Ever feel like news events are surreal?
Director David Zucker (“Airplane,” “Naked Gun,” and “Scary Movie”) felt that way, so much so that he was inspired to direct and co-write the film “An American Carol,” which opened in theaters Friday.
“Far Left politics are taken too seriously,” Zucker told me. The hyper reaction provides material that’s “perfect for poking fun at,” he said.
“Who would’ve thought airplane disaster movies would be material for jokes before ‘Airplane?’ Or serious Westerns would be funny until ‘Blazing Saddles’?” he said. “My motivations have always been to first ask, ‘Where can I find good jokes?’ ”
When it comes to good jokes, Zucker hit the mother lode with the politics of the far left.
[Editor's Note: See the "An American Carol" Movie Trailer Below]
If you’ve been outraged over the intense media bias and celebrity attacks on GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, here’s a flick that provides an outlet. With its wacky terrorists, parroting protesters and an anti-American filmmaker who looks an awful lot like Michael Moore, “Carol” is chock full of the special kind of hilarity that middle America has been craving.
It used to be that the only celebrities who publicly expressed their political views were far-left tilters such as Barbara Streisand, Sean Penn, and Jane Fonda. Zucker is changing that Hollywood equation.
This time, conservatives in Tinseltown have collaborated to communicate their ideas, but they’re doing it in jocular way.
The movie has a cast that includes veteran stars Kelsey Grammer, Jon Voight, James Woods, Dennis Hopper, Robert Davi, and Leslie Nielsen. With this kind of lineup, you’d expect some great performances. And there are, under the master comedy direction of Zucker.
The plot loosely follows Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” with Kevin Farley playing the character of Michael Malone, a modern-day Scrooge who wants to abolish the July Fourth holiday.
Paris Hilton, who happens to be a Sen. Barack Obama supporter, is in the movie as an award presenter.
Country singer Trace Adkins uses his baritone voice to portray the Angel of Death and scare the pants off Malone.
And Davi is a scene stealer. He relies on his history of playing heavies to come up with a farcical caricature of a terrorist ring leader.
The movie has plenty of Zucker’s trademark unvarnished humor, some of which is likely to stir up controversy. For instance, anti-war protesters chant, “Peace now. We don't care how!” as they carry signs that read:
“End Violence — War Is Not the Answer!”
“End Disease — Medicine Is Not the Answer!”
“It's Too Dark Outside — The Sun Is Not the Answer!”
“Overpopulation — Gay Marriage Is the Answer!”
Zucker anticipated that he would be attacked for going against the Hollywood grain. And the attacks came right on schedule, starting with some bitter bloggers who suggested that the filmmaker had modified his approach to serve an ideology.
Zucker told me that his approach wasn’t altered. In fact, the only thing that had changed was the subject matter. “All I’m doing and all I’ve done for the last 30 years is find things that are taken too seriously and expose them in a comedic fashion,” Zucker said.
The lefty British Guardian branded the movie as “propaganda masquerading as entertainment.”
For “An American Carol” that’s quite an endorsement.
VIDEO: "An American Carol" Movie Trailer
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