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An American Carol

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An American Carol (2008)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:0

Rotten:10

Average Rating:3.2/10

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

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for rude and irreverent content, and for language and brief drug material.

Runtime: 83 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Oct 3, 2008 Wide

Box Office: $6,960,000

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

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Release:

Dec 30, 2008

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Reviews for An American Carol

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1 - 10 (sorted by date)
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Utterly asinine, sophomoric, tasteless, the movie has much in common with Zucker's Airplane!, The Naked Gun 2 1/2 and Scary Movie sequels, minus the laughs.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment 3 Comments
10/13/08
Susan Walker
Susan Walker
Toronto Star
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Poorly made indie production has a script that feels like a list of ripostes collected over the last several years to liberal criticisms of the U.S.: The whole enterprise feels far more agenda- than entertainment-driven.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 1 Comment
10/06/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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