America: The Motion Picture

In Netflix's R-rated animated comedy America: The Motion Picture, Channing Tatum plays a chainsaw-wielding George Washington who gathers a group of historical "Avengers" to exact revenge on werewolf Benedict Arnold (Andy Samberg) for killing Abraham Lincoln. The film reimagines the American Revolution as a profane, anachronistic action blockbuster. Produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and directed by Matt Thompson (Archer), the film combines every possible anachronism, including Robocop centaurs, beer pong, machine guns, Blue Man Group, and Thomas Edison as a woman (Olivia Munn), into a "non-stop barrage of jokes" that a website likened to Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker classics like Airplane!. Clearly understanding the task, the voice cast—which includes Simon Pegg as King James and Jason Mantzoukas as frat-bro Sam Adams—delivers fast-paced lunacy that occasionally lands with true brilliance, especially when mocking American jingoism and dude-bro culture.

Many critics, however, have viewed the film as "immediately insufferable" and "deeply unfunny" despite its pedigree. Although the premise is naturally lighthearted and the animation by Floyd County Productions (Archer) is clear, the unrelenting pace that works in 22-minute TV episodes proves exhausting over 98 minutes; a magazine notes that it "operates like it was conceived by someone used to craft quips in place of jokes." The movie's attempts to parody America's political differences and racist past frequently come out as clumsy or out of date, depending on allusions to The Transporter and Lynyrd Skynyrd that imply a script that was created years ago and never updated. Although one person deemed America: The Motion Picture "worthwhile" for Team America fans, its "five minutes of laughter and 90 minutes of missed opportunity" structure makes it feel like a wasted opportunity from creators capable of much sharper, more inventive comedy. In the end, America: The Motion Picture works best as a "turn your brain off" holiday diversion for viewers who enjoy its particular brand of raunchy, hyper-referential humor.

Staff:

Directed by: Matt Thompson

Written by: Dave Callaham

Produced by: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Will Allegra, Channing Tatum, Peter Kiernan, Reid Carolin, Matt Thompson, Eric Sims, Dave Callaham, Christian Danley, and Neal Holman

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jason Mantzoukas, Olivia Munn, Bobby Moynihan, Judy Greer, Will Forte, Raoul Max Trujillo, Killer Mike, Simon Pegg, and Andy Samberg.

Edited by: Christian Danley

Music by: Mark Mothersbaugh

Production companies: Netflix Animation, Lord Miller Productions, Free Association, Floyd County Productions, and Jittery Dog Productions

Distributed by: Netflix

Release date: June 30, 2021

Running time: 98 minutes