Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Fed up with the cruelty and stupidity of American culture, an unlikely duo goes on a killing spree, killing reality TV stars, bigots and others they find repugnant.
God Bless America is a darkly comic satire that channels Network-era rage into a Bonnie-and-Clyde road movie framework. Bobcat Goldthwait's script is sharp and pointed in its cultural critiques, though it leans heavily on monologue-driven rants that can feel repetitive and preachy. Joel Murray carries the film with a weary everyman performance, and Tara Lynne Barr brings energy as his teenage accomplice, though the characters remain somewhat thin beyond their ideological function. Cinematography is functional and unremarkable, serving the story without any distinctive visual identity. The satirical premise is engaging and the film has a clear voice, but it treads well-worn territory of 'outsider rage against vapid culture' that films like Falling Down and Network mapped before it. The ending is appropriately nihilistic and consistent with the film's tone, if not particularly surprising given where the story is heading.