Near as I can tell, An American Carol (opening Oct. 3) is a movie in which Michael Moore a Michael Moore-like filmmaker (played by Chris Farley’s brother, Kevin) does an ideological 180 after getting smacked around a lot by a bunch of ghosts (hey, it worked on Bill Murray in Scrooged) and by Bill O’Reilly (playing himself), who tells Farley’s character he just enjoys manhandling people. (Insert joke and Smoking Gun link here.)
Director is David Zucker, who refers to himself in a title card as "master of satire." No. You’re a master of parody (that is, making fun of other works of art), or at least, you used to be (Airplane! The Naked Gun movies), though maybe not so much any more (Scary Movies 3 and 4, Superhero Movie). You are not a master of satire (that is, making fun of people and institutions), at least, not judging by this clip. Zucker and his cast discuss their effort to make an explicitly conservative satire in this Weekly Standard article. Now, I agree that there’s room in the marketplace for a good conservative satire (like, say, the thoroughly original and creative Team America: World Police. Now, that was funny.), but this trailer didn’t make me chuckle. Gags about butch lesbians, kids getting smacked around, Gary Coleman as a slave, Kelsey Grammer as the ghost of George S. Patton — I see a lot of agitprop, but where’s the funny? (Okay, maybe seeing the effete, prissy Frasier play the blood-and-guts general will be a scream. Or seeing Jon Voight as George Washington. Or Trace "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" Adkins as an august Grim Reaper. All right, I take it all back. David Zucker, you are a master of satire.)
You can watch the trailer in HD over at Yahoo Movies, but I prefer it in the form it appeared in during its premiere (embedded above) last week on The O’Reilly Factor, with a Fox News logo superimposed on the corner throughout the entire clip.
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Epic Fail.
Waow, xenophobia, ignorance AND it’s not funny. Where do I sign up?
I feel the same way about this as I did about Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11: with such an easy target, how can you miss? Similarly, if you are right-wing and you want to attack Moore, how can you do THIS bad a job of it?
I’ll probably only see it because it stars Kevin Farley. Long live Doug! Linus.
Being conservative and funny just does not work. why? cause when you are the ones in power, the ones with all the money, you are not laughing with anyone, just at them.
I mean what is gonna be in this movie? Look at those lesbians with their short hair….don’t you see they should not be allowed to marry the person they love?
How bout those poor people with no health care? What’s the problem? Once they die…no more problem! RDRR!
In spite of your politically motivated review (we’re reviewing trailers now!), much of this actually does seem funny. There’s no reason why you can’t agree with Michael Moore’s politics and still see that he’s a complete douchebag who warrants a sendup.
Hey, I liked “Scary Movie 3″. And if I remember correctly, EW’s own Owen Gleiberman even gave it a B+. (Yup, just double-checked.)
I am a big liberal and from what I can see it looks very funny. Liberals are open minded and have no problem laughin at themselves. Anyone too idealigically driven to see something new doesn’t deserve to be called a progressive.
why are you even reviewing this sussman? you’re liberal, of course you wouldn’t find this funny. only conservatives will find this funny. i say what goes around comes around and liberals can’t have it all their way. there are voices other than yours which have every right to be heard too.unfortunately there are people who enjoy this type of humor on both sides. the left has shown tons of it, i guess it was time for the right to do so as well. i can’t wait for the day when people will stop bashing each other all together, left or right, and stop all these outlandish digs. to the left and the right,just because someone disagrees with you and your political views does not mean they are extremists, stupid, or unintelligent. sometimes i look around and wonder how we even make it each day. but i will say saddleback gave me a glimmer of hope that there might still be a grown-up or two out there.
Frankly, Chris Farley wasn’t funny to begin with (just a louder, more vulgar, less inspired version of John Belushi and John Candy), and it looks as if his brother is just a rip off of him. Satire requires going beyond the mere surface, as in suggesting the way to control overpopulation is to eat the children, as in “A Modest Proposal”, or by showing how a fear of having our bodily fluids impurified can lead to the destruction of life as we know it, as in “Dr. Strangelove”. Now it is entirely possible for conservatives to make a funny film, but this doesn’t look like it. Merely pointing out that lesbians are masculine-looking, or that liberals are self-indulgant, isn’t enough. I will admit ending the 4th of July could be funny, but it depends on the motivation. If it is because liberals hate America, it doesn’t go far enough. However if it is because the Declaration of Indep. is insensitive to English people and the 4th is not historically accurate, then you got something.
I watched the full trailer and think it looks hysterical. I mean, reading real news articles about what the ACLU is up to is hilarious to begin with… well, until it’s sinks in that it’s real.
Sussman, your review is so slanted politically you can’t even evaluate this without hyperventilating. While I may not agree entirely with the politics of the movie, it looks funny. And Michael Moore is long overdue for a roast of this sort.
The trailer is meant to just hit the basic, slapstick humor and doesn’t expose much of the satire in the plot of the film – and yes, the film has a plot. (Not so subtly copied from Dickens, by the way.)
I’ve been following many of the comments all over the web and find it hilarious that the left is so offended. One comment asked if “librul commies” were ever slave owners and why this movie portrayed them as such. The answer is, yes, “libruls” were slave owners in the American past, just as conservatives were. And some would argue that “commies” are slave owners — or at least slave users — by definition.
For those of you so offended that you wish to leave the country on Opening Day (October 3rd), I encourage you to do so. And, please consider staying out of country until the movie’s run is complete, which probably will be sometime in mid-November.
Further protests by ignoring this year’s election would also be appreciated and respected!
And it should be noted that this opus has tested poorly with audiences. Whether they were conservative or liberal, they just didn’t like it.
David Zucker is a hack and the films he made with Abrahams and his brother are overrated. This film he’s made is about his outrage at paying higher taxes.
I’m of the school of waiting to see something before criticizing it. Based on the trailer, this is more a movie I’d watch on cable than see in the theater, unless I heard it was really great. The best thing about the film is that we live in a country where someone can make it, as well as make the choice whether to see it or not.
Dude this trailer actually made me laugh several times. I guess it’s not so funny to see left wing crack pots made fun of, eh?
You can see here a fine example of how the left likes to distort facts.
Read the movies introduction and you will see the line, “…Bill O’Reilly (playing himself), who tells Farley’s character he just enjoys manhandling people. (Insert joke and Smoking Gun link here.)…” Now watch the video clip and see what Bill O’Reilly really says. This kind of distortion happens every day on CNN, Cumulus radio, Salon.com, NPR, Us magazine and a million other sources of information. Lefties are the facists!
Re: Brian,
Oh no, we lefts love to be made fun of, we’re open to anything, but it just ruins the right wing image when their answer to Michael Moore smells of Daddy Day Camp.
The film’s targets deserve everything it throws at them, and probably a good deal more. And yes, they’re unpatriotic. That’s why they’ll hate this film so much.
TJ: The fact that you believe that the people being lampooned in this film are unpatriotic makes you as stupid as the Bush Administration thinks you are when they peddle that crap.
The only people who will watch this are those who found things like “The Half Hour News Hour” funny – or enjoyed Sarah Palin’s last comedy routine…
…wait that wasn’t comedy? Oh…right…
Wow. with respect, it seems to me that David Zucker still holds a grudge because he was never able to get financing for his Davy Crockett movie. I guess this is his way of venting.
Anyone care to wager how many “Rzzies” this turkey will win?
Looks like a stupid film that consists soley of sterotypes and cheap shots.
As a Democrat who is not so happy with the recent decisions of my party I have to say that even considering those feelings this makes me mad. I am so tired of seeing people say that we are not patriots because we are not blindly following everything that is being fed to us. I love this country and its people, but because I believe in clean renewable energy, the end to the war, civil rights for women and homosexuals, that means I am not a patriot. It is infuriating.
I am not a fan of Michael Moore at all and it is ridiculous that because that that truth bending liar considers himself liberal, we are all anarchists? To suggest that the liberals and left of this country would support getting rid of Independence Day and wanting to “Destroy this Country” is outrageous and insane.
Both sides want better for this country and its people. We just have different views on how to get there.
That’s pretty sad.
If you honestly believe that the US is a vile, racist and sexist society than you deserve to made fun of- repeatedly- until you get a grip. Oh yeah, you guys are the only people that don’t want pollution and war. I’m going to go beat my wife.
I find it funny you mention team america: world police. That is written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Who were given there breaks by Zucker and have always looked up to him….interesting isnt it.
Now I remember why I dropped my subscription. The magazine went too far left and let the writer’s political opinions and biases interfere with decent reporting/reviewing.
This movie trailer has made me laugh several times. I will see the movie. And it will be the second movie I bother to pay and see this year. Usually I just wait for stuff to come to cable. However, like the Dark Knight…this looks like it’s worth a trip to the movie theatre.
I suggest you look up the word, “satire” in your Funk and Wagnalls. This movie looks hilarious. Also, it is not patriotic to support the enemies of the U.S, make up ridiculous conspiracy theories about the “real culprits” of 9/11, and try to eliminate any traces of Christianity in the USA. Nor do homosexuals have rights, only wrongs.
For the first time, I’m proud to be a movie goer…hehe