An American Carol (2008)

"Ingenious comedy that we remember from Airplane!  Ain't It Cool News
"It's radical...it's brave...and it's funny!  Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post

Editor's Note 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.

	Serdar Kalsin
	Trace Adkins
	Robert Davi
	Dennis Hopper
	Geoffrey Arend
	James Woods
	Leslie Nielsen
	David Alan Grier
	Kevin Farley
	Kelsey Grammer
	Jon Voight
	Myrna Sokoloff - Screenwriter
	Brian Baugh - Director of Photography
	James Venable - Composer
	Bill O'Reilly - Himself
	John Shepherd - Producer
	Stephen McEveety - Producer
	David Zucker - Screenwriter
	Lewis Friedman - Screenwriter
	Gary Coleman - Cameo
	David Zucker - Director

San Francisco Chronicle 6 of 10
"An American Carol" is that rare bird, a conservative Hollywood comedy, and a very self-conscious one it is, too...Since director and co-writer David Zucker once upon a time gave us "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" movies (and who has more recently busied himself with the "Scary Movie" franchise), you expect at least some smart, ribald slapstick aimed at the left's sacred cows. It's there, but the targets are bigger and lazier than they ought to be, and the lectures are nonstop...At its loosest and goofiest, "An American Carol" tosses high-spirited cherry bombs against perceived liberal sins: The Leni Riefenstahl documentary award ceremony is a hoot, and the attack of the ACLU zombie attorneys is funny no matter what side you're on. The bit where Robert Davi's Islamic terrorist removes his fake beard to reveal a real beard is a classic throwaway Zucker sight gag. At such points you wonder if America's real enemies - without and within - are those who can't take a joke...The cream of conservative Hollywood turns up in small roles, from Dennis Hopper as a judge to Leslie Nielsen as the foxy Grandpa narrating the tale. You sense it's a relief for some of them to come out of the closet...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. As cartoons go, it's a not unwelcome change from pious, unexamined Hollywood platitudes (as opposed to the tough field work done in some recent documentaries). You could argue, of course, that a cartoon is the last thing we need at the moment. - Ty Burr