God Bless America
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Year Released: 2011
Rating: 2.0
A man deprived of happiness (Joel Murray) - and recently diagnosed with a brain tumor - takes to the road with a teenage girl (Tara Lynne Barr) by his side, killing people they deem "mean" and shallow. Basically an excuse for Goldthwait to rant about things he doesn't like, this is one long, obnoxious polemic, broken up by moments of intense violence - I applaud the director's devotion to jet-black humor, but is so it tough to work his beliefs into the script with more grace instead of stopping the movie for long speeches? Regardless, I found the (platonic) relationship between jaded Murray and pissy Barr to work; Barr is excellent in the role, and Goldthwait is careful to downplay any kind of Lolita implications: Murray isn't horny or perverted, he's just pissed.
