God Bless America (2011)

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

Director:

Bobcat Goldthwait

Writer:

Bobcat Goldthwait

Stars:

Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joel Murray	...	Frank
Tara Lynne Barr	...	Roxy
Melinda Page Hamilton	...	Alison
Mackenzie Brooke Smith	...	Ava
Rich McDonald	...	Brad
Maddie Hasson	...	Chloe
Larry Miller	...	Chloe's Dad
Dorie Barton	...	Chloe's Mom
Travis Wester	...	Ed
Lauren Benz Phillips	...	Donna (as Lauren Phillips)
Guerrin Gardner	...	Tampon-Throwing Tuff Gurl
Kellie Ramdhanie	...	Melissa Tuff Gurl (as Kellie Marie Ramdhanie)
Aris Alvarado	...	Steven Clark
Romeo Brown	...	John Tyler
Sandra Vergara	...	American Superstarz Judge

Storyline

Loveless, jobless, possibly terminally ill, Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of America. With nothing left to lose, Frank takes his gun and offs the stupidest, cruelest, and most repellent members of society. He finds an unusual accomplice: 16-year-old Roxy, who shares his sense of rage and disenfranchisement.

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Plot Keywords:

blackberry cell phone | brat | long feminine hair cut | knife in stomach | anti materialism | 

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Taglines:

Taking out the trash, one jerk at a time.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language including some sexual sequences

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the TV clips shown is a documentary on mass killer Charles Whitman who famously shot people at random from the University of Texas clock tower. Whitman left a note saying that he thought there was something wrong with his brain and asking for an autopsy to be performed on it after the police killed him. Unlike Frank it was determined he genuinely had a brain tumour and was not responsible for his actions.

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Goofs

In the opening scene where Frank breaks into the neighbor's apartment to kill them, when he shoots the boyfriend and reloads the shotgun, it's a right side ejection port. When he reloads to shoot the baby, the image is reversed and it's a left side ejection port.

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Quotes

Frank: [to the guy who sees him bathing in the car wash] The washing machine's broken. What?

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Crazy Credits

The character that tries to buy Roxy at the diner is listed as "The Pancake Eating Pedophile".

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Connections

References Survivor (2000)

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Soundtracks

AK-47 for New Yorkers
Written and Performed by Matt Kollar

User Reviews

I wonder what Simon Cowell would make of it?

Written and directed by American comedian Bobcat Goldthwait comes this tale of Frank (Joel Murray), a downtrodden sad sack of a man whose miserable and lonely existence away from an estranged wife and daughter is accompanied by insomnia, noisy neighbours, reality television in all it's most evil manifestations and an ever increasing lack of patience. After losing his job and discovering he has an inoperable brain tumour, Frank decides he's had enough of the ignorance and general lack of moral principles he sees permeating through everyday American life and sets about directly addressing the problem…with a gun. Aside from the overly graphic and wanton violence, this is a film with a lot to say. It's almost as if writer Goldthwait is himself getting stuff off his chest that's been festering for years. Much of the dialogue is indeed bitingly funny, including some incisive rants about the pernicious nature of American Idol type singing competitions. The film does sometimes forget itself (one holiday montage sequence seems a loose fit) and some of the murders which Frank and his willing side-kick Roxy (Tara Lynn Page) carry out might threaten to cancel out the more intelligent aspects of the message for some. What is certain is that God Bless America will divide opinion. Frank's a walking contradiction, a liberal man who fights his cause with right-wing methods to find a stage to air his liberal views. This is a film for everyone who's imagined but would never carry out. For those who want to instantly silence that barking dog down the street that's preventing valuable sleep before that big presentation at work the next day. It's for those of us who sit silently in cinema seats respecting other people's right to enjoy the experience only to have ignoramus's gibbering on mobile phones or kicking the back of your seat. While the film might draw criticism for it's depictions and excessive"preachiness", i found it agreeably acerbic. I wonder if Simon Cowell feels the same way.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 May 2012 (Russia)

Also Known As:

God Bless America

Filming Locations:

The Fonda Theater - 6126 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,308, 13 May 2012

Gross USA:

$122,550

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$393,880

Company Credits

Production Co:

Darko Entertainment, Jerkschool Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1