X
- 2012
- R
- Magnet Releasing
- 1 h 45 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnet Releasing
- 1 h 45 m
Summary Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture, which he sees as overrun with cruelty, stupidity and intolerance. Divorced, recently fired, and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking his own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stup...
Directed By: Bobcat Goldthwait
Written By: Bobcat Goldthwait
- 2012
- R
- Magnet Releasing
- 1 h 45 m
- 2012
- R
- Magnet Releasing
- 1 h 45 m
God Bless America
56
7.2
Where to Watch
Summary Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture, which he sees as overrun with cruelty, stupidity and intolerance. Divorced, recently fired, and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking his own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stup...
Directed By: Bobcat Goldthwait
Written By: Bobcat Goldthwait
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
56
38% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
58% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 24 Critic Reviews
56
38% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
58% Mixed
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
As with the earlier movie, this one turns in on its own morality like a Möbius strip, endorsing kindness by practicing slaughter, and pulls us along for the ride. Detractors will call its reasoning ridiculous, and they'll be right - though I doubt that will bother Goldthwait, who makes a living being ridiculous.
Writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait has an ax to grind and, once he's done grinding it, he uses it to split some skulls. God Bless America is many things - audacious, bitingly satirical, unafraid of venturing into uncomfortable territory - but it is never subtle.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 122 User Ratings
7.2
70% Positive
86 Ratings
86 Ratings
19% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
11% Negative
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 122 User Ratings
7.2
70% Positive
86 Ratings
86 Ratings
19% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
11% Negative
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
This is easily the best movie ever created. From the writing and casting to the acting, music and symbolism, this film is honest about the destructive and cruel nature of our society, and the unwillingness of most to do anything about it.
This film is not meant to be taken literally - if you are offended, you clearly don't get it. It is a brilliant piece of social commentary that I think should be required viewing for every American over the age of 15.
Brilliant from start to finish.
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Offers a few laughs and a moment or two of drama, but it's finally more of a conceit -- and a familiar one -- than a film.
There are so many monologues about obnoxious behavior that they begin to lose their luster - something I'd never have thought possible.
Here is a film that begins with merciless comic savagery and descends into merely merciless savagery. But wow, what an opening.
A niche theatrical run might draw fans of Goldthwait's previous work, this effort isn't likely to get as much help from critics as those sometimes did.
By wholeheartedly taking its main character's side instead of complicating or censuring his homicidal vigilante crusade, it proves inanely one-note and preachy.
I laughed a good amount and the dialogue is witty and acerbic throughout and the story works, but only for the first 35-40 minutes. The two leads are very good with what they have and the two main characters are likable for who they are and how psychotic they are portrayed as, the main girl is specifically great. The thing is that after a while, it actually gets to be too much. If the audience is actually rooting for the two main characters past the two-thirds point, then the audience is essentially rooting for Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold, James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Seung-Hui Cho and terrorists. The film succeeded in what it set out to do but it left me upside-down due to how incredibly amoral and dark it gets. Seriously, this movie is dark as hell, way darker than any drama or horror film I've ever seen. 6.3/10, one thumb down, meh, okay, etc.
Report
The hypocrisy of God Bless America lies in the fact that the whole film rails against the death of creativity in American life and the conceptual solution, the murder of everything and everyone that toxically feeds upon the ignorant, is too easy in itself. The fact that the vapid morons populating the headlines are more entertaining than artists and scientists is indeed frustrating, but the beauty of this world is that anything worth doing is difficult. This movie takes the easy way out and probably appeals more to those same ignoramuses who are hungry for drastic comedy over intelligence. I can appreciate the originality and a few agreeable rants, but it was best left as a daydream, I'm positive, Goldthwait had one afternoon.
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Production Company
Darko Entertainment,
Jerkschool Productions
Release Date May 11, 2012
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating R
Tagline Taking out the trash, one jerk at a time.
Awards
Calgary Underground Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Toronto International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Golden Trailer Awards
• 1 Nomination
