An American Carol (2008)

Funny - No, Intelligent - No, Worth Viewing – Probably Not

Michael Malone (Kevin Farley) is an American documentary maker out to abolish Fourth of July celebrations, perceiving it as the ultimate representation of what is wrong in America. However, he is visited by three ghosts who intend to change the way he views his country.

Firstly, David Zucker appears to have fallen a long way since the heights of Airplane and Police Squad – although too many Scary Movie sequels and "spoof" movies on the resume show the path to these new depths of garbage. Unfortunately, we live in a world where bowing to the lowest common denominator in taste and quality still makes money.

As somebody outside of the USA, perhaps this is not a movie targeted at me but it feels like the worst kind of low brow comedy, which takes easy and cheap shots at "anti-American" film-makers. Although the target is clear (Kevin Farley's characterisation is in no doubt), if questioning the way things work automatically marks you as an anarchist (or "anti- American", in this case) then what is a democracy? I may not always agree with your point but would not deny you the right to say it. "Freedom of Speech" still exists, right?

Leslie Neilson appears as a grandfather, telling the story we see play out. Although always good to see Neilson, he has little to do in this movie besides one "action" scene. Trace Adkins appears as both The Angel of Death and himself. As himself, he is apparently the ultimate representation of America and what it means to be a true American. The role is fairly small, which is probably best, as even if you enjoy his musical output, I'm not sure feature films are his future. Kelsey Grammar as General Patton has an overly long yet mildly amusing role but is ultimately wasted in it. His feature film output will not garner awards – Down Periscope any one? – but he may be the highlight in an otherwise dull production with few redeeming features.

Bad acting, cheap shots at those willing to question the norm and "jokes" that will make many wince – we should be allowed to charge the film-makers for our time spent watching this rubbish.

Overall, if you are a fan of the spoof movies of recent years, give this a try. If you are a Michael Moore hater, give this a try. If you don't fall in to either of those camps, don't waste your time or money.