D’Souza’s “America”

I dislike going to movies any more … full of annoying teen patrons, expensive snacks, bad acting, lefty messages, and over-the-top special effects. But today my wife and I decided to give it a whirl with Dinesh D’Souza’s “America” … mostly out of curiosity. We went to the 1:00 PM show this past Friday. Not surprisingly, the theater was only sparsely filled. 

The movie itself was a little plodding, preachy and pedantic but it did have a few uplifting moments. I do think it would have benefited from a professional narrator. Dinesh chose himself for this role ... he should have stepped aside for a little more sonority. Also, he inserted himself into too many of the scenes for my taste. My chief complaint is that this movie often lacks subtlety ... drawing obvious conclusions for its audience rather than letting then find their own way.

"America" is actually two movies spliced together … one, surprisingly, relating the oft-heard indictments of America for all of our supposed past grevious sins … which it then attempts to shoot down with both convincing and sometimes thin logic ... particularly its defense of capitalism. But it does have expensive historic re-enactment scenes, satisfactory but not great acting, professional production values, and passable music. It also tries to relate what the world would be like without the United States ... a clear winner. And this first segment also does render its climax in a dramatic and patriotic fashion.

But the second segment does seem a bit of an afterthought … maybe just to extend the movie’s run time. This part is more an indictment of what is currently going wrong in America (our newest sins) with pointed references to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton  ... along with their mentors, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, and Saul Alinsky. My wife, who had slept through much of the first segment, paid more attention at this point ... as it was more political and less lawyerly.

All in all, "America" is a forgettable movie (like most out of Hollywood), but one that might just inspire some political activism from our mainstream populists. I do believe that teenagers might also benefit from its historic perspectives and from some of its many under-reported historical facts ... to help them balance out much of the claptrap they are being spoon-fed in their schools. It might just broaden their perspectives a tad.

Would I suggest you see it? Reluctantly, I think so ... if nothing more than to make a political statement ... and to annoy your liberal friends at parties ... like they have annoyed you with their Michael Moore kudos.