Gores Truly is femme-driven but certainly not man-hating. Occasionally, we want to give our readers a chance to contribute to the horror-fest that we all adore – including those wielding the Y-Chromosome. The following article has been Murder-Her approved. Watch out! It’s an Invasion of the Y-Chromosome!
We all love violent movies. The louder and bloodier the better. You – you don’t love violence? My bad. Here – check out Kitten War. Now go away.
A good, violent movie is a catharsis for the soul. Had a bad day at work? Someone cut you off in traffic? Pop in Rambo (2008) and pretend the Burmese military is your annoying boss or an internet troll.
Ahhh. Feel better? Not quite? Wanna feel a lot better? Then you need to watch God Bless America.
God Bless America is the story of middle-aged Frank (Joel Murray), a nobody that’s fed up with society. He’s lost his job. His spoiled daughter would rather stay with his ex-wife than visit him. He has migraines and insomnia that stem from terminal brain cancer. And his tv overwhelms him with the worst our civilization has to offer: angry political correspondents, whiny reality stars, teenagers leaping off of dumpsters, and religious zealots to name a few.
With nothing to lose, Frank puts his gun to his mouth when his tv showcases its latest reality star: Chloe. Chloe is your typical teenager with an over inflated sense of entitlement. Her parents buy her a new car but it’s not to Princess’ liking so she wails and moans like a drunken banshee (EDITOR’S NOTE: Banshee’s do not drink. If they could drink they wouldn’t be so pissed off).
Chloe’s tantrum is the straw that breaks Frank’s metaphoric back. He kills Chloe in broad daylight, witnessed by teenage Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr). Roxy is fed up with her generation’s antics and sees in Frank a chance to clean up the world. They team up and take down one asshole after another and work their way to the live taping of the American Superstarz show.
She’s no dead eye but she gets a +1 for the shades.
We live in a society where killing sprees are becoming more common. It’s a risky move to release such a film when there are shootings in movie theatres, schools, and the Empire State Building. Fortunately, God Bless America shuns the brutality and focuses on its message. The gore is minimal and most of the gun wounds look like paintball splatter. The only horror is looking at America without the rose-colored glasses.
From watching the trailer, I anticipated a black comedy full of violence and one-liners. Instead I was treated to a dark drama with an endearing character. Frank doesn’t snap out of anger or because of a political agenda. He just wants people to be nice. He longs for days gone by when people don’t talk in a movie theatre.
Roxy is energetic (and never shuts up) and provides a great contrast to downbeat Frank. Their relationship is not patriarchal or romantic, but friendly. Frank respects her but still sees her as a kid so he avoids mature discussions. Roxy wants to kill anyone she doesn’t like, but Frank reels her in.
My only criticism is the lack of subplots. You have the killing spree and the relationship between Frank and Roxy. That’s it. At one point Frank parks down the street from his ex-wife’s house and watches his daughter leave for school – but nothing happens. Just a character moment. I was hoping he’d kidnap the snotty brat and give her some life lessons. Teach her something about the world. A last shot of redemption for a man on a dead-end road.
Despite this shortcoming, this movie connected with me. Frank wasn’t shooting a Burmese militant that I projected my boss onto. Frank was shooting someone I could RELATE to. We’ve all dealt with assholes in many shapes and sizes: internet trolls, spoiled kids, people that think the world owes them something, political pundits, bible thumpers, gossipy co-workers, people that can’t drive, etc. Seeing Frank and Roxy shoot these people feels SO GOOD!
I hope God Bless America elevates to cult status. It needs to be watched by as many people as possible. Maybe one of them will be a future asshole that will try being nicer to people. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one that’s tired of the “ME!” generation.
Why have a civilization if we’re no longer interested in being civilized?
God Bless America is available on Blu-Ray and Netflix Streaming.
About the Author:
Billz hopes to one day prove that aliens are misunderstood creatures that really just want a hug – and to disembowel you. When he’s not running from Purple People Eaters, he’s likely watching monster flicks, or dreaming of one day filming his own.
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