For many years Hollywood has churned out film after film depicting what they think is wrong with America. Most of Hollywood's film community is liberal to the core and makes no bones about espousing their point of view in the guise of entertainment.
And at the heart of it all is the liberal stance that all Americans should be ashamed of our country and that whatever woes have befallen us since 9/11 are in fact our fault. A negative view that has been reflected by filmmaker Michael Moore in his so called documentaries that have successfully added fuel to the fire fanned by the anti American groups that have proliferated like poisonous mushrooms around the U.S. Especially in the entertainment industry where liberal/leftist political beliefs have permeated both films and television shows.
With AN AMERICAN CAROL, however, producer/director David Zuker brings to theatres a comedy that not only reaffirms this countries belief in the values of America but also isn't ashamed to proclaim it's patriotism. Something many films released by Hollywood as of late haven't even attempted to do(or even wanted to for that matter) because in the minds of the anti-American liberal left,patriotism and expressing love of our country is a definite no-no.
In a takeoff of Charles Dickens " A Christmas Carol", the film concerns a documentary filmmaker named Michael Malone who after announcing that he'll be holding a rally to abolish the Fourth of July, is visited by the ghost of John F. Kennedy who emerges from his television. After admonishing Malone for only remembering a couple of sentences from his famous "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country "speech, J.F.K tells him he will be visited by three spirits. He then calls Malone a "douche bag" and returns to the TV set.
From that point on, AN AMERICAN CAROL is the kind of hilarious comedy you would expect from David Zuker who first burst onto the screen with the 1980 laugh riot AIRPLANE. But there is also a message to go along with the plentiful sight gags: All of us should proud to be Americans because we live in the best country in the world.
Kevin Farley(brother of the late comedian Chris Farley) uncannily resembles Michael Moore and more than amply shows that the comedy gene runs through the Farley family. One of the funniest scenes in the movie shows Malone accepting an award for his latest documentary called DIE YOU AMERICAN PIGS. After being hurried off the stage during his acceptance speech, he sees another filmmaker(played by Kevin Sorbo) receiving a much larger award than his. He then looks down at his award and notices a a key chain attached to it.
There is also historical truth in this film as well. In a scene where Patton takes Malone to Germany where Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain attempts to reason with Hitler, Mussolini and Tojo,after Malone has said to Patton that all you have to do is talk to your enemies to achieve peace. They look as Chamberlain is seen shinning Hitlers shoes. Although exaggerated for comic effect, history does document that Chamberlain actually did meet with Hitler, but not Mussolini and Tojo, and that Hitler went back on his word. Hitler even made a speech to the German people in which he ridiculed Chamberlain for his efforts. This of course mirrors, the Move On.Org mantra which says we should sit down and talk with the al-Queda terrorists and then everything would be peachy keen.
To list all of the film funny moments would take far too long, but the cast which includes Kelsey Grammer(as General George S. Patton), Robert Davi(playing a terrorist named Aziz)and Leslie Nielsen( as the story teller) is uniformly excellent. There is even an appearance by journalist Bill O'Reilly who has a funny moment when Malone ,who while in a portapotty at the Ban The Fourth of July Rally,is visited by the spirits of John Kennedy, General Patton and O'Reilly. As the three of them start slapping him, Malone says to O'Reilly ,"Hey, you're not a spirit." To which O'Reilly replies, "I know. I just enjoy slapping you."
There are those in the industry who are of the opinion think that this unabashedly pro American movie could prove damaging to the careers of those involved with AN AMERICAN CAROL. I sincerely hope this is not the case. No one should be black listed for expressing an opposite point of view. That is not what America is or should be about.
In an era of movies made with an anti-America/America is wrong slant to them, AN AMERICAN CAROL is a refreshing return to the positive,patriotic type of film movie goers have been denied for too long. David Zucker and all of the people involved deserve kudos for making such a radical statement.
