[yasr_overall_rating]
A group of mysterious villains known as “The Alliance” sets a trap for the Taxpayer. They imprison him, torture him, and make plans to publicly crucify him. Local janitor Richard Randolph rounds up retired Superheroes, and hatches a plan to rescue the Taxpayer.
“American Rescue Squad” is a blend between a “College Humor” Youtube video and an Edgar Wright film had he been a low-budget filmmaker. An outrageous, honest, and not exactly subtle political satire, the movie starts when the Taxpayer (yes, that’s the name of the character) is kidnapped by an evil group known only as the Alliance. When the government runs out of ideas on how to save him, the janitor, Richard Randolph, comes up with one: he will seek and bring back two super heroes long retired: Common Sense and Personal Responsibility.
That synopsis alone says it all: “American Rescue Squad” is an acidic, humorous critique on the various layers of our society and how one affects the other. Among those laid under scrutiny are: the Bible Thumper (who briefly dies and is horrified to find out that “The Afterlife” is a guy club); the Hot Chick (who, of course, has a one-night stand with the Bad Dad); The Freeloader (who eats cereal during meetings and lives off welfare), among many others.
Despite not being subtle or very deep in its criticisms, stating mostly the obvious (for anyone who sympathizes with Common Sense, that is), the movie works because it’s always entertaining, even when the jokes don’t make you laugh out loud (but there are some that do!). One of the most inspired moments to me was the introduction of another hero in the film, Birth Control. She is seen in prison, fixing a pipe. When asked “how do you know so much about plumbing?” she replies: “If you can’t control your faucet, you gotta close off your pipes.”
Unfortunately, the occasional musical numbers that permeate the movie are bad – and the fact that this is a low-budget satire doesn’t excuse the Diviney brothers – writers and directors – of finding good singers. Most of the numbers have funny lyrics but the singing quality was of the worst contestants on “American Idol”, which made me want to skip through all of them (for a good quality low-budget musical satire watch College Humor’s “Mitt Romney Style”, their Gangnam style parody about Mitt Romney).
Overall, though, “American Rescue Squad” deserves a watch because the creators are fearless in stating their beliefs and in making a film that is a) original and b) sure to offend many people. Depending on your convictions, you might not enjoy this movie at all (hint: if you’re religious, don’t watch it) but no one can deny the filmmakers made their voices heard.
Available now on DVD
