Nothing is more American than Courtney Stodden…and her quest for the American dream through fake hair, fake tan and most importantly, fake tits….coupled with a little tabloid fodder and scandal, a wallet fuck/gold dig, and most importantly, a love for fully exploiting and exposing herself for attention…you know you’d never see this in any Arab Country…and this is what your troops are really fighting for, not the rights to oil in countries they can overthrow…but Courtney Stodden and her go big or go home, American way…By this time next year, you won’t be saluting your flag, but rather this image of Courtney Stodden…God Bless America….
Comedian-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait has always displayed an incredibly dark sense of humor in his work behind the camera, from his 1991 alcoholic birthday party performer debut Shakes the Clown to bestiality-themed rom-com Sleeping Dogs Lie to World’s Greatest Dad , in which Robin Williams plays a high-school English teacher whose son’s death becomes a way for him to realize his unfulfilled dreams of being a writer. But no matter how black the comedy, these films had warmth to them, too, and the possibility of things getting better and characters, however painfully, changing and growing. That’s not the case in God Bless America , Goldthwait’s latest effort, an overly bleak film ready to write off the world and go down in a blaze of gunfire, both middle fingers raised. Joel Murray plays Frank, a divorced father and depressed office worker who gets laid off and diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor all in the same day, providing enough push for him to finally load up his revolver and set off on the murderous spree he’s been dreaming of for years. “I know it’s not normal to want to kill,” he muses in the opening voiceover, “but I also know that I am no longer normal.” When making his first hit, of a bratty teenage reality show star named Chloe (Maddie Hasson), he picks up a surprise sidekick named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), a smart, alienated high schooler who thinks that what Frank did is the best thing she’s ever seen. The two partner up and Bonnie and Clyde their way along a bloody road to nowhere while working out the logistics of who it is they’re targeting. Frank hates people who are inconsiderate, who are rude and who take pleasure in making fun of others. Roxy hates more specifically — NASCAR fans, people who high-five, Diablo Cody. As for who Goldthwait hates, you get the sense it’s all of the above and more — anyone who watches American Idol, anyone who competes on American Idol, morning show radio hosts, cable news blowhards, the Tea Party, parents who overindulge their children and people who talk during movies (the last leads to the film’s most rewarding scene). God Bless America sets these figures up to mow them down, and while there’s a minor satisfaction to be taken from seeing these bloody revenge fantasies brought to life — take that , Westboro Baptist Church! — the film’s judgments come so easily, its targets portrayed as so one-dimensional that it feels like a cheat. The world in which the film is set is so universally monstrous that it deserves to be blown up, but it’s an embittered, exaggerated take, a giant straw-man argument. When Frank flips on the television, all he sees are people making fun of a mentally disabled reality show contestant. When Frank gets the news of his illness, his doctor takes a call in the middle, from his car dealership. And when Frank tries to talk with his daughter about her upcoming weekend with him, she tries to extort a present from him in exchange for coming. It’s only Roxy to whom Frank can relate, with her kewpie doll face and ability to rant about the greatness of Alice Cooper. The scenes of Frank and Roxy hanging out are the film’s only soft spots, their relationship a gentle but precarious mix of paternal and platonically romantic. Roxy eggs Frank on and keeps him going, masterminding their murderous binge, but she’s rarely seems solid in the way that Frank does. She’s a figure of wish fulfillment, a vessel for what feel like the filmmaker’s direct complaints with the world as well as his fondnesses, a teenage girl who loves Star Trek and throws herself at our resistant protagonist, who is hypersensitive about being perceived as a pedophile. Visual inventiveness isn’t Goldthwait’s strong suit as a director, but God Bless America does represent a step forward there, with stand-out moments including an overhead shot showing just how close Frank is to his noisy neighbors or a failed attempt at walking away from an explosion, action hero-style, without looking back. Goldthwait is best and most brutal at recreating the worst of TV — an early scene in which the insomniac Frank flips through the channels includes savage and dead-on takes on Fox News, Jersey Shore -style reality clashes, energy drink commercials, Jackass and, yes, American Idol. Sure, it’s a line-up that would be enough to make you want to shoot somebody, but also those aren’t the only things on air. God Bless America only wants to see the worst in people — in fact actively seeks it out in order to be disgusted, and that feels almost as bad as the behavior the film is critiquing. One of the few characters who’s let off the hook is the boyfriend of Frank’s ex, a cheery, dumb and genuinely well-meaning cop who spots our hero waiting outside his former wife’s house and stops by to say hi. When asked by Roxy whether Frank wants to kill the man, he tells her no, “I want him to suffer.” It’s only a sucker who’d stick around to live life in this film, and that’s too bitter a pill to be swallowed. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Comedian-turned-director Bobcat Goldthwait has always displayed an incredibly dark sense of humor in his work behind the camera, from his 1991 alcoholic birthday party performer debut Shakes the Clown to bestiality-themed rom-com Sleeping Dogs Lie to World’s Greatest Dad , in which Robin Williams plays a high-school English teacher whose son’s death becomes a way for him to realize his unfulfilled dreams of being a writer. But no matter how black the comedy, these films had warmth to them, too, and the possibility of things getting better and characters, however painfully, changing and growing. That’s not the case in God Bless America , Goldthwait’s latest effort, an overly bleak film ready to write off the world and go down in a blaze of gunfire, both middle fingers raised. Joel Murray plays Frank, a divorced father and depressed office worker who gets laid off and diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor all in the same day, providing enough push for him to finally load up his revolver and set off on the murderous spree he’s been dreaming of for years. “I know it’s not normal to want to kill,” he muses in the opening voiceover, “but I also know that I am no longer normal.” When making his first hit, of a bratty teenage reality show star named Chloe (Maddie Hasson), he picks up a surprise sidekick named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), a smart, alienated high schooler who thinks that what Frank did is the best thing she’s ever seen. The two partner up and Bonnie and Clyde their way along a bloody road to nowhere while working out the logistics of who it is they’re targeting. Frank hates people who are inconsiderate, who are rude and who take pleasure in making fun of others. Roxy hates more specifically — NASCAR fans, people who high-five, Diablo Cody. As for who Goldthwait hates, you get the sense it’s all of the above and more — anyone who watches American Idol, anyone who competes on American Idol, morning show radio hosts, cable news blowhards, the Tea Party, parents who overindulge their children and people who talk during movies (the last leads to the film’s most rewarding scene). God Bless America sets these figures up to mow them down, and while there’s a minor satisfaction to be taken from seeing these bloody revenge fantasies brought to life — take that , Westboro Baptist Church! — the film’s judgments come so easily, its targets portrayed as so one-dimensional that it feels like a cheat. The world in which the film is set is so universally monstrous that it deserves to be blown up, but it’s an embittered, exaggerated take, a giant straw-man argument. When Frank flips on the television, all he sees are people making fun of a mentally disabled reality show contestant. When Frank gets the news of his illness, his doctor takes a call in the middle, from his car dealership. And when Frank tries to talk with his daughter about her upcoming weekend with him, she tries to extort a present from him in exchange for coming. It’s only Roxy to whom Frank can relate, with her kewpie doll face and ability to rant about the greatness of Alice Cooper. The scenes of Frank and Roxy hanging out are the film’s only soft spots, their relationship a gentle but precarious mix of paternal and platonically romantic. Roxy eggs Frank on and keeps him going, masterminding their murderous binge, but she’s rarely seems solid in the way that Frank does. She’s a figure of wish fulfillment, a vessel for what feel like the filmmaker’s direct complaints with the world as well as his fondnesses, a teenage girl who loves Star Trek and throws herself at our resistant protagonist, who is hypersensitive about being perceived as a pedophile. Visual inventiveness isn’t Goldthwait’s strong suit as a director, but God Bless America does represent a step forward there, with stand-out moments including an overhead shot showing just how close Frank is to his noisy neighbors or a failed attempt at walking away from an explosion, action hero-style, without looking back. Goldthwait is best and most brutal at recreating the worst of TV — an early scene in which the insomniac Frank flips through the channels includes savage and dead-on takes on Fox News, Jersey Shore -style reality clashes, energy drink commercials, Jackass and, yes, American Idol. Sure, it’s a line-up that would be enough to make you want to shoot somebody, but also those aren’t the only things on air. God Bless America only wants to see the worst in people — in fact actively seeks it out in order to be disgusted, and that feels almost as bad as the behavior the film is critiquing. One of the few characters who’s let off the hook is the boyfriend of Frank’s ex, a cheery, dumb and genuinely well-meaning cop who spots our hero waiting outside his former wife’s house and stops by to say hi. When asked by Roxy whether Frank wants to kill the man, he tells her no, “I want him to suffer.” It’s only a sucker who’d stick around to live life in this film, and that’s too bitter a pill to be swallowed. Follow Alison Willmore on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Loveless, jobless and terminally ill, Frank has had enough of American society. He decides to go out with a bang – literally – and go postal on everyone who deserves it. In the hilarious-looking dark comedy God Bless America, Frank (Joel Murray) takes his gun and decides to take out the stupidest, cruelest, most repellent U.S. citizens. Frank finds an unusual accomplice in high-school student Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who shares his sense of rage, disenfranchisement, and loathing of irritating celebs. Stand-up comedian Bobcat Goldthwait wrote and directed this scathing, gut-busting attack on all that is sacred in the United States of America. Watch the trailer: God Bless America Trailer
Happy Wednesday! Also in today’s edition of The Broadsheet: Hollywood remembers the late, great John Calley… God Bless America gets the deal we promised you… Nathan Lane gets close to The English Teacher … and more.
Did you miss last night’s jobs speech? Check out this enhanced video—and get the facts and figures you need to know about the American Jobs Act while President Obama delivers his address. Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Kicking Ass Discovery Date : 09/09/2011 18:38 Number of articles : 3
Presidential candidate Herman Cain offers a touching rendition of God Bless America, set to footage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and a backing track of human screams. [via @Mat] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Boing Boing Discovery Date : 10/09/2011 00:12 Number of articles : 2
O Russo Anatoly Konenko criou o menor aquário do mundo. Feito de vidro, ele mede só 30 х 24 х 14 mm, com 10 ml de água, e contém miniaturas de pedras, plantas aquáticas e um peixe real. Show de bola! Via Konenko Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : mataleone Discovery Date : 22/02/2011 21:07 Number of articles : 2
As protests spread to Ohio and Indiana from Wisconsin, Republicans are taking a harder and meaner stand against them. Look at that video above. Those citizens exercising their First Amendment rights are being called “a danger”, which is the excuse given for limiting the number of people allowed to enter the statehouse today. Do they look dangerous to you? Maybe it’s dangerous to sing “God Bless America”… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Crooks and Liars Discovery Date : 23/02/2011 00:23 Number of articles : 2
Maybe you remember Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tim James’ flag-waving ” We Speak English ” ad. This spot from Republican Alabama Agricultural Commissioner candidate Dale Peterson makes James look like a gay Commie terrorist. Dramatic music! Guns! Horses! Drawling! God Bless America . More
