God Bless America (2012)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Aaron N

  
  Frank: I wish I was a super-genius inventor and could come up with a way to make a telephone into an explosive device that was triggered by the American Superstarz voting number. The battery could explode and leave a mark on the face, so I could know who to avoid talking to before… More
  Frank: I wish I was a super-genius inventor and could come up with a way to make a telephone into an explosive device that was triggered by the American Superstarz voting number. The battery could explode and leave a mark on the face, so I could know who to avoid talking to before they even talked. I have seen and heard a lot of Bobcat Goldthwait lately, as he has been promoting his newest film, God Bless America. Having retired from stand-up comedy nearly a decade ago, with his eyes set on being a filmmaker, he's since made some interesting (and quite good) dark comedies; including Sleeping Dogs Lie and World's Greatest Dad (Robin Williams is great in that movie). I like Bobcat Goldthwait. Listening to him now, he is very honest, funny, and brash in a good sort of way. It is unfortunate that God Bless America is not a better film. It certainly has a lot on its mind in regards to the state of America's fascination with reality television, among other things, but the film does not come together as strongly as it could. There are enough good bits in it overall to make it something worth checking out for a person that wants to enjoy a decent dark comedy/satire, it just could have been more. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"Taking out the trash, one jerk at a time."</i> On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"Taking out the trash, one jerk at a time."</i> On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Bobcat Goldthwait's scathing critique on modern pop culture is vicious, unapologetically ugly and truly hilarious. Whereas Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" was a clever yet far fetched tale of humanity gone stupid, "God Bless America" uses, with absolute precision, a scalpel to peel back layer after disturbing layer of American shallowness and cruelty. Incorporating elements of mindless pop culture, media propaganda, and reality TV cruelty and bravado, this movie perfectly illustrates the all too real (and sudden) cultural cancer that people nowadays consider entertainment. It is simultaneously hilarious and morbid. Its Idiocracy meets Natural Born Killers and for a very generic description that may suffice, but it is a far more intelligent movie than Idiocracy was (or even set out to be). Make no mistake about it, this is a very dark movie and there is more murder and blood than you could shake a swizzle stick at, yet the brutality is tempered with hilarity and witty observation that seamlessly keeps this movie always headed in the right direction - there is no confusion here, it knows exactly what it's saying. I worry this movie may fly under the radar since the typical mainstream audience is pretty much the targeted subject material here, but I think this movie is an instant classic. It so eloquently dissects all the absurdities of modern American culture, the desire for fame and to be known, the need for attention, etc. The trailer doesn't do this movie justice -- it's really good!

• Kevin C

  
  God Bless America feels more like writer director Bobcat Goldthwait channeling a combination of his sophisticated conversations about the alarming state of modern media and his condescending bar rants of how stupid everyone is than a thought-out satirical narrative. It's crazy… More
  God Bless America feels more like writer director Bobcat Goldthwait channeling a combination of his sophisticated conversations about the alarming state of modern media and his condescending bar rants of how stupid everyone is than a thought-out satirical narrative. It's crazy and it's pretty entertaining, with the exception of more than a handful of scenes where the two main characters sit around for 5 minutes and list things and people they hate, but the satire here is about as subtle and graceful as a bullet to the head.

• Reid V

  
  An extremely black comedy that is frighteningly cathartic. The satire is wildly over-the-top & sadly, pretty spot on.The blood shoots out with violent force, and the monologues are explosive and wrought with irreverence. Just the type of shocking material that our current culture… More
  An extremely black comedy that is frighteningly cathartic. The satire is wildly over-the-top & sadly, pretty spot on.The blood shoots out with violent force, and the monologues are explosive and wrought with irreverence. Just the type of shocking material that our current culture is accustomed to. Because director Bobcat Goldthwait knows that as much as the viewer may hate aspects of our society, they are still a product of it. The shtick does get a little old after a while and some observations are much more astute than others. Also, the characters are brimming with sardonic commentary but are unfortunately a little light on depth. However, Goldthwait has my respect for getting something as audacious as this made into a feature film. Anybody with even the slightest inkling that our current culture is too extreme and mean-spirited, will find themselves begrudgingly rooting for Frank, our anti-hero who finally has the balls to say "enough."

• Sam B

  
  "God Bless America" is a captivating satire of current American culture, courtesy of the warped mind of Bobcat Goldthwait, the writer/director who previously wrote the much under-appreciated Robin Williams movie "World's Greatest Dad". The film is the story of… More
  "God Bless America" is a captivating satire of current American culture, courtesy of the warped mind of Bobcat Goldthwait, the writer/director who previously wrote the much under-appreciated Robin Williams movie "World's Greatest Dad". The film is the story of one man who, with a tumor in his brain and a country lacking all sense of common decency, decides to go on a rampage, killing everyone deemed 'mean,' or 'rude,' - basically, everything wrong with America. The film mentions Jersey Shore, American Idol, Lindsay Lohan, people who are loud in movie theaters, people who park in two spots at once, and really taps in to that "shows what we all want to see" part of the brain. In other words, its an extreme case of wish fulfillment, where good people murder those who 'deserve to die', a subjective viewpoint that really starts to blur the lines of morality. While God Bless America has noticeably low production values, no sense of logic (don't see it if you get easily maddened by a lack of realism) and some of the pop culture iconography roasted in the film is a bit out of date, Goldthwait's execution is so fantastic that its easy to overlook the movie's issues. Among the great triumphs accomplished here are the two lead performances. played by not-big-name actors Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr, are surprisingly great, and allow audiences to sympathize with killers, . Then you have a killer script that takes its concept right where it should go. My concern with this movie was that its easy to take such a great concept like this and then squander it with a script that doesn't take full advantage of its promise (as was the main issue with the conceptually similar Mike Judge's "Idiocracy"), but God Bless America's writing is so top notch, its argument so fully explored and debated on the screen, that even if you don't agree with everything, you have to admire its thoughtfulness. By portraying characters who are at once the good guys and the murderers, it really forces audiences to think about what is good, what is bad, and what is justifiable, on a moral level. All in all, God Bless America is what would happen if Idiocracy and Martin Scorsese's classic Taxi Driver had a baby. And if that sounds like an incredibly odd combination, it is. The movie is a little crazy, and so is its director. But he's the good kind of crazy, and the film, while not perfect, really works.

• Matt G

  
  Frank: Thanks for turning off your cell phone. God Bless America is a darkly comedic take on modern American pop-culture that is able to get a rise out of anyone who is sick and tired of all these dysfunctional and convoluted reality shows. What I found interesting about this… More
  Frank: Thanks for turning off your cell phone. God Bless America is a darkly comedic take on modern American pop-culture that is able to get a rise out of anyone who is sick and tired of all these dysfunctional and convoluted reality shows. What I found interesting about this particular film were the many similarities I found to Super, another wacky film featuring a somewhat similar pattern. They both feature an adult/child teaming up to fight "evil", and the main protagonist's name is Frank in both films. God Bless America is at its most entertaining when our two leads are blowin' some jerk's head off for minor offenses - including taking two parking spots or laughing at a disabled adult sing on an American Idol-like reality show. God Bless America is basically a giant "screw you" to tech-savvy Americans. Read the whole review at creedsdelight.com

• Tyler C

  
  Outlandish, controversial, and insanely over-the-top at times, God Bless America serves as a magnum opus fantasy to those that detest the pop culture obsessions of this generation. It has no rules by any means and is very unforgiving in its content, but it's still one of the best… More
  Outlandish, controversial, and insanely over-the-top at times, God Bless America serves as a magnum opus fantasy to those that detest the pop culture obsessions of this generation. It has no rules by any means and is very unforgiving in its content, but it's still one of the best darkly comedic satires I've seen in some time.

• Eric H

  
  Diagnosed with a tumour, Murray sets off on a murderous rampage, killing those he blames for society's ills while accompanied by like-minded teen Barr. With his charming directorial debut "Sleeping Dogs Lie", comedian turned film-maker Goldthwait preached tolerance.… More
  Diagnosed with a tumour, Murray sets off on a murderous rampage, killing those he blames for society's ills while accompanied by like-minded teen Barr. With his charming directorial debut "Sleeping Dogs Lie", comedian turned film-maker Goldthwait preached tolerance. I'm not sure what happened to him over the last few years but here he's spouting a vile message of intolerance. Leopold and Loeb couldn't have come up with such a self-indulgent liberal intellectual superiority fantasy. Last year with "Midnight In Paris", Woody Allen showed us how despite our frustrations with modern culture, the grass is never greener on the other side. There's no convincing Goldthwait of this, his fantasy grass is lush and emerald. He wants us to sympathise with Murray as he massacres those who represent the worst of contemporary pop culture. The character sits in front of his TV constantly scorning the garbage he flicks through. Somebody should have told him about those things called DVD's which contain almost the entire history of film and TV for your viewing pleasure. If you don't like reality TV, DON'T WATCH IT! At one point Murray guns down a young retarded man. His crime? Exploiting his lack of intelligence to become a success on "American Superstars" a popular talent show. Just like Goldthwait himself so. In case you don't know who Goldthwait is, he found fame in the eighties by playing a retarded character in the "Police Academy" movies. In the nineties he once set fire to the stage while a guest on Jay Leno. But now that he wears black-rimmed glasses we're supposed to forget all that? "Liberal hypocrisy" is a phrase I find myself using a lot in reference to recent American cinema. For someone who made an entire movie about accepting bestiality, Goldthwait expresses a lot of sexual hangups here. He uses Barr's character to preach hatred of "paedophiles" despite the fact that she's a grown woman not a child. Those who rant so much about the sexual preferences of others usually have a few issues with their own. At one point our Bonnie and Brevik duo profess a desire to live in France because we all know there's no reality TV in Europe right? If Goldthwait is so unhappy with his country maybe he should move to China and make culturally "important" films for the state. But of course he proudly claims to make films for himself first and his audience second. Only in America!

• Panta O

  
  I could imagine that this movie won't be popular with most of the Americans... even if it claims that is a black comedy which combines elements of political satire. This film was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and stars Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr and Mackenzie… More
  I could imagine that this movie won't be popular with most of the Americans... even if it claims that is a black comedy which combines elements of political satire. This film was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and stars Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr and Mackenzie Brooke Smith, and I have to say, it is an unusually honest view of the today's American society and its shallowness. The story of Frank (Joel Murray) is not a rare one: after being fired from his job and diagnosed with a brain tumour he is about to commit suicide while watching TV... but decides to instead go on a killing spree and rid the world of rude and annoying people or "people that deserve to die". The strength of the convictions is something that really impressed me, and I admire the courage shown from the beginning to the end in criticizing the "sick parts" of the society... and they are many! A little bit flat at some parts in directing this is still very strong performing satire with good actors and inspiring drive forward toward a change!

• Sundeep B

  
  God Bless America (2012) Like the satire in the title, the movie is a razor sharp criticism of today's society and the media that helps perpetrate the vulgarity and garishness of this curse. The protagonists Frank and Roxy's monologues come out beautifully in a well thought… More
  God Bless America (2012) Like the satire in the title, the movie is a razor sharp criticism of today's society and the media that helps perpetrate the vulgarity and garishness of this curse. The protagonists Frank and Roxy's monologues come out beautifully in a well thought out, sharp dialog when they reach the end of their patience with the pretentious, fake, robotic, commercially bough out society and thus begins the rampage, that too in a sunshine yellow Camaro, no less! Joel Murry as Frank is unassuming and very well cast and Tara Lynn Barr reminds me of Dokota Fanning, what comes to help is an ultra hip soundtrack .Death to TV!!! ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH.

• Philip P

  
  Like any interesting theory put to paper, "God Bless America" has a very specific agenda and a very precise point to make. It offers some very intriguing food for thought, but in the end leaves us more hungry than satisfied. This is a film that centers around the current… More
  Like any interesting theory put to paper, "God Bless America" has a very specific agenda and a very precise point to make. It offers some very intriguing food for thought, but in the end leaves us more hungry than satisfied. This is a film that centers around the current society and why, for two specific people, it has gone down the drain. While the main mission of our protagonist (or maybe antagonist, I don't know) is to actually understand why people have become so mean and dim witted instead turns into a mission of someone unafraid of killing a person if they get in his way. It is a small qualm to make with a movie production, but if I am going along with the point the film is supposedly trying to make then it is in fact not a small qualm at all. Every life is to be cherished and every life is meaningful even if only meaningful to the person that possesses it. It should still be considered and therefore not shot down without consideration of the repercussions putting that bullet in them might have. I certainly don't pretend to know everything about anything and I can understand why director Bobcat Goldthwait has become fed up with society as it is today. I can understand why it is hard to take today's youth seriously as I myself dislike most of the people my age and even more so the generation that is coming out of high school now and thinks that Flo-Rida wrote "Right Round" and did it without sampling Dead or Alive's 1985 hit. It is frustrating, and in many ways sad. The thing about "God Bless America" the movie though is while it is funny to see such ridiculous fantasies taken out on the morally barren it ends up not feeling as gratifying as director Goldthwait might have imagined it to be. read the whole review at www.reviewsfromabed.blogspot.com

• Lane Z

  
  Good acting from Joel Murray and a decent debut for Tara Lynne Barr. With few familiar faces and indie status, many may shy away from this film, but it's worth a watch if you enjoy a good story. It's got some truth behind it. America has fallen into a trap of relying on… More
  Good acting from Joel Murray and a decent debut for Tara Lynne Barr. With few familiar faces and indie status, many may shy away from this film, but it's worth a watch if you enjoy a good story. It's got some truth behind it. America has fallen into a trap of relying on everything they see on TV to move life along. This is the story about two vigilantes who try to put an end to the worthlessness that is opinionated extremism television. At points a little slow, I was expecting a tad more gun fire alongside the storytelling, but it's a satisfying hour and a half.

• Edward S

  
  "God Bless America" is the epitome of smug, pretentious, self-deceptive condescension. If you combine Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" with the rants of a low-status 16-year old angst-ridden buffoon, you'll have something close to this… More
  "God Bless America" is the epitome of smug, pretentious, self-deceptive condescension. If you combine Neil Postman's "Amusing Ourselves to Death" with the rants of a low-status 16-year old angst-ridden buffoon, you'll have something close to this stigmatizing film. I enjoyed the first act of this film. Though I may not agree with everything the protagonist anti-hero, Frank, has to say, his life is made to be so miserable and claustrophobic that we sympathize. Mr. Goldthwait, this is called characterization. It makes the character's context, whatever it may be, richer and more understanding. Even as Frank unleashes his angry manifestos of bottled up complaints about contemporary American society, because the 1st act successfully portrays a sad, lonely man completely surrounded by the inexorable presence and ruthlessness of media, we care for his well being. When he fantasizes about murdering people who disregard his well-being, those are the high points of this film's dark comedy (which are all in the beginning.) The 2nd act destroys this film. The teenage female lead is introduced; she is the worst character I've ever had the displeasure of viewing on film. She's made to be some indie Juno-esque, vengeful, lone-wolf, outsider with a mouth full of smarmy. Every word is delivered with such an irritating "holier-than-thou" conviction that I wanted to punch her in her baby-fat face. Her lines are comprised mostly of breakneck complaints against little things Americans tend to do in society. Many I could actually agree with, but agreement on issues isn't the point. When I agree on complaints against any human culture, I'll approach it with theories presented by the writings of Dawkins, Wright, Luhan, whatever. I'll rationalize things people do or vilify them. But, the one thing I'll always do, a tactic vital to empiricism, is know that I could be wrong and that things are usually, if not always, subjective in this world. The film is a failure from this viewpoint. When Frank complains, he's exonerated because of the prior characterization that makes him seem like part of a story. When the annoying Leon-&-Super-rip-off teeny-bopper says anything the lines are delivered matter-of-factly and, this being a film, you can't really argue with them. You must simply, and uncomfortably, sit through the jarring ignorance of the film's obvious attempts at being the voice of some perpetual oppressed class of geniuses who have gone underground in America. I also hated the film's attempts at sexualizing her; most likely an appeal to the very aforementioned oppressed class of crying geniuses. When she is revealed to be just another spoiled girl experiencing classic 1st-world problems of teenage angst, rebellion, and an adamant superiority complex, the damage has already been done. Though the satire on people who complain about our culture is appreciated, the film's strategy of using the girl as a medium for voicing whiny problems was too blatant and inexcusable. In addition, if she was really to be used as a greater layer of satire, then bringing her back for the climactic 3rd art nullifies any attempt at doing so. I can't figure out where this film is trying to go. On one hand it tries to sincerely provide us a portrait of a man, and a wonderful anti-hero, who has been so abused by the judgmental, glib, distracted, hedonistic, superficial, (add adj here) nature of America's current media-induced culture to the point of being a martyr for reason, morality, and human decency. I liked that. The actor successfully painted Frank as a pathetic, vengeful, and oppressed voice of reason. On the other hand, the film tries to shove its own ideals down our throats with a character who represents the superficial absolution of a charlatan. "God Bless America" juggles sincerity, evangelicalism, complaints against the decontextualization of facts while simultaneously being a paragon of "x (taken out of context) needs to die," and other qualities that make the film a hypocritical piece of trash.

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