God Bless America (2011)
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A middle-aged man and a teenage girl embark on a violent killing spree fueled by their shared disdain for modern American culture.
The story
Frank Murdoch, a middle-aged insurance salesman, is deeply frustrated by the perceived depravity of modern American culture. After being fired from his job and receiving a terminal diagnosis from his doctor, he experiences an epiphany while watching a reality show. He steals a neighbor's car and targets a spoiled teenager, leading to a chance encounter with a girl named Roxy. The two bond over their shared grievances and decide to embark on a violent journey to eliminate people they deem unworthy of life in a society they find increasingly intolerable.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Frank Murdoch, an insurance salesman fed up with American depravity, is told he has a terminal brain tumor. After a failed suicide attempt, he kills a spoiled teenager named Chloe and meets Roxy, a girl who joins his killing spree. They target various people they find offensive, including Chloe's parents, religious protesters, and a political commentator. Frank spares his ex-wife's new fiancé, but later learns his tumor diagnosis was a mistake. After a confrontation with a man who mistakes Roxy for a prostitute, Frank discovers Roxy lied about her background. He eventually takes her to a talent show studio, where he holds the audience hostage and gives a speech about societal decay. The film ends with Frank and Roxy shooting the performers and audience members before being killed by police.
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Bobcat Goldthwait
- Writers
- Bobcat Goldthwait · writer
- Cast and characters
- Joel Murray · Frank Murdoch; Tara Lynne Barr · Roxy
- Genres
- black comedy; political satire; crime comedy; independent
- Themes
- cultural decay; vengeance; social alienation
- Tone and mood
- darkly comic; uncomfortable; merciless
- Premise and plot tags
- road movie; political satire; black comedy
- Reception
- The film received mixed to average reviews, described as a darkly comic polemic with primal appeal but noted for being uneven and thin.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 65% · review count: 114; Reelviews · score: 3 · scale: 4; Entertainment Weekly · score: C
- Production trivia
- The film was selected to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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