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Movie Review: An American Carol
‘American Carol’ quite forgettable
By Michael Farrar
Special to 2theadvocate.com
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PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
out of 4 stars.
With the U.S. presidential election closing in and Christmas just a handful of weeks away, "An American Carol" is taking aim at both the holiday spirit and the media’s spin on politics. Spoofing the classic "A Christmas Carol" storyline is director David Zucker, a director with a slapstick legacy stretching back to the original "Airplane!" movie.
Kevin Farley stars as Michael Malone, an obnoxious and self-centered documentary filmmaker who creates controversial movies like his latest, "Die You American Pigs." The character is a lampoon of real-life filmmaker Michael Moore, who directed "Fahrenheit 911" and "Sicko."
Malone has a shameless campaign to abolish the Fourth of July as a way to spew his half-baked thoughts on what's wrong with America. He's also itching to direct a feature film of his script, but no one takes him seriously, because Malone makes documentaries.
Terrorists eventually trick Malone into thinking they will fund his feature film. However, it is really an insidious plot to blow up an arena of country music concert-goers.
Just like Scrooge, Malone is selfish and he gets visits from spirits who will show him the error of his ways.
The spirits include President John F. Kennedy (Chriss Anglin), Gen. George S. Patton (Kelsey Grammer) and George Washington (Jon Voight). Each historic figure lectures Malone in order to persuade him to change.
Lectures may be acceptable is school, but on film they are boring. Even the slapstick humor was uninteresting. It's hard to believe that the same guy who directed the spoof classic "Airplane!" had anything to do with this film.
"An American Carol" recycles the same jokes over and over again. For example, Malone gets slapped every five minutes and enjoys stuffing his face with food, both of which quickly become stale comedy leftovers.
The worst thing about this film was the feeling I got when George Washington seriously addresses the terrorist attack of Sept. 11. It just felt wrong to have that kind of scene in the middle of a goofy comedy.
So, what's good about "An American Carol?"
Well, Grammer decently balances his performance as Patton, believe it or not, between funny and firm. The best, however, is Voight who really grabbed me as the ghost of George Washington. Unfortunately, it was also his performance that effectively killed the comedic tone of the film.
Overall, this movie seems sloppily slapped together by amateurs and reminds me of something from YouTube.
The slogan for the film is "Laugh like your country depends on it." Regrettably, "An American Carol" delivers very few laughs and ends up as a very forgettable movie.
