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Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Melinda Page Hamilton, Geoff Peirson, Mackenzie Brooke Smith ... see more see more... , Rich McDonald , Maddie Hasson , Larry Miller , Dorie Barton , Travis Wester , Lauren Phillips , Geoffrey Pierson , Guerrin Gardner , Kellie Marie Ramdhanie , Aris Alvarado , Romeo Brown , Sandra Vergara , Jamie Harris , Alexie Gilmore , James McAndrew , Brendalyn Richard , Tom Kenny , Eliza Coyle , Jill Talley , Joe Liss , Bryce Johnson , Cameron Denny , Scott Zeller , Danny Geter , Dan Spencer , Leslie Noble , Regan Burns , Bruce Nozick , Orson Oblowitz , Frank Conniff , Tom Lenk , Jack Plotnick , Morgan Murphy , Gilland Jones , Naomi Glick , Jacob Demonte-Finn , Carson Aune , Toby Huss , Christopher Allen Nelson , Iris Almario , Tony V. , Mo Gaffney , Andrea Squibb "Harper" , David Mendenhall , Steve Agee , Christopher Doyle , Kirk Bovill , Michael Carbonaro , Philip Anthony Traylor , Paul Eliopoulos , Mike Tristano , Lon Gowan , Daniel Everson , Samantha Droke , James Rustin , Nathan Kim , Zuzana Humplova , Hunter Hamilton , Suzanne "Suze-Q" Pirnat , Brad Rowe , Nate Scholz

Frank (Joel Murray) has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture. Divorced, recently fired, and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking hi... read more read more...s own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stupidest, most intolerant people he can imagine -- starting with some particularly odious reality television stars. Frank finds an unusual accomplice in a high-school student named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who shares his sense of rage and disenfranchisement. Together they embark on a nationwide assault on our country's most irritating celebrities. -- (C) Magnet Releasing

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76% liked it

10,656 ratings

Critics

66% liked it

62 critics

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait

Release Date: May 11, 2012

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Flixster Reviews (459)

  • DrZeek
    May 15, 2012
    DrZeek
    Frank: I wish I was a super-genius inventor and could come up with a way to make a telephone into an explosive device that was triggered by the American Superstarz voting number. The battery could explode and leave a mark on the face, so I could know who to avoid talking to befor... read moree they even talked.

    I have seen and heard a lot of Bobcat Goldthwait lately, as he has been promoting his newest film, God Bless America. Having retired from stand-up comedy nearly a decade ago, with his eyes set on being a filmmaker, he's since made some interesting (and quite good) dark comedies; including Sleeping Dogs Lie and World's Greatest Dad (Robin Williams is great in that movie). I like Bobcat Goldthwait. Listening to him now, he is very honest, funny, and brash in a good sort of way. It is unfortunate that God Bless America is not a better film. It certainly has a lot on its mind in regards to the state of America's fascination with reality television, among other things, but the film does not come together as strongly as it could. There are enough good bits in it overall to make it something worth checking out for a person that wants to enjoy a decent dark comedy/satire, it just could have been more.

    read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    May 1, 2012
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "Taking out the trash, one jerk at a time."

    On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy.

    REVIEW

    Bobcat Gol... read moredthwait's scathing critique on modern pop culture is vicious, unapologetically ugly and truly hilarious. Whereas Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" was a clever yet far fetched tale of humanity gone stupid, "God Bless America" uses, with absolute precision, a scalpel to peel back layer after disturbing layer of American shallowness and cruelty. Incorporating elements of mindless pop culture, media propaganda, and reality TV cruelty and bravado, this movie perfectly illustrates the all too real (and sudden) cultural cancer that people nowadays consider entertainment. It is simultaneously hilarious and morbid.

    Its Idiocracy meets Natural Born Killers and for a very generic description that may suffice, but it is a far more intelligent movie than Idiocracy was (or even set out to be). Make no mistake about it, this is a very dark movie and there is more murder and blood than you could shake a swizzle stick at, yet the brutality is tempered with hilarity and witty observation that seamlessly keeps this movie always headed in the right direction - there is no confusion here, it knows exactly what it's saying.

    I worry this movie may fly under the radar since the typical mainstream audience is pretty much the targeted subject material here, but I think this movie is an instant classic. It so eloquently dissects all the absurdities of modern American culture, the desire for fame and to be known, the need for attention, etc. The trailer doesn't do this movie justice -- it's really good!
  • fb100001581602053
    April 22, 2012
    fb100001581602053
    God Bless America feels more like writer director Bobcat Goldthwait channeling a combination of his sophisticated conversations about the alarming state of modern media and his condescending bar rants of how stupid everyone is than a thought-out satirical narrative. It's crazy a... read morend it's pretty entertaining, with the exception of more than a handful of scenes where the two main characters sit around for 5 minutes and list things and people they hate, but the satire here is about as subtle and graceful as a bullet to the head.
  • axadntpron
    April 12, 2012
    axadntpron
    An extremely black comedy that is frighteningly cathartic. The satire is wildly over-the-top & sadly, pretty spot on.The blood shoots out with violent force, and the monologues are explosive and wrought with irreverence. Just the type of shocking material that our current culture... read more is accustomed to. Because director Bobcat Goldthwait knows that as much as the viewer may hate aspects of our society, they are still a product of it.
    The shtick does get a little old after a while and some observations are much more astute than others. Also, the characters are brimming with sardonic commentary but are unfortunately a little light on depth. However, Goldthwait has my respect for getting something as audacious as this made into a feature film.
    Anybody with even the slightest inkling that our current culture is too extreme and mean-spirited, will find themselves begrudgingly rooting for Frank, our anti-hero who finally has the balls to say "enough."
  • fb791220692
    April 10, 2012
    fb791220692
    "God Bless America" is a captivating satire of current American culture, courtesy of the warped mind of Bobcat Goldthwait, the writer/director who previously wrote the much under-appreciated Robin Williams movie "World's Greatest Dad". The film is the story of one man who, with a... read more tumor in his brain and a country lacking all sense of common decency, decides to go on a rampage, killing everyone deemed 'mean,' or 'rude,' - basically, everything wrong with America. The film mentions Jersey Shore, American Idol, Lindsay Lohan, people who are loud in movie theaters, people who park in two spots at once, and really taps in to that "shows what we all want to see" part of the brain. In other words, its an extreme case of wish fulfillment, where good people murder those who 'deserve to die', a subjective viewpoint that really starts to blur the lines of morality.

    While God Bless America has noticeably low production values, no sense of logic (don't see it if you get easily maddened by a lack of realism) and some of the pop culture iconography roasted in the film is a bit out of date, Goldthwait's execution is so fantastic that its easy to overlook the movie's issues. Among the great triumphs accomplished here are the two lead performances. played by not-big-name actors Joel Murray and Tara Lynne Barr, are surprisingly great, and allow audiences to sympathize with killers, . Then you have a killer script that takes its concept right where it should go. My concern with this movie was that its easy to take such a great concept like this and then squander it with a script that doesn't take full advantage of its promise (as was the main issue with the conceptually similar Mike Judge's "Idiocracy"), but God Bless America's writing is so top notch, its argument so fully explored and debated on the screen, that even if you don't agree with everything, you have to admire its thoughtfulness. By portraying characters who are at once the good guys and the murderers, it really forces audiences to think about what is good, what is bad, and what is justifiable, on a moral level. All in all, God Bless America is what would happen if Idiocracy and Martin Scorsese's classic Taxi Driver had a baby. And if that sounds like an incredibly odd combination, it is. The movie is a little crazy, and so is its director. But he's the good kind of crazy, and the film, while not perfect, really works.
  • CreedsDelight
    April 7, 2012
    CreedsDelight
    Frank: Thanks for turning off your cell phone.

    God Bless America is a darkly comedic take on modern American pop-culture that is able to get a rise out of anyone who is sick and tired of all these dysfunctional and convoluted reality shows. What I found interesting about this p... read morearticular film were the many similarities I found to Super, another wacky film featuring a somewhat similar pattern. They both feature an adult/child teaming up to fight "evil", and the main protagonist's name is Frank in both films. God Bless America is at its most entertaining when our two leads are blowin' some jerk's head off for minor offenses - including taking two parking spots or laughing at a disabled adult sing on an American Idol-like reality show. God Bless America is basically a giant "screw you" to tech-savvy Americans.

    Read the whole review at creedsdelight.com
  • fb100001592288964
    April 6, 2012
    fb100001592288964
    Outlandish, controversial, and insanely over-the-top at times, God Bless America serves as a magnum opus fantasy to those that detest the pop culture obsessions of this generation. It has no rules by any means and is very unforgiving in its content, but it's still one of the best... read more darkly comedic satires I've seen in some time.
  • moviewaffle
    April 13, 2012
    moviewaffle
    Diagnosed with a tumour, Murray sets off on a murderous rampage, killing those he blames for society's ills while accompanied by like-minded teen Barr.

    With his charming directorial debut "Sleeping Dogs Lie", comedian turned film-maker Goldthwait preached tolerance. I'm not su... read morere what happened to him over the last few years but here he's spouting a vile message of intolerance. Leopold and Loeb couldn't have come up with such a self-indulgent liberal intellectual superiority fantasy.
    Last year with "Midnight In Paris", Woody Allen showed us how despite our frustrations with modern culture, the grass is never greener on the other side. There's no convincing Goldthwait of this, his fantasy grass is lush and emerald. He wants us to sympathise with Murray as he massacres those who represent the worst of contemporary pop culture. The character sits in front of his TV constantly scorning the garbage he flicks through. Somebody should have told him about those things called DVD's which contain almost the entire history of film and TV for your viewing pleasure. If you don't like reality TV, DON'T WATCH IT!
    At one point Murray guns down a young retarded man. His crime? Exploiting his lack of intelligence to become a success on "American Superstars" a popular talent show. Just like Goldthwait himself so. In case you don't know who Goldthwait is, he found fame in the eighties by playing a retarded character in the "Police Academy" movies. In the nineties he once set fire to the stage while a guest on Jay Leno. But now that he wears black-rimmed glasses we're supposed to forget all that? "Liberal hypocrisy" is a phrase I find myself using a lot in reference to recent American cinema.
    For someone who made an entire movie about accepting bestiality, Goldthwait expresses a lot of sexual hangups here. He uses Barr's character to preach hatred of "paedophiles" despite the fact that she's a grown woman not a child. Those who rant so much about the sexual preferences of others usually have a few issues with their own.
    At one point our Bonnie and Brevik duo profess a desire to live in France because we all know there's no reality TV in Europe right? If Goldthwait is so unhappy with his country maybe he should move to China and make culturally "important" films for the state. But of course he proudly claims to make films for himself first and his audience second. Only in America!
  • panta2
    May 17, 2012
    panta2
    I could imagine that this movie won't be popular with most of the Americans... even if it claims that is a black comedy which combines elements of political satire. This film was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and stars Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr and Mackenzie Broo... read moreke Smith, and I have to say, it is an unusually honest view of the today's American society and its shallowness.

    The story of Frank (Joel Murray) is not a rare one: after being fired from his job and diagnosed with a brain tumour he is about to commit suicide while watching TV... but decides to instead go on a killing spree and rid the world of rude and annoying people or "people that deserve to die".

    The strength of the convictions is something that really impressed me, and I admire the courage shown from the beginning to the end in criticizing the "sick parts" of the society... and they are many!

    A little bit flat at some parts in directing this is still very strong performing satire with good actors and inspiring drive forward toward a change!
  • fb1492563931
    April 11, 2012
    fb1492563931
    God Bless America (2012)

    Like the satire in the title, the movie is a razor sharp criticism of today's society and the media that helps perpetrate the vulgarity and garishness of this curse. The protagonists Frank and Roxy's monologues come out beautifully in a well thought out,... read more sharp dialog when they reach the end of their patience with the pretentious, fake, robotic, commercially bough out society and thus begins the rampage, that too in a sunshine yellow Camaro, no less! Joel Murry as Frank is unassuming and very well cast and Tara Lynn Barr reminds me of Dokota Fanning, what comes to help is an ultra hip soundtrack .Death to TV!!! ABSOLUTELY MUST WATCH.

View All God Bless America Reviews

Critic Reviews

Tom Russo
May 17, 2012
Tom Russo, Boston Globe

It's about a terminally ill man who decides that if he is going to die, he is going to grab a gun and take a whole bunch of obnoxious people with him. Full Review

Ian Buckwalter
May 11, 2012
Ian Buckwalter, The Atlantic

This is no simple wish-fulfillment revenge fantasy. It's an indictment of us as viewers and tacit supporters of the cultural trash heap. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
May 11, 2012
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

The film features elaborate (and spot-on) parodies of mean-girl reality shows, YouTube nonsense and fatuous news reports but the people are thin and the plot meanders a bit. Full Review

Betsy Sharkey
May 11, 2012
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times

This funny, sick twist of social satire is certainly locked and loaded, even if its aim is sometimes off. Full Review

Sara Stewart
May 11, 2012
Sara Stewart, New York Post

The real problem is there's just not enough plot on which to hang the message that mean people suck. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
May 10, 2012
Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle

In this "Falling Down" of pop-cultural observation, Goldthwait forgets the thrill of the chase; he's more concerned with piercing verbal barbs than actual suspense. Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 10, 2012
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Mr. Goldthwait's screenplay is essentially a comedy act fleshed out with a story he doesn't try to make convincing. Full Review

Ella Taylor
May 10, 2012
Ella Taylor, NPR

Bobcat Goldthwait's bracing new black comedy... Full Review

Colin Covert
May 10, 2012
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Goldthwait's ranting dialogue is stingingly funny and Murray and Barr are so agreeable you may find yourself rooting for "the bad guys." Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman
May 10, 2012
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News

Given that the movie starts out in such interesting fashion, it's hugely disappointing to see it devolve so lazily into a generic vigilante fantasy. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Frank: I would defend their freedom of speech if I thought it was in jeopardy. I would defend their freedom of speech to tell uninspired, bigoted, blowjob, gay-bashing, racist and rape jokes all under the guise of being edgy, but that's not the edge. That's what sells. They couldn't possibly pander any harder or be more commercially mainstream, because this is the 'Oh no, you didn't say that!' generation, where a shocking comment has more weight than the truth. No one has any shame anymore, and we're supposed to celebrate it. I saw a woman throw a used tampon at another woman last night on network television, a network that bills itself as 'Today's Woman's Channel'. Kids beat each other blind and post it on Youtube. I mean, do you remember when eating rats and maggots on Survivor was shocking? It all seems so quaint now. I'm sure the girls from '2 Girls 1 Cup' are gonna have their own dating show on VH-1 any day now. I mean, why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?
    • Roxy: Who you're killing next? Do you take requests? Because I was thinking maybe some Kardashians, my gym coach. People who give high fives. Really, any jock. Twihards. People who talk about punk rock. Who else really rips my cock off?
    • Frank: Get off the bed!
    • Roxy: Oh, Mormons and other religious assholes who won't let gay people be married. And adult women who call their tits the girls.
    • Frank: [On the air] My name is Frank. That's not important. The important question is: who are you? America has become a cruel and vicious place. We reward the shallowest, the dumbest, the meanest and the loudest. We no longer have any common sense of decency. No sense of shame. There is no right and wrong. The worst qualities in people are looked up to and celebrated. Lying and spreading fear is fine as long as you make money doing it. We've become a nation of slogan-saying, bile-spewing hatemongers. We've lost our kindness. We've lost our soul. What have we become? We take the weakest in our society, we hold them up to be ridiculed, laughed at for our sport and entertainment. Laughed at to the point, where they would literally rather kill themselves than live with us anymore.
    • Frank: Why have a civilization anymore if we no longer are interested in being civilized?
    • Roxy: Fall Out Boy and Green Day suck shit through ten bricks.
    • Frank: I hate when people use the word actually. Like, are you actually putting that gun to your head.
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God Bless America Trivia

  • A bunch of people sing "God Bless America" around a table at a restaurant. Name the movie.  Answer »
  • Kathryn Elizabeth Smith was known for what?  Answer »
  • Which song was not in the AFI's list of top ten great movie songs of all time?  Answer »
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