God Bless America

Festival Favorites
D: Bobcat Goldthwait; with Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr

Bobcat Goldthwait is on to something in his latest film as a writer/director. His hatred of the crass dumbing down of America is palpable in every frame of this film. Reality shows, two-faced blowhards, and their corporate sponsors are all in his crosshairs – quite literally. In the Q&A following the movie, Goldthwait described God Bless America as a “violent movie about kindness.” As the film opens, Frank (Murray) is fired from his job and is rudely rebuffed by his daughter, who lives with his ex-wife. Next, his doctor informs him that he has a terminal disease. Frank’s fantasies of murder turn real as he embarks on a one-man killing spree, that is until he’s joined by teenage Roxy (Barr), who is even more bloodthirsty than he. Although several great speeches and hilarious one-liners goose the film, God Bless America nevertheless peaks too early and becomes rather one-note. It’s a good note, but it ultimately has a clanging effect.

Saturday, March 17, 11:45pm, Alamo Ritz

This article appears in March 16 • 2012.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.