The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah (2006)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Christopher J. Hansen

Writers:

Christopher J. Hansen (writer)
D.M. Lovic (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

How Many Saviors Does One World Need?

Plot:

'The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah' is the mock documentary story of a man who thinks he is a messiah...

Plot Keywords:

Humor | Satire | Independent Film

Cast

Dustin Olson	...	Brian
Joseph Frost	...	Aaron
Ellen Dolan	...	Miriam
Tony Hale	...	Homeowner with Demons
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anne Dennis	...	Tan Woman
Sierra Dennis	...	Tan Woman's Daughter
Brian Elliott	...	Door Slamming Homeowner
Aurelio 'B.B.' Enriquez	...	Guy Who Needs Haircut
Brooks Grigson	...	'Six Pack or Keg' Guy
Stephen Gully	...	Young Man
Michael Hancock	...	Large Man
Christopher J. Hansen	...	Interviewer
James Hansen	...	Tim C.
Hunter Hawkins	...	Smoking Guy
Heather Henry	...	Cecilia B.
Greg Lawson	...	Tom Martin
Scott Lilly	...	Bus Station Clerk
D.M. Lovic	...	T-Shirt Clerk
Sherry O'Connor	...	Woman on Street
Steven Pounders	...	Doctor
Brandi Price	...	Nurse
Christopher Ryan	...	Homeless Man
Harry Smith	...	Portly Man

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Bellmead, Texas, USA

Company:

Theoretical Entertainment

Trivia:

Won the Best Feature Award at the 2006 South Padre Island Film Festival.

Smart, funny comedy

This is a really funny, smart comedy by indie filmmaker Christopher Hansen featuring a brilliant performance by Dustin Olson in the lead role. In a lot of comedies like this where the lead character is supposed to be unappealing, actors still tend to play them as if, no, they're really nice guys underneath it all and really deserve the audience's sympathies.

Not so here. Not only is the "Messiah" kind of disturbing to look at, he's just a thoroughly unpleasant person. Yet, this doesn't make the film a turn-off. Olson is riveting to watch on-screen. On the one hand, you want him to finally "get it" and figure out that he's a doofus and on the other you really, really hope he gets his butt handed to him as a consequence of his behavior.

This is a very funny comedy, too, with some great set-pieces, e.g. the t-shirt debacle, the miracle of the fruit, the baptisms scheme, the guy with invisible "friends" and many others. And behind the laughs, there's a real message behind it all, which Hansen smartly doesn't bash the audience over the head with. If you want to watch it just for the jokes, there's plenty of those, but the film also raises some interesting points about the nature of faith and following false "prophets."