An American Carol
Why is it that parody movies fail so badly at hitting their mark? It's easy to see when hacks like Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans) are behind the camera, since they don't really have a point to begin with, other than to skewer anything and everything that's in pop culture. But An American Carol surprised me, because it comes from the mind of David Zucker, the unofficial father of the modern parody movie thanks to films like Airplane and The Naked Gun. His latest movie misses the point so badly, it's almost embarrassing to watch it unfold upon the screen.
The film is a not-so thinly veiled political statement disguised as a goofy comedy, where liberals, anti-war activists, and infamous documentary filmmaker, Michael Moore, supposedly get their due. As the title suggests, it is a patriotic reworking of the famed Charles Dickens Christmas tale. This time, the Scrooge of the story is the Michael Moore character, called Michael Malone here. He's played by Kevin Farley, brother of late comic actor Chris. Michael Malone hates America, and he especially hates the 4th of July. That's why he's leading a cause to abolish the holiday, while also leading protest rallies against the war. His latest documentary film, "Die You American Pig", has flopped, and his agent (James Woods) informs him that only feature films are making money these days. Michael has an idea for his first non-documentary film, a drama called "Fascist America", but he can't get any studios interested in the title. That's when he's approached by some radical Islamist terrorists, who agree to pony up the money for his dream project, if he will shoot a new terrorist training video for them, and help them with their plan to blow up Madison Square Garden during a 4th of July concert being held by country star, Trace Adkins (himself).
Enter the ghosts, who try to turn Michael's view of America around before it's too late. He's first visited by the ghost of John F. Kennedy (Chriss Anglin), who serves as the "Jacob Marley" of the story, informing Michael that he'll be visited by three spirits. The first is the spirit of General George Patton (Kelsey Grammer), who shows him what the world would be like if the US never fought and won their wars in the past. Therefore, we get to see slavery alive well in the present day (in this alternate present, Michael Malone lives on a plantation with Gary Coleman tending his fields), since America never fought the Civil War. Next, George Washington (Jon Voight) gives him a sobering tour of Ground Zero, and a lecture about September 11th. (Remember, this is supposed to be a comedy.) Finally, the "Angel of Death" (Trace Adkins again) shows him an alternate future Hollywood ruled by Bin Laden, due to Malone aiding the terrorists and protesting the war.
An American Carol starts off by taking a deceptively light tone. The film opens with a patriotic picnic, where a goofy grandpa (Zucker regular, Leslie Nielsen) tells the kids gathered at his table the story of Michael Malone. Even the early moments where we see the problems the Islamist radicals have recruiting new suicide bombers has a sharp wit, and actually made me chuckle. From there, the movie takes an overly heavy-handed tone, and slaps its message across the face of its viewers pretty much every chance it gets. From ACLU lawyers, who are depicted in this movie as mindless zombies, to narrow-minded college professors who give a rousing musical number to their students forcing them to think exactly like they do, the movie hits its topics broad and head-on. And yet, I kept on wondering why it didn't try to go even deeper. It makes its point, then doesn't bother to do anything beyond that. It often feels like we're getting only half the punchline.
Even its potshots at Michael Moore with its Michael Malone character seem strangely undeveloped, due to the fact that the movie never properly ridicules him. It simply turns him into a half-wit doofus who is led through the plot, until he is forced to see the light. Why couldn't the movie actually make fun of the guy? Why not take some hits over how overly edited his films can be in order for the clips to fit his personal views? Why not have some fun with some of his more famous clashes with journalists and conservative-minded talk show hosts? TV personality Bill O'Reilly, someone who has feuded with Moore many times in the past, makes a cameo in the film, but it comes across as a wasted opportunity, because the movie never quite draws its claws into the material. It's content to state the obvious, and then move on. And yet, the film seems to think its daring simply for doing what its doing, and continues to bash us over the head repeatedly with its own message. It gives the comedy an annoying aspect of superiority, as if it's talking down to us.
What annoyed me the most about An American Carol is how the movie eventually stops trying to hide its intentions, and pretty much turns into an all-out propaganda film for its political intentions. It's like an angry right wing rant in the guise of a goofy and lighthearted comedy. The two halves don't work, and makes the viewer feel very uncomfortable, unless you are 100% in the boat with the filmmakers. In the world of satire, there has to be some equal opportunity skewering. With it's one-sided view, the movie is not so much a parody, rather it is a soap box for Zucker and his co-writers to scream at us, while throwing the occasional pie in the face. As the movie went on, and its tone turned more heavy-handed, I found myself more annoyed than amused. And I think the same will go for just about anyone, regardless of their political association.
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