Where I Watched It: HBo MAX

English Audio Description provided By: point360

Narrated By: Roy Samuelson

I saw this over a month ago. I watched so many films over my winter break, plus the films I continue to watch, that catching up on reviews has been a bit of a nightmare. So, pretend this review happened a month ago before the allegations against Andrew Callahan came about.

To be respectful to those currently in that state of affairs, i will be making this short, because it’s hard to be effusive about someone’s work while they are also in the middle of these allegations.

i liked this film a lot. I was actually quite amazed at the footage Callahan was able to get, and his perspective is not one sided. I know that in this political climate that this seems like a documentary that exists just to make fun of red state Republicans, and that’s not the case. Yes, he finds some true gems out there, but he also finds them on the blue state Democratic side as well. There are a lot of people expressing absurd ideas and opinions on both sides. Perhaps it’s not a 50/50 balance, but in a day and age where Q Anon exists basically on just one side, it seems like we would be seeing more from that. This is not a film anyone would be happy about appearing in, yet Callahan got really close to Alex Jones… and Jones did not mince words.

Roy Samuelson’s narration here is also fantastic, as usual. He’s able to point out the eccentricities in people’s visual attire, and it adds to the overall vibe Callahan is shooting for in his “This Is America” type documentary. I think there’s probably a lot more footage, but I appreciate how Callahan always seems to get responses without trapping people into them, like we sometimes see reporters or comedians do. There’s just something about him that makes dumb people say dumb shit, and it makes for an entertaining film.

If you don’t want to watch it because it’s now February, and you no longer support Callahan, that’s a valid choice. I saw this the day it hit HBO MAX. It’s just taken me a while to review it.

Final Grade: A