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{{Short description|2011 film by Bobcat Goldthwait}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
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| caption = Promotional poster
| caption = Promotional poster
| director = [[Bobcat Goldthwait]]
| director = [[Bobcat Goldthwait]]
| producer = [[Sean McKittrick]]<br>Jeff Culotta
| producer = [[Sean McKittrick]] <br />Jeff Culotta
| writer = Bobcat Goldthwait
| writer = Bobcat Goldthwait
| starring = {{Plain list |
| starring = {{Plain list|
* [[Joel Murray]]
* [[Joel Murray]]
* [[Tara Lynne Barr]]
* [[Tara Lynne Barr]]
* [[Mackenzie Brooke Smith]]
* [[Melinda Page Hamilton]]
}}
}}
| music = Matt Kollar
| music = Matt Kollar
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| distributor = [[Magnolia Pictures]]
| distributor = [[Magnolia Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|2011|09|09|[[2011 Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]|2012|04|06|United States}}
| released = {{Film date|2011|09|09|[[2011 Toronto International Film Festival|TIFF]]|2012|04|06|United States}}
| runtime = 104 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 104:34--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/god-bless-america-film | title=''GOD BLESS AMERICA'' (15) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=May 8, 2012 | accessdate=May 3, 2015}}</ref>
| runtime = 105 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 104:34--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/god-bless-america-film | title=''GOD BLESS AMERICA'' (15) | work=[[British Board of Film Classification]] | date=May 8, 2012 | access-date=May 3, 2015}}</ref>
| country = United States
| country = United States
| language = English
| language = English
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| gross = $123,000<ref>{{cite web | url = https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=godblessamerica.htm | title = God Bless America | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] }}</ref>
| gross = $123,000<ref>{{cite web | url = https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=godblessamerica.htm | title = God Bless America | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] }}</ref>
}}
}}
'''''God Bless America''''' is a 2011 American [[Action film|action]] [[black comedy]] film written and directed by [[Bobcat Goldthwait]]. Combining elements of [[political satire]] with dark humor, the film stars [[Joel Murray]] and [[Tara Lynne Barr]] as a middle-aged man and a teenage girl who go on a killing spree after bonding over their hatred of what [[Culture of the United States|U.S. culture]] has become in a [[post-9/11|post-9/11 world]].
'''''God Bless America''''' is a 2011 American [[Action film|action]] [[black comedy]] film written and directed by [[Bobcat Goldthwait]]. Combining elements of [[political satire]] with dark humor, the film stars [[Joel Murray]] and [[Tara Lynne Barr]] as a middle-aged man and a teenage girl who go on a killing spree after bonding over their disgust of what [[Culture of the United States|American culture]] has become in a [[post-9/11|post-9/11 world]].


==Plot==
==Plot==
Frank Murdoch is a middle-aged insurance salesman who is sick of how the U.S. has fallen into a state of depravity based on pop culture, TV, the Internet, and [[talk radio]]. He fantasizes about killing his neighbors, whose screaming baby worsens his migraines and keeps him awake. The next morning, the neighbor blocks in his car with theirs, and he is frustrated when they act like he is imposing by asking them to move it. Meanwhile, Frank's ex-wife Alison has custody of their daughter Ava, who has become a spoiled brat. When Frank obtains a co-worker's address without permission to send her roses after she tells him she is feeling down, he is fired. He is later told by his uninterested doctor that he has a terminal [[brain tumor]].
Frank Murdoch is a middle-aged insurance salesman who is sick of how America has fallen into a state of depravity based on pop culture, TV, the Internet, and [[talk radio]]. He fantasizes about killing his neighbors, whose screaming baby worsens his migraines and keeps him awake all night. The next morning, the neighbor blocks his old car with their [[sports car]], and he is frustrated when they act like he is imposing by asking them to move it. Meanwhile, Frank's ex-wife Alison has custody of their daughter Ava, who has become a spoiled brat. When Frank obtains a co-worker's address without permission to send her roses after she tells him she is feeling down, he is fired. He is later told by his uninterested doctor that he has a terminal [[brain tumor]].


That evening, Frank's attention is caught by ''American Superstarz'',{{efn|A thinly-veiled copy of ''[[American Idol]]''.}} which features an intellectually disabled man named Steven Clark who is mocked by the judges. Frank prepares to shoot himself but stops when he sees a reality show about Chloe, an extremely spoiled teenager, which gives him an epiphany. He steals his neighbor's car and drives to Chloe's school, and after unsuccessfully attempting to blow her up in her car, he shoots her through the window. Fellow student Roxanne "Roxy" Harmon witnesses this and applauds Frank, despite initially chastising him because she thought he was a pervert spying on Chloe. Roxy follows Frank back to his motel, where he is once again preparing to shoot himself, and he agrees to let her watch him do so; instead, she decides to talk him out of it. Frank explains that he only wants bad people to die, and Roxy suggests they kill Chloe's parents, who only mourn the financial loss their daughter's death has brought them.
That evening, Frank watches television and his attention is caught by ''American Superstarz'', a talent show featuring an intellectually disabled man named Steven Clark who is mocked by the judges for his attempts at singing. Frank prepares to shoot himself but stops when he sees a reality show about Chloe, an extremely spoiled teenager, which gives him an epiphany. He steals his neighbor's car and drives to Chloe's school; after unsuccessfully attempting to blow her up in her car, he simply shoots her through the window. Fellow student Roxanne "Roxy" Harmon witnesses this and applauds Frank, despite initially chastising him because she thought he was a pervert spying on Chloe. Roxy follows Frank back to his motel, where he is once again preparing to shoot himself, and he agrees to let her watch him do so; instead, she decides to talk him out of it. Frank explains that he only wants bad people to die, and Roxy suggests they kill Chloe's parents, who only mourn the financial loss their daughter's death has brought them.


The two travel to Chloe's home, where Frank shoots Chloe's father and Roxy stabs Chloe's mother. Roxy convinces Frank to let her join his killing spree by revealing that she is [[trailer trash]] who is at the mercy of a drug-addicted mother and rapist step-father. They visit a cinema to watch a documentary about the [[My Lai Massacre|Mỹ Lai Massacre]], and several teenagers begin acting obnoxiously. Frank and Roxy shoot all of them except for the one who did not do anything disruptive, and Frank thanks her for it before killing a man who is recording him on a smartphone. The spree continues with several other people killed, including a rude man who double-parks his car, a group of [[far-right]] religious protesters,{{efn|Heavily resembling the [[Westboro Baptist Church]].}} and a popular right-wing political commentator.{{efn|Heavily resembling [[Tucker Carlson]].}} Roxy suggests to Frank that they move to [[France]] and "go legit", with a plan to raise goats and make cheese while avoiding prosecution for the murders they have committed as France would not extradite them.
The two travel to Chloe's home, where Frank shoots Chloe's father and Roxy stabs Chloe's mother. Roxy convinces Frank to let her join his killing spree by revealing that she is [[trailer trash]] who is at the mercy of a drug-addicted mother and rapist step-father. They watch a documentary about the [[My Lai Massacre|Mỹ Lai Massacre]] in a cinema, where several teenagers begin acting obnoxiously. Frank and Roxy shoot all of them except for the one who did not do anything disruptive, and Frank thanks her for it after killing a man who is recording his actions on a cell phone. Frank and Roxy kill several more people such as a rude man who double-parks his car, a group of [[far-right]] religious protesters, and a popular right-wing political commentator. Frank spares the life of his ex-wife's new fiancé, telling Roxy that death would be an easier fate than leaving the man alive to suffer with Frank's ex-wife and selfish daughter. Roxy suggests to Frank that they move to [[France]] and "go legit" with a plan to raise goats and make cheese, while avoiding prosecution for the murders they have committed as France would not extradite them.


Frank's doctor calls him and reveals that he has no tumor, as his [[MRI]] results were mixed up with that of a similarly-named patient who does. While eating breakfast at a motel with Roxy, Frank's new lease on life is ruined when a pedophile at the next table assumes that Roxy is an underage prostitute and Frank is her pimp. Later, Frank sees a TV news [[missing person]] report in which Roxy's parents are revealed to be wholesome, middle-class, and concerned about her safety. Incensed at being lied to by Roxy, Frank takes out his anger on the pedophile by strangling him to death. Frank tells Roxy that he knows the truth, and she confesses but explains that she wanted to get away from a life of bland conformity. Frank gives her the keys to his neighbor's car and leaves in the pedophile's pickup truck.
Frank's doctor calls him and reveals that he has no tumor, as his [[MRI]] results were mixed up with that of a similarly named patient who does. While eating breakfast at a motel with Roxy, Frank's new lease on life is ruined when a man at the next table assumes that Roxy is a underage prostitute and that Frank is her pimp. Later, Frank sees a [[missing person]] report on the news in which Roxy's parents are revealed to be wholesome, middle-class, and concerned about her safety. Enraged at Roxy for lying to him, Frank takes out his anger on the man who wanted to hire Roxy for sex by strangling him to death. Frank tells Roxy that he knows the truth, and she confesses but explains that she wanted to get away from a life of bland conformity. Frank gives her the keys to his neighbor's car and leaves in the pickup truck of the man he just killed.


Frank buys a [[Mak-90|Norinco MAK-90 assault rifle]] from an arms dealer and sees another TV news report, revealing that Roxy is back home with her parents and that police are searching for her apparent abductor. He gains access to the ''American Superstarz'' studio, kills several audience members and a judge, and holds everybody else in the studio hostage. As the police arrive, Roxy joins Frank onstage and apologizes for lying to him. Frank gives a speech in front of the TV camera about the negative behavior promoted in today's American society and mentions that he heard about the suicide attempt by Steven, the disabled man who is now in the studio as a special guest performer; Steven points out that he attempted suicide not because they mocked him, but because they had no plans to put him back on TV. Disappointed, Frank turns to Roxy and tells her she is a pretty girl{{emdash}}a question he had refused to answer earlier in the film due to her young age{{emdash}}and they proceed to shoot Steven, the judges, and audience members before being gunned down by the police.
Frank buys an assault rifle from an arms dealer and sees another TV news report, revealing that Roxy is back home with her parents and that police are searching for her apparent abductor. He gains access to the ''American Superstarz'' studio, kills several audience members and a judge, and holds everybody else in the studio hostage. As the police arrive, Roxy joins Frank onstage and apologizes for lying to him. Frank gives a speech in front of the TV camera about the negative behavior promoted in today's American society and mentions that he heard about the suicide attempt by Steven, the disabled singing man who is now in the studio as a special guest performer; Steven reveals that he did not attempt suicide because they mocked him, but rather because they had no plans to put him back on TV. Frank turns to Roxy and tells her that she is pretty{{emdash}}a question he had refused to answer earlier due to her young age{{emdash}}and the two shoot Steven, the judges, and various audience members before being gunned down by the police.


==Cast==
==Cast==
⚫
[[File:God Bless America Deauville 2012.jpg|thumb|[[Joel Murray]], [[Tara Lynne Barr]], and [[Bobcat Goldthwait]] promoting the film at the 2012 [[Deauville American Film Festival]]]]
{{cast list|
{{cast list|
* [[Joel Murray]] as Frank Murdoch
* [[Joel Murray]] as Frank Murdoch
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* [[Geoff Pierson]] as Frank's boss
* [[Geoff Pierson]] as Frank's boss
* [[Larry Miller (entertainer)|Larry Miller]] as Chloe's father
* [[Larry Miller (entertainer)|Larry Miller]] as Chloe's father
* Dorie Barton as Chloe's mother
* [[Dorie Barton]] as Chloe's mother
* [[David Mendenhall]] as Mr. Harmon
* [[David Mendenhall]] as Mr. Harmon
* Andrea Harper as Mrs. Harmon
* Andrea Harper as Mrs. Harmon
* [[Travis Wester]] as Ed
* [[Travis Wester]] as Ed
* Mike Tristano as Mike the Arms Dealer
* Mike Tristano as Mike
* [[Sandra Vergara]] as Mercedes Paar
* [[Sandra Vergara]] as Mercedes Paar
* [[Toby Huss]] as Theater patron with cell phone
* [[Toby Huss]] as theater patron with cell phone
* [[Mo Gaffney]] as Lounge singer
* [[Mo Gaffney]] as lounge singer
* [[Kirk Bovill]] as Police captain
* [[Kirk Bovill]] as police captain
* Romeo Brown as John Tyler
* Romeo Brown as John Tyler
* [[Bryce Johnson]] as Co-worker
* [[Bryce Johnson]] as co-worker
}}
}}


==Festivals==
==Festivals==
''God Bless America'' was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, [[South By Southwest]] Film Festival,<ref name="SX Schedule">{{cite web|url=http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_FS12386|title=SX Schedule God Bless America|work=SXSW Schedule|publisher=[[South By Southwest]]|date=1 February 2012|accessdate=1 March 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Maryland Film Festival]] and the Brisbane International Film Festival.
''God Bless America'' was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, [[South By Southwest]] Film Festival,<ref name="SX Schedule">{{cite web|url=http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_FS12386|title=SX Schedule God Bless America|work=SXSW Schedule|publisher=[[South By Southwest]]|date=1 February 2012 |access-date=1 March 2012}}</ref> as well as the [[Maryland Film Festival]] and the Brisbane International Film Festival.


==Release==
==Release==
⚫
[[File:God Bless America Deauville 2012.jpg|thumb|[[Joel Murray]], [[Tara Lynne Barr]], and [[Bobcat Goldthwait]] promoting the film at the 2012 [[Deauville American Film Festival]]]]
''God Bless America'' [[premiere]]d on September 9, 2011 at the [[2011 Toronto International Film Festival]],<ref>https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/26264/tiff-11-god-bless-america-is-hopefully-better-than-this-cheap-poster/</ref> and was released [[video on demand]] on April 6, 2012 and in theatres on May 11, 2012.<ref>[http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/rising-stars-of-2012.html Yahoo Movies UK & Ireland Rising Stars of 2012 by Daniel Bettridge, December 23, 2011]</ref> The [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] for the film were released on July 3, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/God-Bless-America-DVD-5942.html |title=God Bless America [DVD] |author=Venable, Nick |website=Cinemablend |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/god-bless-america |title=God Bless America |website=Slant |date=July 5, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref>
''God Bless America'' [[premiere]]d on September 9, 2011, at the [[2011 Toronto International Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite web| url = https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/26264/tiff-11-god-bless-america-is-hopefully-better-than-this-cheap-poster/| title = TIFF '11: 'God Bless America' Is Hopefully Better Than This Cheap Poster - Bloody Disgusting| date = September 10, 2011}}</ref> and was released [[video on demand]] on April 6, 2012, and in theatres on May 11, 2012.<ref>[http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/rising-stars-of-2012.html Yahoo Movies UK & Ireland Rising Stars of 2012 by Daniel Bettridge, December 23, 2011]</ref> The [[DVD]] and [[Blu-ray]] for the film were released on July 3, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemablend.com/dvds/God-Bless-America-DVD-5942.html |title=God Bless America [DVD] |last=Venable |first= Nick |website=Cinemablend |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/god-bless-america |title=God Bless America |website=Slant |date=July 5, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref>


===Critical response===
===Critical response===
''God Bless America'' received generally mixed reviews. {{As of|2020|06}}, the film holds a 65% approval rating on the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 114 reviews with an [[average rating]] of 6.17/10; its consensus read: "A darkly comic polemic on modern culture, ''God Bless America'' is uneven and somewhat thin, but the ideas behind this revenge fulfillment journey have primal appeal."<ref>{{cite web |title=God Bless America (2012) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/god_bless_america_2011/ |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |accessdate=16 June 2020}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave an average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=God Bless America |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/god-bless-america |website=[[Metacritic]] |accessdate=8 September 2016}}</ref>
''God Bless America'' received generally mixed reviews. {{As of|2020|06|post=,}} the film holds a 65% approval rating on the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 114 reviews with an average rating of 6.17/10; its consensus read: "A darkly comic polemic on modern culture, ''God Bless America'' is uneven and somewhat thin, but the ideas behind this revenge fulfillment journey have primal appeal."<ref>{{cite web |title=God Bless America (2012) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/god_bless_america_2011/ |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=16 June 2020}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=God Bless America |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/god-bless-america |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref>


''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film 2 stars out 4, and wrote: "this is a film that begins with merciless comic savagery and descends into merely merciless savagery. But wow, what an opening."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/god-bless-america-2012 |author=Ebert, Roger |title=God Bless America |website=Chicago Sun-Times |date=May 9, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] of ''Reelviews'' praised the film by giving 3 stars out of 4, calling it "funny but it is also at times uncomfortable".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/god-bless-america |author=Berardinelli, James |title=God Bless America (United States, 2012) |website=Reelviews |date=May 7, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref> [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave a C, and described the film as "a burlesque that turns into a harangue that turns into a rampage."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2012/05/15/god-bless-america |author=Gleiberman, Owen |title=God Bless America |website=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 15, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref> Ella Taylor of [[NPR]] gave a positive review, and wrote: "''God Bless America'' ends with a couple of tale-twisting bullet orgies designed to take your preconceptions, as well as your nerve-endings, by surprise."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/05/10/152422896/america-a-gleefully-violent-pop-culture-pushback?ft=1&f=1045 |author=Taylor, Ella |title='America': A Gleefully Violent Pop-Culture Pushback |website=NPR |date=May 10, 2012 |accessdate=September 8, 2016}}</ref>
''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' critic [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film 2 stars out 4, and wrote: "this is a film that begins with merciless comic savagery and descends into merely merciless savagery. But wow, what an opening."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/god-bless-america-2012 |author=Ebert, Roger |title=God Bless America |website=Chicago Sun-Times |date=May 9, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref> [[James Berardinelli]] of ''Reelviews'' praised the film by giving 3 stars out of 4, calling it "funny but it is also at times uncomfortable".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/god-bless-america |author=Berardinelli, James |title=God Bless America (United States, 2012) |website=Reelviews |date=May 7, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref> [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave a C, and described the film as "a burlesque that turns into a harangue that turns into a rampage."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2012/05/15/god-bless-america |author=Gleiberman, Owen |title=God Bless America |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=May 15, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref> Ella Taylor of [[NPR]] gave a positive review, and wrote: "''God Bless America'' ends with a couple of tale-twisting bullet orgies designed to take your preconceptions, as well as your nerve-endings, by surprise."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/05/10/152422896/america-a-gleefully-violent-pop-culture-pushback?ft=1&f=1045 |author=Taylor, Ella |title='America': A Gleefully Violent Pop-Culture Pushback |website=NPR |date=May 10, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref>

Some negative reception was due to many critics noticing similarities to the film ''[[Falling Down]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/7/11/1108713/-Reveiw-The-Problem-with-God-Bless-America-2011|title=Review: The Problem with "God Bless America" (2011)|date= Jul 11, 2012|accessdate=September 20, 2016}}</ref>


===Accolades===
===Accolades===
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|-
|-
|[[34th Young Artist Awards|2013]]
|[[34th Young Artist Awards|2013]]
|[[Young Artist Award]]||[[Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film|Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress]]||[[Tara Lynne Barr]]||{{nom}}||<ref name="Young Artist Awards 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms34.html|title=34th Annual Young Artist Awards|accessdate=2013-03-31|work=YoungArtistAwards.org}}</ref>
|[[Young Artist Award]]||[[Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film|Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress]]||[[Tara Lynne Barr]]||{{nom}}||<ref name="Young Artist Awards 3">{{cite web|url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms34.html|title=34th Annual Young Artist Awards|access-date=2013-03-31|work=YoungArtistAwards.org|archive-date=April 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403013454/http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms34.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|}
|}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
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* {{mojo title|godblessamerica|God Bless America}}
* {{mojo title|godblessamerica|God Bless America}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|god_bless_america_2011|God Bless America}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|god_bless_america_2011|God Bless America}}
* {{metacritic film|god-bless-america|God Bless America}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=God Bless America}}


{{Bobcat Goldthwait}}
{{Bobcat Goldthwait}}
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[[Category:2011 films]]
[[Category:2011 films]]
[[Category:2011 black comedy films]]
[[Category:2011 black comedy films]]
[[Category:2010s crime comedy films]]
[[Category:2011 crime comedy films]]
[[Category:2011 independent films]]
[[Category:2011 independent films]]
[[Category:2010s road movies]]
[[Category:2010s road movies]]
[[Category:Films about cancer]]
[[Category:Films about cancer in the United States]]
⚫
[[Category:American films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
[[Category:American crime comedy films]]
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[[Category:American political satire films]]
[[Category:American political satire films]]
[[Category:American road movies]]
[[Category:American road movies]]
⚫
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bobcat Goldthwait]]
[[Category:Films directed by Bobcat Goldthwait]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bobcat Goldthwait]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Bobcat Goldthwait]]
[[Category:Films set in a movie theatre]]
[[Category:American action comedy films]]
⚫
[[Category:2010s English-language films]]
⚫
[[Category:2010s American films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:English-language crime comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language action comedy films]]

Latest revision as of 00:12, 15 November 2024

God Bless America
A middle aged man holding a gun in his outstretched arm and a girl leaning out of a yellow car pointing a gun.
Promotional poster
Directed byBobcat Goldthwait
Written byBobcat Goldthwait
Produced bySean McKittrick
Jeff Culotta
Starring
CinematographyBradley Stonesifer
Edited byJason Stewart
Music byMatt Kollar
Production
company
Distributed byMagnolia Pictures
Release dates
  • September 9, 2011 (2011-09-09) (TIFF)
  • April 6, 2012 (2012-04-06) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$123,000[2]

God Bless America is a 2011 American action black comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Combining elements of political satire with dark humor, the film stars Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr as a middle-aged man and a teenage girl who go on a killing spree after bonding over their disgust of what American culture has become in a post-9/11 world.

Plot

[edit]

Frank Murdoch is a middle-aged insurance salesman who is sick of how America has fallen into a state of depravity based on pop culture, TV, the Internet, and talk radio. He fantasizes about killing his neighbors, whose screaming baby worsens his migraines and keeps him awake all night. The next morning, the neighbor blocks his old car with their sports car, and he is frustrated when they act like he is imposing by asking them to move it. Meanwhile, Frank's ex-wife Alison has custody of their daughter Ava, who has become a spoiled brat. When Frank obtains a co-worker's address without permission to send her roses after she tells him she is feeling down, he is fired. He is later told by his uninterested doctor that he has a terminal brain tumor.

That evening, Frank watches television and his attention is caught by American Superstarz, a talent show featuring an intellectually disabled man named Steven Clark who is mocked by the judges for his attempts at singing. Frank prepares to shoot himself but stops when he sees a reality show about Chloe, an extremely spoiled teenager, which gives him an epiphany. He steals his neighbor's car and drives to Chloe's school; after unsuccessfully attempting to blow her up in her car, he simply shoots her through the window. Fellow student Roxanne "Roxy" Harmon witnesses this and applauds Frank, despite initially chastising him because she thought he was a pervert spying on Chloe. Roxy follows Frank back to his motel, where he is once again preparing to shoot himself, and he agrees to let her watch him do so; instead, she decides to talk him out of it. Frank explains that he only wants bad people to die, and Roxy suggests they kill Chloe's parents, who only mourn the financial loss their daughter's death has brought them.

The two travel to Chloe's home, where Frank shoots Chloe's father and Roxy stabs Chloe's mother. Roxy convinces Frank to let her join his killing spree by revealing that she is trailer trash who is at the mercy of a drug-addicted mother and rapist step-father. They watch a documentary about the Mỹ Lai Massacre in a cinema, where several teenagers begin acting obnoxiously. Frank and Roxy shoot all of them except for the one who did not do anything disruptive, and Frank thanks her for it after killing a man who is recording his actions on a cell phone. Frank and Roxy kill several more people such as a rude man who double-parks his car, a group of far-right religious protesters, and a popular right-wing political commentator. Frank spares the life of his ex-wife's new fiancé, telling Roxy that death would be an easier fate than leaving the man alive to suffer with Frank's ex-wife and selfish daughter. Roxy suggests to Frank that they move to France and "go legit" with a plan to raise goats and make cheese, while avoiding prosecution for the murders they have committed as France would not extradite them.

Frank's doctor calls him and reveals that he has no tumor, as his MRI results were mixed up with that of a similarly named patient who does. While eating breakfast at a motel with Roxy, Frank's new lease on life is ruined when a man at the next table assumes that Roxy is a underage prostitute and that Frank is her pimp. Later, Frank sees a missing person report on the news in which Roxy's parents are revealed to be wholesome, middle-class, and concerned about her safety. Enraged at Roxy for lying to him, Frank takes out his anger on the man who wanted to hire Roxy for sex by strangling him to death. Frank tells Roxy that he knows the truth, and she confesses but explains that she wanted to get away from a life of bland conformity. Frank gives her the keys to his neighbor's car and leaves in the pickup truck of the man he just killed.

Frank buys an assault rifle from an arms dealer and sees another TV news report, revealing that Roxy is back home with her parents and that police are searching for her apparent abductor. He gains access to the American Superstarz studio, kills several audience members and a judge, and holds everybody else in the studio hostage. As the police arrive, Roxy joins Frank onstage and apologizes for lying to him. Frank gives a speech in front of the TV camera about the negative behavior promoted in today's American society and mentions that he heard about the suicide attempt by Steven, the disabled singing man who is now in the studio as a special guest performer; Steven reveals that he did not attempt suicide because they mocked him, but rather because they had no plans to put him back on TV. Frank turns to Roxy and tells her that she is pretty—a question he had refused to answer earlier due to her young age—and the two shoot Steven, the judges, and various audience members before being gunned down by the police.

Cast

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Festivals

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God Bless America was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival, South By Southwest Film Festival,[3] as well as the Maryland Film Festival and the Brisbane International Film Festival.

Release

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Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, and Bobcat Goldthwait promoting the film at the 2012 Deauville American Film Festival

God Bless America premiered on September 9, 2011, at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival,[4] and was released video on demand on April 6, 2012, and in theatres on May 11, 2012.[5] The DVD and Blu-ray for the film were released on July 3, 2012.[6][7]

Critical response

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God Bless America received generally mixed reviews. As of June 2020, the film holds a 65% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 114 reviews with an average rating of 6.17/10; its consensus read: "A darkly comic polemic on modern culture, God Bless America is uneven and somewhat thin, but the ideas behind this revenge fulfillment journey have primal appeal."[8] Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave a weighted average score of 56 out of 100 based on 24 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert gave the film 2 stars out 4, and wrote: "this is a film that begins with merciless comic savagery and descends into merely merciless savagery. But wow, what an opening."[10] James Berardinelli of Reelviews praised the film by giving 3 stars out of 4, calling it "funny but it is also at times uncomfortable".[11] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave a C, and described the film as "a burlesque that turns into a harangue that turns into a rampage."[12] Ella Taylor of NPR gave a positive review, and wrote: "God Bless America ends with a couple of tale-twisting bullet orgies designed to take your preconceptions, as well as your nerve-endings, by surprise."[13]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2013 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress Tara Lynne Barr Nominated [14]

References

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  1. ^ "GOD BLESS AMERICA (15)". British Board of Film Classification. May 8, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "God Bless America". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ "SX Schedule God Bless America". SXSW Schedule. South By Southwest. February 1, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  4. ^ "TIFF '11: 'God Bless America' Is Hopefully Better Than This Cheap Poster - Bloody Disgusting". September 10, 2011.
  5. ^ Yahoo Movies UK & Ireland Rising Stars of 2012 by Daniel Bettridge, December 23, 2011
  6. ^ Venable, Nick (August 8, 2012). "God Bless America [DVD]". Cinemablend. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  7. ^ "God Bless America". Slant. July 5, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "God Bless America (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "God Bless America". Metacritic. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  10. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 9, 2012). "God Bless America". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  11. ^ Berardinelli, James (May 7, 2012). "God Bless America (United States, 2012)". Reelviews. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (May 15, 2012). "God Bless America". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  13. ^ Taylor, Ella (May 10, 2012). "'America': A Gleefully Violent Pop-Culture Pushback". NPR. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  14. ^ "34th Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
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