FDR: American Badass!

After Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter another American president made his reputation defeating the great werewolf conspiracy to take over the world. I'll bet you didn't know that about Franklin D. Roosevelt also known as FDR: American Badass. With standards like these to live up to, no wonder future presidents have so much trouble.

It all starts when Governor FDR has a brush with a werewolf who bit him on the leg. Quick medical attention saved his life, but he was given a case of polio which left his legs paralyzed and shriveled. Also a definite turnoff for wife Eleanor played by Lin Shaye.

Barry Bostwick who plays FDR has the patrician accent, but a gutter sense of humor a lot like some of the low brow politicians who put him in the White House. After being diagnosed with polio he's relieved to hear his male member is still good for any kind of use he has in mind.

This was no accident however that a werewolf was on the grounds of Hyde Park. The leaders of Germany, Italy, and Japan are all werewolves and they've formed an axis to take over the world. FDR has a personal interest in ridding the world of this menace.

When war comes FDR takes the crusade to those werewolf powers and I do mean personally. Silver bullets have been issued to our troops on land and sea and air. In the end he gets the job done himself. A proactive war leader the way Lincoln was in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Speaking of Lincoln, when FDR is in a moment of crisis the White House butler tells him about George Washington's secret stash of hash. And while tripping out Kevin Sorbo as Lincoln gives him a trip like Peter Pan gave the Darling kids and Bostwick's duty is clear.

When I was young and growing with parents who lived through the Depression and World War II, FDR was one god like figure and you'd never see a film like this. Surviving people of the previous generation probably wouldn't appreciate this film and it's not the greatest comedy I've ever seen. Still a few laughs will be had.

From the outset this film looks cheap and you might consider not bothering to watch it based on that but if you stick with it the great cast suck you into it's unbelievably ridiculous world. Barry Bostwick's performance Carry's the film. There's a lot of modern street talk that he manages to pull off, even though some of it is borderline to silly but at the same time he turns in some great speeches that would be worthy of a far more serious film.

There's not much point in explaining the film, it's far to daft to attempt an explanation but it works, that's mostly down to the cast, the production, direction is excellent too, given the low budget nature of the film they made the most of what they had.

At first I thought this would be funny. The premise gave the clear impression that it would be a great spoof. Then I started to watch it. I laughed a bit admittedly as much because seeing FDR drop "F" bombs caught me off guard, but didn't find myself in hysterics over it. I was tired, I went to bed. This morning I went back just a bit before I left off. I looked at this movie in a whole new way. I turned my brain off and found myself really getting a kick out of this. I didn't look at it as a cheap low budget movie that was trying too hard, but instead saw it for what I believe it is, a brilliantly acted and written movie that isn't trying too hard, but trying just enough to LOOK like a cheap low budget "B" movie. Now and then I forget that if a movie is made to LOOK like a cheap BAD movie, it's accomplishing the goal so well, you believe that's exactly what you're watching and you don't see the tongue planted firmly in the cheek. I missed that last night but saw it plain as day this morning. This movie is FUNNY if you just pay attention without really thinking it through too much. Yeah, I just confused myself, but I stand by all that.

Barry Bostwick does a bang up job as does his supporting cast, all of whom are some of the best character actors out there. Anyone who watches this and finds themselves disappointed should do as I did, watch it again with a different outlook and odds are, you'll appreciate this insane masterpiece as many of us have. Now I think I may have to go back and watch this from the beginning again!

Nobody expected this movie to be high art. But it was enjoyable. There was the historical sacrilege and the jokes in bad taste and historical figures saying dirty words. But there was also real cleverness and, most importantly, a real love that shone through the film. Nobody involved was phoning it in. It seems like everyone involved in making this movie was having fun, and you couldn't help but have fun along with them. I had a friend over, we cued it up, and laughed quite a bit. And in a year, I will have forgotten about it.

If you are offended by jokes involving racist / sexist stereotypes, you might want to give this one a miss.

Am willing to bet not one person of million who saw this movie has noted the reference to "World War I" during a scene that takes place in 1931. Since WWII did not begin until 8 years later, how did they know The Great War was "World War I"? The movie itself I thought was very funny, and enjoyed it. It's obligatory now that every third word has to be f this and f that, in order to accommodate the teenagers. Only thing is, for this moving, the teenagers likely would not be interested anyhow, never having even heard of President Roosevelt. I spoke with a young woman, "history major" in her high school senior class, and she had no idea what was Pearl Harbor, that it was attacked, etc. FDR...who's he?