Labor Dei: God Bless America

Happy Work-mas, everyone!  It's Labor Day, so that means that I have to stop working...on normal updates and do this special one.  Yes, I get extra work on Labor Day- joy.  Today's film is one that kind of sneaked under most people's radars.  It didn't do it on mine...but it was unavailable for me to do on July 4th. Might as well do it now, I guess.  The film is a dark, dark, dark comedy by Bobcat Goldthwait, a former Comic/Actor who is specializing in those recently.  If you didn't see World's Greatest Dad, you should.  It's uneven, but turns the idea of family movies on their head in a great way.  God Bless America is Bobcat's way of saying that Pop Culture can be annoying and could drive someone insane.  It makes sense to me.  Quick side note: this is also the subject of a Robot Chicken short from about four years ago.  Regardless, this is actually a pretty neat movie and I don't want to SPOIL it too much.  Review-in-Pictures time!  To see how funny murder can be, read on...

A man- one of Murray brothers- is fed up with his life.  He's divorced, lives alone and...now has a brain tumor.  He also got fired from his job- bonus.

With his life in shambles, he decides to...kill a reality star.  Seems logical to me.

*****

 *****

Oddly, he finds a partner in crime.  Her reasonings are interesting.  Even more interesting is her willingness to kill people for talking in a movie theater and killing pop culture analogs like the one you see below.

The alliance of youth and middle-age leads to many deaths.  He has big plans on his own, however, and he gets some serious heat.  Will a live broadcast of a TV show give him the audience he's desired?

To find out, watch the movie.  The End.

 *****

 *****

This movie is great, provided that you can laugh at death.  This movie is dark and acerbic.  It's full of killing, preachy monologues and more killing.  That said- I like the message.  I'm not for the killing, obviously, but the film is satirical.  Is killing alright?  Of course not.  Is killing a faux Bill O'Reilly after he bad-mouths you alright?  Hell yes!  The beginning portion of the movie does a great job of building up just how our 'hero' goes from normal guy to murderous vigilante.  As a comedy, it does a good job of building up him being 'bad-ass' and still being new to the whole thing.  The way the first kill plays out is just awesome.  Some people- read: my brother- thinks that it builds up too fast and easily, but I disagree.  The lead actors do a great job at their parts, a sign of good Direction.  To see bad Direction, see The Spirit.  If you're not a fan of Dark Comedies, this movie will not be for you.  If you enjoy those movies, you'll already know that Bobcat Goldthwait is a consistently-solid Director in this field.  I love this movie and think that all of those with an open mind should check it out.

Next up, a movie brought to you by one Internet entrepreneur.  It's a Turkish movie that may seem somewhat familiar.  Stay tuned...