulaic, but everyone still buys it and watches it! I have yet to see a film that so successfully depicts my indignation at such a stupid society.
God Bless America is a really good film. It doens't have great characters or performances, or plot for that matter, but the social criticism behind it is plentiful, spot-on, and fucking brilliant. Don't let the over the top nature of the movie suggest you otherwise. Plus, I had a couple of laughs. That certainly helps.
No comments:
Post a Comment