Watch This Trailer: Bobcat Goldthwait's "God Bless America" Is So Dark It's Brilliant
Posted by Chris_OCoin on Monday, Feb 06, 2012
Bobcat Goldthwait is a national treasure. I’ve admittedly never been a huge fan of his standup or the character he created for himself in the late ‘80s, but I’ve always found him to be a kindred spirit of sorts.
His previous film, World’s Greatest Dad, was a super dark and incredibly funny take on the inherent narcism of the grieving process. Not many people saw it. I blame this at least in part on the film’s very misleading trailer.
Before World’s Greatest Dad there was Sleeping Dogs Lie, a truly disturbing knee slapper about a woman whose decision to disclose the details about an impulsive act of bestiality in college compromises her relationship with her fiancé. Again, not a splash at the box office. Let’s not even get into Shakes the Clown.
Long story short: Bobcat has a dark imagination and his previous work doesn’t make selling God Bless America easy for me (or anyone), but here it goes.
How many times have you been watching television after a particularly shitty day only to bear witness to the worst kind of vapid, self-important, spoiled piece of garbage human beings prancing around like they’re god’s gift to mankind? I know, stupid question. Well, in God Bless America we find Frank, played by Joel Murray (One Crazy Summer, The Artist), about to kill himself during this very scenario. Unfortunately for most of America, Frank instead decides to go on a cross country killing spree to rid the world of rude and annoying people with the help of a trigger happy teenage girl named Roxy, played by Tara Lynne Barr. Watch the trailer.
I have no idea how the hell Bobcat got anyone to fund this thing; I assume a lot of his own money went into it. But whatever the case, I’m extremely happy he was able to bring this brilliant idea to reality. The scene where Roxy is gunning down Westboro Baptist Church types is worth the price of admission alone.
Watch This Trailer is an ongoing series meant to draw Motherboard readers’ attention to the art of film advertising. For better or for worse. Previously on Watch This Trailer: Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Teases Absurdist Mayhem.
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