'America: The Motion Picture' Review
TV-MA
Runtime: 1 Hrs and 38 Minutes
Production Companies: Lord Miller Productions, Free Association, Floyd County Productions, Litter Dog Productions
Distributor: Netflix
Director: Matt Thompson
Writer: Dave Callaham
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jason Mantzoukas, Olivia Munn, Bobby Moynihan, Judy Greer, Will Forte, Raoul Max Trujillo, Killer Mike, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg
Release Date: June 30, 2021
Netflix
In this wildly tongue-in-cheek animated revisionist history, a chainsaw-wielding George Washington assembles a team of rabble rousers -- including beer-loving bro Sam Adams, famed scientist Thomas Edison, acclaimed horseman Paul Revere, and a very pissed off Geronimo -- to defeat Benedict Arnold and King James in the American Revolution. Who will win? No one knows, but you can be sure of one thing: these are not your father's Founding... uh, Fathers.
Eat your hearts out, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and whoever made Liberty Kids (Gen Z readers will get that name-drop) because the people behind Archer and Lord/Miller have made their own historical fan-fiction more outrageous than all of you combined. Straight off the bat, America: The Motion Picture defiles the history textbook and provides its own fucked-up retelling of the founding of this fucked-up nation.
In a crowded market of mostly CGI-driven Western animation, it’s always welcoming to see a new 2D animated feature, especially one aimed for adults. It’s hella rare we get something of this nature in both tone and style. America: The Motion Picture boasts sharp-edged 2D designs similar to your typical mainstream graphic novel, so cinematic and beautifully animated. You know this shit took years to produce by the details seen in the expressive movements of the ensemble and the striking designs portraying colonial America. It’s impressive that the frame rate is set to be lower than 24 frames to emulate the motion comic feel. From there you can see the effort that went into rigging these characters, and how they operated to deliver dialogue or execute an over-the-top action. Directorial debut nature aside, Matt Thompson displayed an impressive clear vision on making this motion picture visually entertaining and fast-paced like the Archer series he is involved with.
The story itself, while fucking weird, is just baffling to watch unfold. As mentioned, the rulebook is out of the window as it presents history in its own balls-to-the-wall way, so unapologetically absurd it’s hard not to admire the sheer amount of imaginative weirdness. Don’t believe me? Let me elaborate the premise: After witnessing the murder of his best friend Abraham Lincoln (Will Forte, who ALWAYS should be Hollywood’s go-to Lincoln) by werewolf Benedict Arnold (Andy Samberg), who has joined forces with King George of Britain (Simon Pegg), top-heavy himbo George Washington (Channing Tatum) swears vengeance and assembles a team of misfits to save the country from tyranny frat dude Sam Adams (Jason Mantzoukas being a Jason Mantzoukas type), a genderbent Thomas Edison (Olivia Munn), who is also a scientist eager to prove herself, a dim but warm Paul Revere (Bobby Moynihan), a one-armed Indigenous badass Geronimo (Raoul Trujillo) and John Henry (Killer Mike). That is just the summary, and to see where this journey goes is more enticing than it is funny. The film is packed to the brim with history-related visual gags pitched at rapid-fire speed. The film is at its most clever when it takes a historical event, twists it so that it works for the plot and creates a grand ol’ set piece out of it. On the visual and structural fronts, America: The Motion Picture is engaging and fun. The screenplay, meanwhile…
If I was around 14 or 15-years old, identified as male again, and viewed America: The Motion Picture, I’d think this might be the funniest comedy of the year. But alas, I’m 23, and this kind of adult humor has worn out its welcome like nearly a decade ago. The film’s screenplay aims for this gleeful-shock blend in content and tone, not shying away from graphic violence, sex, saying fuck, and everything else that ticks Netflix’s adult animation boxes. It is fun at first, but eventually becomes a chore this frustratingly immature notion of using “fuck” every so often equals a good joke. In reality, it just lessens the quality of the writing. The late-90s are long gone. We are way past the age of shock-value adult animation.There’s an array of content geared toward an older demographic that features enough good writing outside of constant vulgarities and sexual content to stand out, but it fails to overtake the swearing and sexing. When it’s not doing a visual gag and the writing has to shine, it falls flat on its face. The majority of the characters are devoid of charm and can be in-your-face grating with bscene obnoxiousness. The saving grace is the ensemble voice cast who are completely committed to their roles, delivering fun enough performances across the board to save the film from its weak screenplay.
The movie already knows it is an over-exaggerated patriotic parody of history even down to the designs, but, man, there could have been more range to the character models. All the men are top-heavy or egregiously jacked while the women are slim, curvy and busty. Not to be the one calling for equality from the character design department but, it would get so weird seeing nearly two different body types for men and just one for women. Apart from the screenplay, this is another area that reeks of immaturity.
That said, I still had plenty of fun watching this bizarre riff on American history. If it wasn’t for some great 2D animated action sequences, bizarre story, and the voice cast, this easily would’ve been written off as a juvenile product 10 years too late. In some regards, it is absolutely that, but at the same time it’s such a mindless joy to watch a historically accurate telling of how this dumbass country came to be. If you’re a teenager who loves South Park and Seth MacFarlene stuff, or a dude-bro who can turn your brain off, this is the perfect summer comedy for you. For everyone else? Results may vary.
