Go West Young Conservative

This weekend I sold a kidney and went to the cinema twice to check out two very different, but very exciting offerings. The first was the new spoof-esque, conservative satire An American Carol from David Zucker (Airplane!). Zucker is a Hollywood Jew who comes from a super-Lib entertainment family and was a Leftist himself until a self-proclaimed conversion following the 9/11 attacks.

The movie was the first real conservative comedy in ages, taking direct shots at the ACLU, the university system, anti-war hysteria, etc. I went opening night with a friend because we both wanted to support such a cause, but we weren't expecting much.

Well, suffice to say the movie exceeded my expectations. It was incredibly funny, and full of resoundingly true satire that exposes the Left and its varied agendas as empty, un-American tripe. Unfortunately in a business sense, the best jokes were the most "conservative" based, the rest of the bits being straight slap-stick which is hit or miss in the best of comedy's, but is mainly miss in Carol. I support this movie, and think that just about anyone, even self-styled Liberals (Mr. Craft) can find a great amount to enjoy. However, as good as the picture turned out to be for me, it really is not going to do very well (current Box Office has it just above Mahr's Religulous at the nine spot with around 4 million.) For most conservatives who would go see this sort of thing--I'm talking the family, main-stream, Christian sort--its going to come off as too offensive in the language/content department (there is a child whose shtick is saying "ass" and "asshole" repeatedly...he also appeared in Hancock doing the same thing.). As with Airplane, Naked Gun, and other films like it, Carol is aimed at the male twenty-somethings who don't really take comedy seriously unless there are a few profanities inserted strategically. It's a shame, because I think the film could have done very well had it been toned down a little for the sake of its core, middle-American audience.

For a good, over-all review check Dirty Harry's take HERE.


The second film I saw was the new western APPALOOSA, directed by and starring Ed Harris. By far this is the best film I have seen since The Dark Knight, and the best western since The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford last year. Like Assassination, Appaloosa is an intensely realistic film, both in its depictions of period life (down to minute detail) and the speech of its characters. However, unlike the remake of 3:10 to Yuma (another great recent western) the violence is not stylized. Don't get me wrong, the gunshots in the film are visceral, but not super-bloody and overblown. Like I said, realism is the key and Appaloosa strikes the perfect balance.

Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are excellent as the leads, which is important because the film is essentially a buddy picture with western tropes. I was reminded of Peckinpah's transcendent classic Ride the High Country. Like Randolph Scott and Joel McRae, Harris and Mortensen were born to be in westerns, and Jeremy Irons as the villian is pitch perfect. The way Irons is able to turn off his accent but still growl in that gravelly basso never ceases to impress. Renee Zell-whatever is the love interest, and the fulcrum on which the balance of the story rests, and as such she is serviceable...but not great. She thankfully doesn't descend to much into her Cold Mountain character, but she never is very convincing.

I was worried at the outset that I was in for a "modern"or "revisionist" western along the lines of Unforgiven (an excellent film, don't get me wrong) not knowing what to expect from Harris. My fears were in vain however, because Appaloosa turned out to be very classical in its story, with clear cut good guys vs. bad guys. There was even a little cowboy vs. Indian action thrown in. Also worth mentioning is the soundtrack. All of the recent westerns (The Proposition, Assasination, Yuma) have been outstanding in regards to music, and Appaloosa is no exception. The score is reminiscent of classic westerns, spiced up with a bit of period flare (banjo, baby). Although the Tom Petty song over the end credits was a bit odd...

Ultimately, Appaloosa is the film I'm must recommend (and thankfully its making some money, currently 5th at the BO). The story is engaging, the acting fantastic, and the action is beautifully staged and quite understated (not bombastic like Yuma, but not as laconic as Assassination.)

Go see Appaloosa.