Dr. Hfuhruhurr Reviews ‘An American Carol’
Posted by Dirty Harry on Friday, September 5th, 2008
Over at AICN, Dr. Hfuhruhurr not only understands and appreciates how important and brilliantly subversive An American Carol is, he takes the fight to the other side:
While watching this film, I couldn’t help but thinking, that this may be one of the most subversive things I have ever seen made by a mainstream filmmaker. I couldn’t help but think of the Marx Brothers’ anarchic DUCK SOUP. The Zuckers we’re always getting compared to the Marx Brothers at the time of their early spoofs, but David has taken it a step further here and gone full-Groucho. There is more subversion and anarchy per minute in this film than I have seen in years. We’re living in a bizzaro world here in Hollywood when conservative = the new subversive. The Left is the status quo establishment and we’re Marlon Brando riding into town on a motorcycle, scaring all the old folks!
Best of all — and this is what I meant when I wrote the other day that Ed Morrisey had missed key aspects of the film – the good Dr. Hfuhruhurr talks about the most important and impressive part of An American Carol — it’s big, beating heart:
Malone is then handed off to the second Ghost, the Ghost of George Washington played by Jon Voight (so good here and played so straight that it makes you want to see a JOHN ADAMS style mini-series about Father George with Voight in the lead). This is the already infamous scene that many people (you know who you are) said, “What the hell is Zucker doing!? Has he lost his fucking mind!?” My answer is: no he hasn’t, he’s found his soul. The scene: George Washington takes Malone to Ground Zero just after the 9/11 attacks. It’s not a comedic scene. There is no gag here, no Zucker humor, not even any satire, and no blame game. It’s a scene that resonates and lets you know that behind all the slapstick and tomfoolery and spoof gags, Zucker is making a serious movie and he has some serious things to say about the world we live in. You don’t have to agree with its premise, but give the man props for leading with his soul and not with his wallet or his agent or career. In this moment you can see that Zucker has, I believe, made a very personal film about his own conversion (in the press he says he was a die hard Democrat who had a 9/11 conversion). It is not Michael Malone looking at Ground Zero here, it is David Zucker. It’s probably the only personal moment in Zucker’s entire canon and maybe even in this entire genre. Some may argue that a serious moment like this doesn’t belong in a wacky comedy. I would argue that this is what makes the movie special. Zucker is taking chances here that you can’t take in studio-financed films. Seriously, would you rather see him do SCARY MOVIE V for which no one would ever think he’d lost his mind (though they probably should in that case) or try something new, bold and dangerous? Again: see “balls.”
In every respect, this is an excellent review. You’ll want to read the whole thing.
Excellent work, Doc!
Filed in Movie Reviews |
Rufus T. Fireflyon 05 Sep 2008 at 8:02 am 1What is this “Duck Soup” movie he spkeaks of? I must make a point to see it…
billypaintbrushon 05 Sep 2008 at 8:13 am 2It’s satire in the South Park, Mark Twain, and Jonathon Swift sense of the word. Take no prisoners and damn the other side!
Full Groucho? and Oh, yeah, pee-nuts… to you!
Father Caligarion 05 Sep 2008 at 8:17 am 3Well, who could resist a film that’s “got a big ol’ dangling pair of apricots.”
Interesting that Moriarty had to admonish his talkbackers to at least try to have a civil conversation. Reading through the comments, he was ignored.
JDespiritoon 05 Sep 2008 at 8:35 am 4I’m shocked AICN let that one through but I’m glad to see it.
Bobon 05 Sep 2008 at 8:39 am 5Watch out Zucker. Lefties hate to be reminded of 9/11. It’s not fair to make them see it again. Not fair. Not fair! Not fair! Not fair!
Mighty Skipon 05 Sep 2008 at 8:59 am 6“If you don’t like the quality of the film then by all means, have at it. But if you want to suppress it or condemn it for simply existing or you want to personally attack Zucker for even daring to make it, then on behalf of JFK, Martin Luther King, Jr., Groucho Marx, and, yes, even Michael Moore, I say, ‘Go fuck yourself!’ You’re not a true Liberal. Just another whiny bitch who can’t stand for someone who has an opinion that differs from your own. Which, after all, is what a lot of you are constantly accusing my side of doing. Now that is comedy.”
Money.
Stephanieon 05 Sep 2008 at 9:24 am 7Took all the footage off my TV
Said its too disturbing for you n me
Said it’d just breed anger thats what the
experts say
If it was up to me I’d show it every day!
Some say this country is just lookin for a fight
AFTER 9-11 MAN I’D HAVE TO SAYS THATS RIGHT!
Darryl Worely is smarter than Keith Olberman…….
Stickwick Staperson 05 Sep 2008 at 9:47 am 8Some may argue that a serious moment like this doesn’t belong in a wacky comedy. I would argue that this is what makes the movie special.
One of my all-time favorite movies, Groundhog Day, is hilariously funny, but has two serious moments that never fail to choke me up. Those moments bespeak the soul of the movie, and without them Groundhog Day would just be a nice, but not terribly memorable, comedy.
Katoon 05 Sep 2008 at 12:23 pm 9AICN contributor “Moriarty” appears to be at least somewhat conservative himself. You can sense it underlying his reviews of more controversial films. Or maybe he’s just a member of that most endangered species on the planet: no, not polar bears — open-minded liberals.
Btw, I’ve seen the movie, and every conservative under 40 is going to loooooove it. Those over 40 may not be down with the almost South Park tone at times.
Ginaon 05 Sep 2008 at 2:29 pm 10Color me shocked that this came from AICN. I no longer go over there and wade through the filth that is their comment section, but I can guess what it looks like right now.
But anyway, this is cool. I always think it bodes well for a film when the last person you’d expect to like it, likes it.
Matt Helmon 05 Sep 2008 at 5:11 pm 11DH,
What, no hat tip to poor old Matt Helm. That’s okay … sniff … sniff … I’ll be alright.
MovieBobon 05 Sep 2008 at 10:28 pm 12“This is the already infamous scene that many people (you know who you are) said, “What the hell is Zucker doing!? Has he lost his fucking mind!?” My answer is: no he hasn’t, he’s found his soul. The scene: George Washington takes Malone to Ground Zero just after the 9/11 attacks. It’s not a comedic scene. There is no gag here, no Zucker humor, not even any satire, and no blame game. It’s a scene that resonates and lets you know that behind all the slapstick and tomfoolery and spoof gags, Zucker is making a serious movie and he has some serious things to say about the world we live in.”
Damn it.
This is EXACTLY what I was worried about. The whole point of doing political satire is that you can make serious, cutting points WITHOUT having to be heavy-handed and treacly. This is WHY South Park (and Team America, for that matter) works so well: Parker and Stone carpet bomb the entire scope of every issue they take on, and even when they stop to make a talk-to-the-camera point they couch it (via cheesy After School Special music and acting) in “oh, gimme a break” mockery.
There’s only two ways to get the Fussy Baby known to most as the average American filmgoer to take his medicine: You either stir it into the ice-cream so he can barely even tell it’s there or you shove the spoonful in and tell him to stop whining. What NEVER works is to give him ice cream, then take it away and replace it with straight-up medicine. To pull that off and not have the resulting film be an unmitigated disaster would require filmmaking skill which, frankly, it would be unreasonable to expect from the director of “My Boss’s Daughter.”
pandaxon 06 Sep 2008 at 4:31 am 13Bob,
I thought the average American was an idiot in your view. Which means they should love this very obvious ham handed sentimental moment. You can’t have it both ways, one minute blasting us as idiots with no taste who made Transformers a hit and then saying we won’t fall for this scene because it happens to be convenient for your argument.