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Movies / On DVD / An American Carol
An American Carol

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An American Carol (2008)

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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:5

Rotten:35

Average Rating:3/10

Consensus: An American Carol suffers not so much from its perceived political bias, but from the fact that it simply is not very funny.

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Director David Zucker (AIRPLANE, NAKED GUN) returns to the satire genre with AN AMERICAN CAROL. The political spoof stars Kevin Farley (brother of the late comedian Chris Farley) as Michael Malone,... Director David Zucker (AIRPLANE, NAKED GUN) returns to the satire genre with AN AMERICAN CAROL. The political spoof stars Kevin Farley (brother of the late comedian Chris Farley) as Michael Malone, a left-wing documentary filmmaker with a strong likeness to the controversial real-life Michael Moore. The world has long put up with Malone's cynical films and so-called liberal antics. But when he announces his plans to abolish the Fourth of July, the consensus is that he's finally gone too far. Can the three spirits who arrive to haunt Mr. Malone change his stubborn world view? Kelsey Grammer plays one of the three ghosts intent on bringing out Malone's patriotic side through a series of wild adventures filled with celebrity cameos by Gary Coleman, Leslie Nielsen, and Dennis Hopper, to name a few. Malone may still have a loyal fan following, but for this trip he's all on his own. A cross between A CHRISTMAS CAROL and films like SCARY MOVIE, AN AMERICAN CAROL uses ghosts as the main vehicle for its pro-America jokes. Together, the spirits of General Patton, President Kennedy, and President Washington drive the plot of this spoof, which unlike many recent satires, pokes fun at the more liberal end of things. [More]

Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins

Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Kevin Farley, Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins, Robert Davi, Geoffrey Arend, Serdar Kalsin, Jon Voight, Dennis Hopper, David Alan Grier, James Woods

Director: David Zucker

Director: David Zucker
Screenwriter: David Zucker, Lewis Friedman, Myrna Sokoloff
Producer: Stephen McEveety, John Shepherd
Composer: James L. Venable
Studio: Vivendi Entertainment

[See More Credits]

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1 - 4 of 8

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Reviews for An American Carol

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21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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An American Carol is about as not-funny as a comedy can get.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment 2 Comments
10/06/08
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer

It's a polemic, a screed, a combination comic rant and sentimental flag-waver that doesn't work as either.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment 2 Comments
10/06/08
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

What makes An American Carol overtly depressing rather than merely lame is its allegiance to a diseased political discourse built on crude dichotomies: Either you're a bellicose, God-fearing patriot or a troop-hating, traitorous hippie.

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment 5 Comments
10/06/08
Sam Adams
Sam Adams
AV Club

I can't imagine anyone -- Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, red-state or blue-state, earthling or E.T. -- finding An American Carol anything other than 'not funny.' And idiotic. And demeaning. And aggressively, persistently crummy.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment 9 Comments
10/06/08
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Is there any filmmaker alive, whether Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, capable of producing a truly incisive, intelligent satire about our politically polarized times?

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment 4 Comments
10/06/08
Rafer Guzman
Rafer Guzman
Newsday

Cheap shots and mean spirits abound, as do celebrity cameos. But it’s the laziness of the writing that most offends.

comment 13 Comments
10/06/08
Nathan Lee
Nathan Lee
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Given that this supremely silly satire directed by The Naked Gun's David Zucker plays more like something slapped together to beat an expiration date, it's hard to get too worked up about it.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment 1 Comment
10/06/08
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Only you can decide whether you're in the mood to wade through the smear of stink jokes and political ravings.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment 4 Comments
10/06/08
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

Ultimately, the problem with An American Carol is the problem with far too much political discourse in this country, left or right: It highlights the worst excesses of the opposition for the sole purpose of discrediting the vast middle.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment 3 Comments
10/06/08
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe

A liberal witch hunt in court jester clothing, and in-your-face politics presumably to coincide with the election, while certain to have Charles Dickens roll over in his grave. An American Carol: Huh?! Cinema at its foulest.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
10/06/08
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze

Challenging authority as unpatriotic? Bah, humbug!

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment 2 Comments
10/06/08
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
NewsBlaze

Although it's refreshing to encounter a parody that doesn't use tired movie genres for inspiration, An American Carol squanders its comedic potential with a near-total absence of laughs.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment 1 Comment
10/06/08
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even if it weren't three years too late to parody Moore (ineptly played by Kevin Farley), Moore's ridiculous tribute to Cuban health care in Sicko is far funnier than anything in this desperately laughless farce from David Zucker.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
10/06/08
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

... while it may be (director David Zucker's) passion for the (obvious conservative agenda), it's easily more entertaining than either Scary Movie 3 or 4.

Full Review Source: MovieCrypt.com | comment 9 Comments
10/04/08
Kevin A. Ranson
Kevin A. Ranson
MovieCrypt.com

I'm giving it a just-barely-recommended grade not because it's terribly funny (which it isn't), but because it's fascinating as a cultural artifact.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 6 Comments
10/03/08
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

This movie’s level of political discourse makes Couric/Palin look like Frost/Nixon.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment 8 Comments
10/03/08
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
L.A. Weekly

While it is the liberals of America who receive the brunt of abuse, it is the conservatives, portrayed as hypocritical, narrow-minded hicks and heathens, that unintentionally look like fools.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment 42 Comments
10/03/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

The right should follow Zucker's lead engage its liberal opposition with humor rather than the crass protests and attempts at bans usually flung at Moore's films.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment 16 Comments
10/03/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

It's neat to see a movie from another point of view... Still, the movie has a message, and that message gets in the way of the comedy at least half of the time

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment 3 Comments
10/03/08
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

American Carol reinforces how needlessly divisive our country has become. Certainly there's a better way to say "Yay America!" than this lousy, hopeless movie, easily one of the worst films of the year.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment 88 Comments
10/03/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com
 
 
21 - 40 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2
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Latest News for An American Carol

January 03, 2009: A liberal witch hunt in court jester clothing, certain to have Charles Dickens roll over in his grave. An American Carol: Huh?! Cinema at its foulest. Opens in new window
More...

December 29, 2008: RT on DVD: A Matthew McConaughey Stinker or Event Horizon on Blu-ray?
It's officially the last DVD release week of the year, although much like the box office, most big-ticket new releases debuted last week in time for Christmas. Nevertheless,... More...

October 31, 2008: A liberal witch hunt in court jester clothing, and in-your-face politics presumably to coincide with the election, while certain to have Charles Dickens roll over in his grave. An American Carol: Huh?! Cinema at its foulest. Opens in new window
More...

October 19, 2008: LiveJournal.com: A liberal witch hunt in court jester clothing, certain to have Charles Dickens roll over in his grave. An American Carol: Huh?! Cinema at its foulest. Opens in new window
More...

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