| Heart Of America (2003) Cast:Jurgen Prochnow, Micahel Pare, Patrick Muldoon, Maria Conchita Alonzo, Clint Howard,Kett Turton A group of students target their bullies for termination due to the humilation caused by the bullies (All the teenagers are pretty bland) their plans will be carried out on the last day of school, along the way Michael Pare ponders on why he can't write a book while Prochnow wants his daughter to set an example all of this takes place in Heart Of America a well made yet unbelievably offensive and creepy film. Here is a disturbingly mean spirited little movie that's moronic message seems to be that if you bully kids you deserve to die, the overall content itself is questionable but the fact that it's done in the most moronic light is what makes this movie so sleazy and reprehensible. First off let's start with the casting of Michael Pare, here is an actor who starred in the ultimate teen movie Streets Of Fire, in that movie he played a mercenary who rescued his teenaged rock star girlfriend, here was a movie full of charm that brought together all the elements that define a teen's life (There's a reason why it's such a cult classic) however almost twenty years later comes a movie which completely and I mean strongly screws up the aspect of how teens act. All of the overall drama is set up by base instincts that everyone remembers about high school, but Uwe Boll's approach is so over the top that you can't help but wonder what on earth was he thinking? Another aspect is that Boll seems to be taking risks with his casting, Prochnow and Pare aren't exactly the type of guys who look like your typical principal or teacher, especially since these guys have made a career out of playing heavies and heroes (In Pare's case) so it's somewhat shocking that both these guys give respectable in their roles, especially Prochnow who actually comes off quite sympathetic. Howard as well gives a good performance as a mean spirited dad. Another great performance comes newcomer Kett Turton who convinces in his role as the shooter, I say that the acting is good only to say that their talent is better served in a much better movie. Heart Of America is made with with the absoluate lack of restraint so that it's manipulative in the most mean spirited ways. People are set up as nice people with familes just so that we can see them later get killed, infact one sickening scene finds the wife of a shooting victim watching the news and crying, this all shows that the movie was made to be brutal for the sake of being brutal. A movie about school shootings can indeed yield a very powerful result but only if the director tries to explore some issues. Uwe Boll clearly doesn't care. Massacre At Central High told a story about a violent teen who killed his classmates but there I understood the point of the movie, that the same kids being picked on given their chance would do the same to somebody else lower on the foodchain. So the killings in that film underlined a sobering message. Heart Of America clearly has no interest in doing so. It's one sided and over the top in it's moronic approach. However this is actually Uwe Boll's best made movie. It's disturbing and exploitive but very well made, the acting is generally pretty good from the talented cast and the climax actually manages some shocking moments but overall the movie has nothing to comment on, it's a movie that appeals to the darkest side of our emotions. It's a teenager's version of Death Wish, except the targets of vengeance being bullies. True kids do go through a fair amount of humilation and rebuke from others but most go on to bigger and better things as they work out their problems, Heart Of America pollutes this idea and tells those kids that tomorrow isn't going to get better and that the only way to leave a legacy is to shoot up your school, kill innocent bystanders and they deserve it. On this level the movie is quite rephrensible. So in closing Uwe Boll's most well made movie to date is also his most mean spirited and offensive. D.Uwe Boll * |