Review of An American Carol (2008) by John T — 07 Mar 2014

David Zucker (director of Airplane!) uses Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol as his framework in this at times amusing satire of American progressives, and more specifically film director Michael Moore. Kevin Farley ably skewers the baseball-capped filmmaker - in the film he's Michael Malone - as a Scrooge like Hollywood leftist in need of political re-education. Kelsey Grammer portrays George S. Patton - as the Ghost of Christmas past - who helps him see the patriotic light. For veritas, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly plays himself moderating a discussing between leftists Farley and Vicki who credibly portrays Rosie O'Donnell.

Poking fun of Michael Moore should be an easy task to accomplish, but, in this case, has more misses than hits when it comes to generating laughter whether it's smart or dumb comedy. The film was at its best when lampooning Hollywood elitists, leftist professors and their simple minded students. It's fun to watch Paris Hilton and Bill O'Reilly briefly play an over-the-top version of themselves onscreen. There's also an amusing, lively scene where a bunch of teachers sing and dance to a musical number while dressed like they're from the hippies of the 60s. However, it was too often dragged down by its side story: Islamic terrorists who use a gullible filmmaker as an unwitting tool to detonate a bomb at a concert for U.S. servicemen.

Some bright spots do shine through however. There are several genuinely funny, laugh-out-loud moments, one of which involves Bill O'Reilly interviewing Malone and an appropriately annoying Rosie O'Donnell (Rosie O'Connell played pitch perfect by Vicki Browne). Yet another pokes fun at the ACLU in an over-the-top courtroom scene. And last but not least, Trace Adkins, as the Angel of Death, takes Malone on a tour of the future Hollywood, now called Bin Laden City since America lost the war on terror.

The film boasts a nice cast that would have been better served if they used their talents elsewhere. Kevin Farley comes across strong in his portrayal of the perpetually unkempt (and unwashed?) Moore. He brings a lot of the attributes his brother Chris possessed that made him so popular with his fans. Kelsey Grammer comes across as pompous and ramrod straight as we might imagine Patton to have been in real life and Jon Voight lends an air of dignity to the show in his portrayal of George Washington. Robert Davi, on the other hand, looks like he'd rather be somewhere else. The very talented, though underappreciated Grier is wasted in an embarrassing slavery sequence. And Leslie Nielsen seemed completely out of place playing a grandfather despite this sort of slapstick material being his forte.

The humor in An American Carol is in the broad, slapstick tradition of Airplane!, but doesn't live up to that hysterically funny movie. It's a pedestrian effort at best, the comedic hi-jinks more contrived than funny. An American Carol just tries too hard.