Review of God Bless America (2012) by Cael M — 28 Jun 2013

God Bless America is a brilliant, if too preachy and uneven, satire of everything that's wrong with America's awful culture. This movie is about a man named Frank who feels like he has nothing to live for, and is fed up with America's culture regarding celebrities in the media, politics, etc., as well as all the arrogant people that lack common sense, and decides to go on a killing spree. Later, however, he meets a high-school girl named Roxy who has similar motives, and they pair up and go on a "Bonnie and Clyde" massacre on the people that they believe deserve to die. What really stuck me while watching this is how much I could relate to the main character named Frank's reaction to our modern culture. This is thought-provoking stuff, even if it's a far too exaggerated depiction of what the media and our society is today. The situations that the characters view that motivate them to go on a killing spree on all the people they hate were unrealistic, but whenever their intolerant, stupid victims did die, I oddly felt very satisfied.

That's most likely because this is a dark comedy that is unusually entertaining, with moments of brilliance and hilarity by some of the dialogue between Frank and Roxy, and the situations they're in. I had lots of fun with this movie, and was brutal in a satisfying way. I loved the characters' motives, even if the situations depicted that led them to it were somewhat unrealistic. Of course, many people who watch this film that are related to the people that the main characters hate will most likely be offended. It's also a little too preachy, and loses its steam a little towards the middle. However, Frank and Roxy are acted very well, so it helped keep the story interesting, especially by a cast that I've never really heard of before. I hope to see Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr in future movies, mainly because they were smart enough to play unique roles, rather than generic, stereotypical roles.

I wish more movies were like this- showing the flaws of our society, although I did find that the movie was a little hypocritical at times when it came to killing people that "aren't nice". Even if I did feel like this movie did not live up to its full potential, I still think that this is a powerful, brave, and entertaining work that is completely honest with its intentions, and although is far too exaggerated to be an accurate depiction of our society, should be more recognized for the amount of bravery put in this dark comedy. It sums up everything that disgusts me about what humanity has turned into- intolerant, arrogant people who mindlessly follow our irrational culture and contribute to our dying society, and I'm glad that I'm not the only person that feels this way.