America: The Motion Picture

Last updated

America: The Motion Picture
America the motion picture.jpg
Official release poster
Directed by Matt Thompson
Written by Dave Callaham
Produced by
Starring
Edited byChristian Danley
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh
Production
companies
Distributed by Netflix [2]
Release date
  • June 30, 2021 (2021-06-30)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

America: The Motion Picture is a 2021 American comedy film directed by Matt Thompson and written by Dave Callaham, who both also produce. It stars Channing Tatum (also a producer), Jason Mantzoukas, Olivia Munn, Bobby Moynihan, Judy Greer, Will Forte, Raoul Max Trujillo, Killer Mike, Simon Pegg and Andy Samberg. It is an R-rated, animated parody of George Washington and his fight against the British. The film uses anachronism, ahistoricism, and Americentrism to create a comic effect. Dates, the roles of various historical figures, battles, notable inventions and technologies are changed, reinvented or outright created. Prominent events and figures from the American Revolutionary War period and American history through to the 20th century are moved into the film's 1776 setting.

Contents

Netflix released America: The Motion Picture in streaming on June 30, 2021. [3] [4] It received generally negative reviews from film critics, who criticized it as being unfunny. [5]

Plot

In July 1776, after signing the Declaration of Independence, Benedict Arnold murders all of its signatories, blows up Independence Hall, and steals the Declaration. At Ford's Theatre, George Washington and his childhood best friend, Abraham Lincoln, watch a play. Arnold appears there, turns into a werewolf and bites off Lincoln's neck. Before dying, Lincoln asks Washington to bring the American Revolutionary War to an end, naming the future country "America." Washington chases Arnold, killing his soldiers but failing to kill him.

At Lincoln's funeral, Washington meets Martha Dandridge. She urges him to continue the revolution after the two have sex. Washington teams up with party animal Samuel Adams, and they recruit equestrian champion Paul Revere. They endeavor to recruit female Chinese scientist Thomas Edison, only to find that she is being executed by the British for testing science. However, she escapes and agrees to join George's team. They then get Native American hunter Geronimo, who has more knowledge about the land than anyone, to join them.

They track down Arnold at a Vietnam bar. Although the enemy has fled and Edison blows up the bar, they conclude that the events in Vietnam were not a failure. The team then visits blacksmith John Henry, who is to make a silver bullet for them to kill Arnold. To get the silver, they go to Boston to steal silver spoons from the Titanic. On board the ship, they learn that the British are bathing people in tea so they will come over to their side. They also discover plans for a secret British superweapon but fail to retrieve it because Washington accidentally spills tea everywhere, causing a fire that sinks the ship. Adams then proposes to the others that they will say the Titanic hit an iceberg and that they were never there.

Arnold kidnaps Martha, who is to become the future wife of King James. Washington finds out about a Gettysburg Address where Arnold meets the king at a secret meeting. It turns out an ambush and Revere's horse dies sacrificing himself. King James appears at the Gettysburg address in the form of a hologram and offers Washington a battle the next morning at Attrition field; Washington agrees. However, Arnold kills the king and takes over the world himself.

The next day, the British army [a] stands up against the American army which was hastily assembled by Washington. [b] The superweapon turns out to be a way of tainting the clouds with tea creating a tea rain that will turn the Americans British. Edison, thanks to the power of science, uses the British weapons against them, turning tea into beer. When the beer rain falls, the British transform into bros. It also cures Martha, who had been turned British before the battle, changing her into a living Statue of Liberty. A final battle occurs with Arnold, who turns himself into a mega-wolf and, after Washington restrains him, is eventually defeated with a silver bullet from Henry, who kills him with America's favorite pastime. Days later, a ceremony is held for people to watch Adams blow up Arnold’s Monument.

Six months later, on July 4, 1776, Washington inaugurated the grand opening of America at the monument of his name. As Washington plans for I. M. Pei to build another memorial for his best friend to stare at his monument, the spirit of Lincoln comes back. It gives him the Declaration, repaired with tape, while Adams becomes the uncle for George’s newborn son, Denzel. The inauguration goes as planned, but is disrupted when the crowd engages in a political fight with each other, arguing over freeing the slaves, racism, women's rights, giving back the land to the natives, right to keep and bear arms, same-sex marriage, religious beliefs, free health care, and fair trials, making Washington nervous about the future of the country.

Voice cast

Production

In March 2017, producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller announced that they would produce an R-rated animated Netflix original film called America: The Motion Picture with Will Allegra, Matt Thompson, Adam Reed, Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan appearing in the movie. The screenplay was written by David Callaham and Thompson was the director. [6] [7]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 35% of 49 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "America: The Motion Picture is definitely outrageous and possibly patriotic—problem is, it's also not very funny." [5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [8]

Amy Nicholson of The New York Times described the film as "a raunchy, aggressively inane cartoon that flips the bird—both onscreen and thematically—to a strain of patriotism that insists that the slave owners who started this country were sober-minded heroes whose vision of democracy remains flawless, bro." [9] Inkoo Kang of The Washington Post gave the film a score of 1.5/4 stars saying, "The gulf between stupid-smart and just plain stupid feels immeasurably vast when watching America: The Motion Picture, which is clearly aiming for the former but lands squarely in the latter." [10] Brian Lowry of CNN described the film as "a movie that's loud and annoying more than truly provocative, peppered with pop-culture references that prove cleverer than its rewrite of US history." [11]

Steve Greene of IndieWire gave the film a grade of C, describing it as "a goofy mishmash of riffs on prominent historical figures", and added: "Most of the time, it’s knowingly stupid, which makes watching it 90 minutes of occasional fun and frequent indifference." [12] Melanie McFarland of Salon.com wrote: "Rarely have I seen a movie so confident that its viewers not only revel in American benightedness but are eager to identify with it"; she described the film as "not only a waste of time but an insult to ignoramuses." [13]

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film a score of 2.5/5 stars, writing that it "goes all in on its deranged version of the founding of the nation", but added: "It wears you down over time, but especially early on it's too satisfied just to be shocking and irreverent." [14]

Michael Nordine of Variety was more positive in his review and wrote, "Though loyalists and sticklers for historical accuracy may not consider it their cup of tea, America will likely win over anyone who knows not to take it too seriously." [15] Randy Myers of The Mercury News gave the film a score of 3/4 stars writing, "Even when you think it’s only acting rude and juvenile just because, it’s much smarter than that, particularly whenever it skewers American attitudes (both conservative and liberal)." [16]

Notes

  1. ↑ Which includes Elizabeth Tower in the form of a Transformer, London buses in the form of AT-ATs, and Arnold flying in a crown-shaped ship with a Venus flytrap like soccer ball.
  2. ↑ It includes a hundred-foot tall Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, as well as Indians, Mexicans, African Americans, Asians, Arabs, ravers, and Revere, who had fused his back with what was left of Clyde with nano-cybernetic technology by Clara Barton, and Johnny Appleseed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitagraph Studios</span> American film studio

Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of the United States</span>

The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios, has, since the early 20th century, been a significant influence on the global film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edison Studios</span> Defunct American film production organization (1894–1918)

Edison Studios was an American film production organization, owned by companies controlled by inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas Edison. The studio made close to 1,200 films, as part of the Edison Manufacturing Company (1894–1911) and then Thomas A. Edison, Inc. (1911–1918), until the studio's closing in 1918. Of that number, 54 were feature length, and the remainder were shorts. All of the company's films have fallen into the public domain because they were released before 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Q'orianka Kilcher</span> American actress (born 1990)

Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher is an American actress. Her best known film roles are Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's 2005 film The New World, and Kaʻiulani in Princess Kaiulani (2009). In 2020, she starred in a recurring role on the Paramount Network show Yellowstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channing Tatum</span> American actor and producer (born 1980)

Channing Matthew Tatum is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama Coach Carter (2005), and had his breakthrough with the sports comedy film She's the Man (2006) and the dance film Step Up (2006). He rose to prominence for playing Duke in the action films G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) and G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), the title role in the comedy-drama films Magic Mike (2012), Magic Mike XXL (2015) and Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023), and an undercover cop in the action-comedy films 21 Jump Street (2012) and 22 Jump Street (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenna Dewan</span> American actress, dancer (born 1980)

Jenna Lee Dewan is an American actress and dancer. She started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, and later worked with artists including Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Missy Elliott. She is known for her role as Nora Clark in the 2006 film Step Up. She has also starred on the short-lived NBC series The Playboy Club and had a recurring role on the FX series American Horror Story: Asylum. She portrayed Freya Beauchamp on the Lifetime series Witches of East End, Lucy Lane in The CW series Supergirl and Superman & Lois, and Joanna in Soundtrack on Netflix. Dewan has hosted the reality television shows World of Dance and Flirty Dancing and served as a judge on Come Dance with Me. She currently stars as Bailey Nune on ABC's The Rookie. She also had a recurring role on the FOX medical drama The Resident.

<i>Magic Mike</i> 2012 film by Steven Soderbergh

Magic Mike is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, and Matthew McConaughey. The plot revolves around Adam, a 19-year-old college dropout who enters the world of male stripping, guided by Mike Lane, who has been in the business for six years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Lord and Christopher Miller</span> American filmmakers

Philip Anderson Lord and Christopher Robert Miller are American filmmakers. They are the creators and co-stars of the adult animated sitcom Clone High, and the writers and directors of the animated films Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and The Lego Movie (2014), as well as the directors of the live-action comedy film 21 Jump Street (2012) and its sequel, 22 Jump Street (2014).

David Elias Callaham is an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing the screenplays for the films Doom (2005), The Expendables (2010), Zombieland: Double Tap (2019), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Mortal Kombat, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).

<i>Jupiter Ascending</i> 2015 film by The Wachowskis

Jupiter Ascending is a 2015 space opera film written, directed and co-produced by the Wachowskis. Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis with Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Douglas Booth in supporting roles, the film is centered on Jupiter Jones (Kunis), an ordinary cleaning woman, and Caine Wise (Tatum), an interplanetary warrior who informs Jones that her destiny extends beyond Earth. Supporting cast member Douglas Booth has described the film's fictional universe as a cross between The Matrix and Star Wars, while Kunis identified indulgence and consumerism as its underlying themes.

<i>Hail, Caesar!</i> 2016 film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Hail, Caesar! is a 2016 black comedy mystery film written, produced, edited, and directed by the brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. An American-British co-production, the film stars Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Channing Tatum, with Michael Gambon as the narrator. It is a fictional story that follows the real-life studio fixer Eddie Mannix (Brolin), working in the Hollywood film industry in the 1950s, trying to discover what happened to a star actor during the filming of a biblical epic.

<i>Magic Mike XXL</i> 2015 film by Gregory Jacobs

Magic Mike XXL is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed by Gregory Jacobs, written by Reid Carolin and starring Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Kevin Nash, and Joe Manganiello. A sequel to 2012's Magic Mike, the film premiered in Hollywood on June 26, 2015, and was released theatrically in the United States on July 1, 2015, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received lukewarm reviews from critics and grossed $117.8 million worldwide. A third film, Magic Mike's Last Dance, was released in February 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">73rd Golden Globe Awards</span> Golden Globe Award ceremony held in 2016

The 73rd Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2015. It was broadcast live on January 10, 2016, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. The ceremony was produced by Dick Clark Productions in association with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The nominations were announced on December 10, 2015, at The Beverly Hilton by Angela Bassett, America Ferrera, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Dennis Quaid. Denzel Washington was announced as the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award honoree on November 16, 2015. Ricky Gervais hosted the show for the fourth time. The Martian, Mozart in the Jungle, Mr. Robot, The Revenant, and Steve Jobs were among the films and television shows that received multiple awards.

Channing Nicole Dungey is an American television executive and the first black American president of a major broadcast television network. In 2020, she was announced as the new chairwoman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Studios.

<i>Smallfoot</i> (film) 2018 film by Karey Kirkpatrick

Smallfoot is a 2018 American animated musical comedy film co-produced by Warner Animation Group and Zaftig Films, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Based on the unpublished children's book Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos, the film was co-written and directed by Karey Kirkpatrick, and stars the voices of Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi, Ely Henry and Jimmy Tatro. The plot follows a tribe of Himalayan Yeti who come across a human being, with each species thinking the other was just a myth.

<i>The Loud House Movie</i> 2021 American animated film by Dave Needham

The Loud House Movie is a 2021 American animated musical comedy film based on and featuring characters from the Nickelodeon series The Loud House. Produced by Nickelodeon Movies, it was directed by Dave Needham in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Kevin Sullivan and Chris Viscardi, and starring the voices of David Tennant, Michelle Gomez, Katy Townsend, and the regular voice cast of the series; consisting of Asher Bishop, Jill Talley, Brian Stepanek, Catherine Taber, Liliana Mumy, Nika Futterman, Cristina Pucelli, Jessica DiCicco, Grey Griffin, Lara Jill Miller, and Andre Robinson, who reprise their respective roles. The first film in the franchise, set between the fourth and fifth seasons of The Loud House, it tells the story of the Louds going to Scotland, where they learn that they are descended from royalty and own a castle, while contending with an evil plot.

Locksmith Animation is a British-American independent computer animation feature film studio owned by Sister Group. Headquartered in London, England with an office in Los Angeles, California, Locksmith is best known for producing and developing independent computer-animated feature films.

<i>Fatherhood</i> (film) 2021 film by Paul Weitz

Fatherhood is a 2021 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Weitz from a screenplay by Weitz and Dana Stevens based on the 2011 memoir Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin. The film stars Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodard, Frankie R. Faison, Lil Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise, Anthony Carrigan, Melody Hurd, and Paul Reiser, and follows a new father who struggles to raise his daughter after the sudden death of his wife.

Fortis Films is an American film and television production company founded in 1995 by actress and producer Sandra Bullock. It is known for producing the films Hope Floats (1998), Miss Congeniality (2000), Two Weeks Notice (2002), Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) and The Lost City (2022), and the television series George Lopez.

<i>Fly Me to the Moon</i> (2024 film) Film by Greg Berlanti

Fly Me to the Moon is a 2024 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Greg Berlanti and written by Rose Gilroy, based on a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein. The film stars Scarlett Johansson as Kelly Jones, a marketing specialist, and Channing Tatum as Cole Davis, a NASA launch director. Set against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 mission, the story follows Jones and Davis as they are tasked with creating a fake moon landing in case the actual mission fails.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 DeFore, John (June 30, 2021). "Channing Tatum in Netflix's 'America: The Motion Picture': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  2. ↑ Lindahl, Chris (April 27, 2021). "Netflix Touts Summer Movie Slate with New 'Army of the Dead,' 'America,' 'Fear Street' Footage". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (March 31, 2017). "Netflix Announces an R-Rated 'America' as First Animated Movie". Animation Magazine . Archived from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ "America' Trailer: Channing Tatum Voices Foul-Mouthed George Washington in Netflix Comedy". Indiewire. June 3, 2021. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "America: The Motion Picture". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 3, 2017). "Netflix Sets First Animated Film 'America'; Channing Tatum Voicing George Washington". Deadline. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Netflix's first animated film will star Channing Tatum as George Washington". The Verge. March 31, 2017. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  8. ↑ "America: The Motion Picture". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  9. ↑ Nicholson, Amy (June 30, 2021). "'America: The Motion Picture' Review: In Bros We Trust". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kang, Inkoo (June 30, 2021). "Review | A beefy George Washington avenges Lincoln's death in this cheekily inaccurate and dumb animated comedy". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on September 14, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  11. ↑ Lowry, Brian (June 29, 2021). "'America: The Motion Picture' works way too hard at being outrageous". CNN. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ Greene, Steve (June 30, 2021). "'America: The Motion Picture' Review: Animated History Rewrite Is Less Than Revolutionary". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  13. ↑ McFarland, Melanie (June 30, 2021). "Bro, say can you see? "America: The Motion Picture" shows we're not just dumb, we're drawn that way". Salon. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  14. ↑ Goodykoontz, Bill. "Netflix's 'America: The Motion Picture' is a hit-and-miss purposeful misreading of history". The Arizona Republic. Archived from the original on July 30, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  15. ↑ Nordine, Michael (July 1, 2021). "'America: The Motion Picture' Review: Netflix Toon Gives U.S. History a Twist of 'Archer'-Style Irreverence". Variety. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  16. ↑ Myers, Randy (June 30, 2021). "New movies: History gets a makeover in wild 'America: The Motion Picture'". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.