An American Carol

Last updated
An American Carol
American carol 08.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Zucker
Written byDavid Zucker
Myrna Sokoloff
Lewis Friedman
Produced byDavid Zucker
Stephen McEveety
John Shepherd
Todd Matthew Burns
Diane Hendricks
Starring Kevin Farley
Kelsey Grammer
Leslie Nielsen
Trace Adkins
Robert Davi
Geoffrey Arend
Serdar Kalsin
Jon Voight
CinematographyBrian Baugh
Edited byVashi Nedomansky
Music by James L. Venable
Production
company
Distributed by Vivendi Entertainment
Release date
  • October 3, 2008 (2008-10-03)
Running time
83 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million [2]
Box office$7 million

An American Carol (released as Big Fat Important Movie [3] [4] in other territories) is a 2008 American satirical comedy film directed by David Zucker and written by Zucker, Myrna Sokoloff and Lewis Friedman. Using the framework of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol , the film follows liberal filmmaker Michael Malone (a parody of Michael Moore) as he is visited by three spirits to teach him the importance of Independence Day. The film satirizes liberalism in the United States, with focus on Moore's documentaries. It stars Kevin Farley as Malone, alongside an ensemble supporting cast that includes Kelsey Grammer, Leslie Nielsen, Trace Adkins, Robert Davi, and Jon Voight.

Contents

Theatrically released on October 3, 2008, by Vivendi Entertainment, An American Carol received negative reviews from most critics, who found the film's humor and satire to be ineffective. It also was a failure at the box office grossing only $7 million against a $20 million budget. The film marked the final onscreen appearance by Dennis Hopper before his death in 2010.

Plot

Left-wing activist and filmmaker Michael Malone campaigns to end the celebration of the Fourth of July holiday. Malone holds pronounced anti-American views and truculently argues that America's past and present are both offensive and therefore should not be celebrated. He has finished another film entitled Die, You American Pigs! and just won the Leni Riefenstahl Award at the MooveAlong.org awards. They rush Malone off the stage before he can give his entire speech and his trophy is remarkably small, insignificant—and turns out to be a keychain. Then they start televising the program and give out the Award for "Best Film Director" overall. Malone is already working on another anti-American film called Fascist America.

On the evening of July 3, Malone watches a speech from President John F. Kennedy and mistakenly interprets the speech to mean avoiding war at any cost. President Kennedy rises out of the television set, corrects Malone regarding the intent of the speech, and informs him that he will be visited by three spirits.

The following morning, Malone is visited by General George S. Patton (Kelsey Grammer), who shows him an alternate United States where slavery still exists because Abraham Lincoln (founder of the Republican Party) chose not to fight the Civil War. Malone later sees George Washington (Jon Voight) who gives a passionate speech about God's gift of freedom and the price many people pay for others to have it. Malone is visited by the angel of death (Trace Adkins), who takes him to a future Los Angeles completely taken over by radical Islamists. He is then taken to the ruins of his hometown in Michigan, which has been destroyed by a nuclear bomb planted by Al Qaeda. In a mortuary, Malone learns that he will be killed in this attack, leaving nothing behind but his trademark hat and "big ass." Facing his death, Malone pleads for his life with the Angel, promising to change. But Aziz, a Middle Easterner Malone had interviewed, is actually a terrorist who will bomb a 4 July rally along with his underlings Ahmed and Fayed. When Fayed and Ahmed learn they are going to be detonated along with the planned bomb, they figure their slim chance of survival is by seeking out Malone.

Later, Malone arrives at an anti-Fourth of July protest rally and publicly renounces his former views. This triggers an outraged mob from which he is rescued by American servicemen. Meeting up with Malone, Ahmed and Fayed defuse their own bomb, thus sparing the people at the anti-Independence Day rally and resulting in the capture of the terrorist Aziz. Safe inside a country music concert, the three are formally welcomed to "the real America" by Trace Adkins (this time as himself). A reformed Malone then goes to a Navy base to see his nephew Josh off to the Persian Gulf. He tells Josh how very proud he is of him and promises to look in on his wife and family during his deployment. In the final scene, Malone now decides to make films he feels people would appreciate, as well as Fayed and Ahmed as part of the crew, who have been pardoned for foiling the bombing. Malone is last seen working on a biographical film about President Kennedy.

Cast

Paris Hilton, Simon Rex, Zachary Levi, John O'Hurley and Mary Hart make cameo appearances.

Production

In February 2008, Kelsey Grammer was initially announced as the star playing a contemporary take on Scrooge. [5] In July 2008, the film was picked up for distribution by Vivendi. [6]

Marketing

An American Carol was strongly promoted by prominent Republicans and conservative personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, [7] Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and Mark Levin. On October 3, 2008, actors Kevin Farley and Kelsey Grammer appeared on the Fox News program The O'Reilly Factor to promote the film, particularly in light of the guest appearance of show host Bill O'Reilly in the film. An American Carol has also been described by newspapers such as the Dallas Morning News as being "for the right wing". [8] The American Conservative reported, "The movie has been promoted by bloggers on National Review Online . The Leadership Institute, an activist group that maintains contact with College Republicans nationwide, urged its charges to see the movie on opening weekend, even handing out tickets to its interns." [9]

Reception

Critical

Based on 49 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, An American Carol has an 12% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 3.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "An American Carol suffers not so much from its perceived political bias, but from the fact that it simply is not very funny." [10] Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 20, based on 12 reviews. [11] The film had no advance screenings for critics. Director David Zucker said the studio did not believe the film would get a fair hearing due to its conservative political viewpoint, and had been "advised that most reviewers don't agree with the politics". [12]

Dr. Hfuhruhurr, a conservative film critic for Ain't it Cool News , said the film featured "ingenious comedy that we remember from Airplane! " and was "funny and inventive." [13] Kathleen Parker of The Washington Post Writers Group described the film as "[not] The Best Movie You Ever Saw, but it's something. It’s radical in its assault on the left wing; it's brave given the risk of peer ridicule and the potential for career suicide. And it's funny — if you like that sort of thing. Generally, I don’t." [14] Michael Brendan Doherty of The American Conservative considered the movie to be funny "in parts", but concluded that "Far from lampooning the Left, "Carol" insults conservatives by presuming that they are so simple as to be won over by fat jokes and flatulence. But the audience, imagining itself to be persecuted by Hollywood, is so grateful to be flattered by Zucker and company that they chuckle obediently at every cheap laff." [9] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the movie one star out of five, called it "jaw-droppingly awful," and "about as not-funny as a comedy can get." [15]

On September 5, 2008, Michael Moore was a guest on Larry King Live and was shown a clip from the film where Malone (while lying down on his bed, drinking a Big Gulp and watching archival footage of JFK's inaugural address) is startled by Kennedy, who materializes out of Malone's television screen, and confronts him on his misguided views of American history. Moore said that he was vaguely familiar with the film, and then jokingly said he thought that Viggo Mortensen should be portraying him. When King asked him his opinion, Moore shrugged and said, "I hope it's funny."

Commercial

An American Carol which opened on 1,639 screens nationwide, finished ninth at the box office that week, with a gross of $3.8 million, or a per-screen average of $2,325. For its second weekend, An American Carol had a 58.8 percent drop in box office receipts and dropped to #15, grossing $1,505,000 at 1,621 theaters or $928 per screen. [16]

The film faded in the box office in its third weekend dropping 73.8 percent and finishing #21 at 599 theaters grossing $365,000 or $609 per screen. [17] In its fourth weekend, it dropped to #41 at 109 theaters grossing $60,000 or $550 per screen. [18]

As of October 2009, An American Carol had grossed $7 million after having a production budget of $20 million. [19]

In an interview with National Review Online , Zucker had suggested a sequel as his next possible project, but later said that he was done making conservative comedies. Zucker stated that the audience for this type of film is one who waits for it to be available on DVD. [20]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 30, 2008, by Vivendi Entertainment. [21]

It includes a full length audio commentary by David Zucker and Kevin Farley along with several scenes and footage cut from the theatrical release.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Airplane!</i> 1980 American satirical comedy film

Airplane! is a 1980 American disaster comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson. It is a parody of the disaster film genre, particularly the 1957 Paramount film Zero Hour!, from which it borrows its plot, central characters, and some dialogue. It also draws many elements from Airport 1975 and other films in the Airport series. It is known for its use of surreal humor and fast-paced slapstick comedy, including visual and verbal puns, gags, running jokes, and dark humor.

<i>Ghost</i> (1990 film) Film by Jerry Zucker

Ghost is a 1990 American supernatural romance film directed by Jerry Zucker from a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin, and starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Goldwyn, Vincent Schiavelli, and Rick Aviles. It focuses on Sam Wheat (Swayze), a murdered banker, whose ghost sets out to save his girlfriend, Molly Jensen (Moore), from the person who killed him – through the help of the psychic Oda Mae Brown (Goldberg).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Farley</span> American comedian and actor (1964–1997)

Christopher Crosby Farley was an American comedian and actor. He was a member of Chicago's Second City Theatre and later a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live for five seasons from 1990 to 1995. He went on to pursue a film career, appearing in films such as Airheads, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, and Almost Heroes. Farley was frequently known for his physical performance/comedy and athleticism. This was used to great effect during his time on Saturday Night Live, and continued through many of his films. From his early acting days and through the height of his fame, Farley struggled with obesity, alcoholism, and substance abuse. He died of a drug overdose at the age of 33.

<i>The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!</i> 1988 film directed by David Zucker

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 American crime comedy film directed by David Zucker, and produced and released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars Leslie Nielsen as the bumbling police lieutenant Frank Drebin, who sets out to uncover a criminal plot involving people being mind controlled to assassinate targets. Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson also star in supporting roles.

<i>Being John Malkovich</i> 1999 American fantasy comedy film by Spike Jonze

Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American surrealist fantasy comedy drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a satirical version of himself. Cusack plays a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich's mind. Released by USA Films, the film received widespread acclaim, with praise for its writing and direction, and grossed $23 million against a $13 million budget. The film was nominated in three categories at the 72nd Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Keener. The film ranked 441st on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest films of all time, while Malkovich's performance is ranked number 90 on Premiere's "100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time".

<i>Rat Race</i> (film) 2001 film by Jerry Zucker

Rat Race is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Jerry Zucker. Inspired by Stanley Kramer's 1963 film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the film features an ensemble cast consisting of Rowan Atkinson, Whoopi Goldberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Wayne Knight, Jon Lovitz, Kathy Najimy, Lanei Chapman, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, John Cleese and Dave Thomas.

Dimension Films is an inactive American independent film and television production and distribution label founded in 1992, and currently owned by independent studio Lantern Entertainment. Formally one of the American "mini-majors", Dimension Films produced and released independent films and genre titles; specifically horror and science fiction films.

<i>What About Bob?</i> 1991 film directed by Frank Oz

What About Bob? is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz and starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss. Murray plays Bob Wiley, a mentally unstable patient who follows his egotistical psychotherapist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss) on vacation. When Bob befriends the other members of Leo's family, the patient's problems push the doctor over the edge. The film received positive reviews and grossed $63.7 million in the US.

<i>Airplane II: The Sequel</i> 1982 American parody film by Ken Finkleman

Airplane II: The Sequel is a 1982 American parody film written and directed by Ken Finkleman in his directorial debut and starring Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Chad Everett, William Shatner, Rip Torn, and Sonny Bono. A sequel to the 1980 film Airplane!, it was released on December 10, 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Phillips</span> American filmmaker (born 1970)

Todd Phillips is an American filmmaker. Phillips began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, and School for Scoundrels. He came to wider prominence in the early 2010s for directing The Hangover film series. In 2019, he co-wrote and directed the psychological thriller film Joker, based on the DC Comics character of the same name, which premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival where it received the top prize, the Golden Lion. Joker went on to earn Phillips three Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with his co-writer Scott Silver, his second, third, and fourth Academy Award nominations after also being nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Borat at the 79th Academy Awards.

<i>Backbeat</i> (film) 1994 film by Iain Softley

Backbeat is a 1994 independent drama film directed by Iain Softley. It chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, West Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon, and also with Sutcliffe's German girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr. It has subsequently been made into a stage production.

<i>Scary Movie 4</i> 2006 film by David Zucker

Scary Movie 4 is a 2006 American parody film directed by David Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, Craig Mazin, and Pat Proft, and produced by Mazin and Robert K. Weiss. It is the sequel to Scary Movie 3 and the fourth installment in the Scary Movie film series, as well as the first film in the franchise to be released by The Weinstein Company following the purchase of Dimension Films from Miramax Films. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Carmen Electra, Chris Elliott, Kevin Hart, Cloris Leachman, Michael Madsen, Dr. Phil McGraw, Leslie Nielsen, Shaquille O'Neal and Molly Shannon.

<i>A Christmas Carol</i> (2009 film) Film by Robert Zemeckis

Disney's A Christmas Carol is a 2009 American animated Christmas film produced, written for the screen and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Zemeckis' ImageMovers Digital, and released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. The film was animated through the process of motion capture, a technique used in ImageMovers' previous animated films including The Polar Express (2004), Monster House (2006), and Beowulf (2007), and stars the voices of Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn and Cary Elwes. It is Disney's third adaptation of the novel, following Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992).

<i>Swing Vote</i> (2008 film) 2008 film by Joshua Michael Stern

Swing Vote is a 2008 American comedy-drama film about an entire U.S. presidential election determined by the vote of one man. It was directed by Joshua Michael Stern, and stars Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez and Madeline Carroll. The film was released on August 1, 2008.

<i>Religulous</i> 2008 American film

Religulous is a 2008 American documentary film written by and starring comedian Bill Maher and directed by Larry Charles. The title of the film is a portmanteau derived from the words religious and ridiculous. The documentary examines and challenges religion and religious belief.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film directed by Tim Burton

Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay written by Linda Woolverton and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars Mia Wasikowska in the title role, with Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, and Crispin Glover, while featuring the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall. A live-action adaptation and re-imagining of Lewis Carroll's works, the film follows Alice Kingsleigh, a nineteen-year-old who accidentally falls down a rabbit hole, returns to Wonderland, and alongside the Mad Hatter helps restore the White Queen to her throne by fighting against the Red Queen and her Jabberwocky, a dragon that terrorizes Wonderland's inhabitants.

<i>The Back-up Plan</i> 2010 American romantic comedy film

The Back-up Plan is a 2010 American romantic comedy film directed by Alan Poul, starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin. The film follows a woman who aims to be a single mother through planned pregnancy, but soon falls in love with a man who wants to father her unborn children. It was released theatrically in the United States on April 23, 2010, by CBS Films. The Back-up Plan garnered negative reviews from critics, who praised Lopez's performance but criticized the generic script. It was a box-office success, grossing $77.5 million against a production budget of $35 million.

<i>Letters to God</i> 2010 American film

Letters to God is a 2010 American Christian drama film directed by David Nixon and starring Robyn Lively, Jeffrey Johnson, Tanner Maguire, Michael Bolten and Bailee Madison. The story was written by Patrick Doughtie about his son Tyler, with the screenplay penned by Doughtie, Art D'Alessandro, Sandra Thrift and Cullen Douglas. The story took place in Nashville, Tennessee, but the movie was filmed in Orlando, Florida.

<i>Transformers: Age of Extinction</i> 2014 film by Michael Bay

Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) and the fourth installment in the Transformers film series. Like its predecessor, the film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci with supporting roles done by Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Bingbing Li, Titus Welliver, and T.J. Miller. It does not feature the original human cast from the previous three films, and instead introduces a new human cast and many new Transformers, including the Dinobots. A struggling inventor and single-father discovers a damaged truck, which turns out to be a Transformer in disguise.

<i>Think Like a Man Too</i> 2014 American film

Think Like a Man Too is a 2014 American romantic comedy film directed by Tim Story. It is the sequel to the 2012 film Think Like a Man, based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The script was written by David A. Newman and Keith Merryman, with Will Packer returning as producer but now under his Will Packer Productions banner. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Terrence J, Taraji P. Henson, Romany Malco, Gabrielle Union, Jerry Ferrara, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Gary Owen and Kevin Hart, with Jennifer Lewis and La La Anthony in supporting roles.

References

  1. ↑ "An American Carol Movie Overview". Fandango.com. 2008-10-03. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  2. ↑ "The Numbers". The Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  3. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (2008-09-06). "ScreenDaily.com". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  4. ↑ "DVD Times". DVD Times. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  5. ↑ "Kelsey Grammer to play Scrooge". Variety. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  6. ↑ "Vivendi picks up 'American Carol'". Variety. 2008-07-31. Archived from the original on 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  7. ↑ "Breitbart TV". Breitbart TV. Retrieved 2012-10-17.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Dallas News Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1 2 Brendan, Michael (2008-10-20). "Film Rights". The American Conservative. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  10. ↑ "An American Carol (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "An American Carol (2008): Reviews". Metacritic . CNET Networks. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  12. ↑ Goldstein, Patrick (2008-10-06). "Gasp! Right-wing media bashes 'American Carol'!". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  13. ↑ "Dr. Hfuhruhurr Returns With An Early Review Of AN AMERICAN CAROL!". Ain't it Cool News. September 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
  14. ↑ Parker, Kathleen. "Ghosts of America's past make their points in Carol'". The State Journal-Register . Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  15. ↑ Rea, Steven (October 4, 2008). "Conservative 'Carol' is flat and unfunny". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for October 10–12, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  17. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for October 17–19, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  18. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for October 24–26, 2008". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  19. ↑ "An American Carol (2008)". Box Office Mojo. 2008-11-12. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  20. ↑ Vangsness, Lisa (October 20, 2008). "Comedy has become a liberal genre". Boston.com . Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Home". Vivendient.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
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.