The Proper Care & Feeding of an American Messiah

The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah reaches viewers on a variety of levels, namely in the funny bone and in the introspective conscience. While we laugh, we ask ourselves the reasons for our laughter, and this innovative film--at times alternately poignant, absurd, and provocative--leaves us pondering its implications long after the laughter has stopped. But first and foremost, this film is hilarious! Filmmaker Chris Hansen rarely relies on slapstick, choosing instead more subtle and effective comic touches, especially when the self-declared Messiah "Brian" (brilliantly played by Dustin Olson) convinces us that he takes himself so seriously. My favorite scene is the baptismal spectacle with "No Wading." During similar scenes like the catalog of various Jesus action-figures, Brian's quirky charisma assures us that he believes in himself (however misguided this belief may be), and that if we'll come along for the ride, we'll learn a bit ourselves, too. I recommend this film highly, both for the laughs and the life lessons. Hansen seems to be saying, "Be careful whom you follow, and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself along the way."

I saw this movie at the Virginia Film Festival. Generally, I'm not crazy about comedies, but this one just really got to me—I just laughed hysterically through the whole thing. It's a mocumentary about a non-too-bright middle-aged guy named Brian who thinks he is a messiah. Not the Messiah, but a messiah, who is to help the people who live within a 100-mile radius of him.

Somehow he doesn't quite get the point of religion or being a savior. What are his beliefs? Well, number one, topping the list, he believes in a constitutional form of government. He also believes that the biggest problem besetting humankind is stomach-acid and in-digestive problems; his solution is "Aunt Acid" pills. His special powers, proving he is supernatural, included things such as growing facial hair at an extremely slow rate so that he only needs to shave every four days. The miracles he performs include "The Miracle of the Fruit" in which, when his brother Aaron tosses plums to him from a distance of 10 yards, he can catch them in his teeth—that is about one out of thirty. His brother and sister Miriam are his only disciples.

The acting is just wonderful. Dustin Olson is absolutely hilarious as Brain—he really gives the impression that he's improvising like in a real documentary. And his comic timing is just spot-on, particularly in a scene where he is caught rifling through his own garbage. And Joseph Frost really stands out as the brother who is even more incompetent than Brian, particularly in a funny scene where he races a gliding Jesus figure against a toy race-car giving it a warped religious bent. Also, there is a hilarious cameo by Tony Hale.

I just couldn't stop laughing through this whole movie. Yet despite the humor—or perhaps because of it—the film does deal with some rather important issues, such as those who misunderstand and/or abuse religion and also the need to feel important.

I saw American Messiah recently, and I was completely charmed by it in every way. When I read the two negative reviews on here, I had to wonder whether we had seen the same film. Anybody who didn't laugh at this probably needs to be on anti-depressants, because it's hard to see anybody else not laughing a lot. Although I agree that the script was well-written and witty, even if you put that aside, just the individual gags are worth the price of the ticket. Here are some of the ones I remember that stood out:

-- Having Brian (the "local messiah") go down to a lake to offer paid baptisms for $1.18 is screamingly funny, partly because he thinks it's a good deal because other messiahs would charge $1.25 and partly because he thinks it would be undignified to charge less than a dollar. If you can't see the hilarious commentary about modern religion and money (and find humor here), you have a funny bone missing.

-- I don't want to give away the punch line, but the whole bit with the t-shirts is very funny. The message on the t-shirts is supposed to be based on Jesus' message about "suffer the little children," but the actual message becomes lost in translation at the t-shirt printer and becomes a message that's just the opposite of its intent. The resulting t-shirt is hilarious.

-- Watching Brian show off his collection of "Jesus action figures" is surreal and very, very funny. Look for Jesus Griffey Jr. and Macaroni Jesus 2.

-- Speaking of the action figures, there's a hilarious scene with one of the Jesus action figures racing against a toy car, complete with Jesus healing the wrecked car.

-- There's a scene when Brian and his followers are going door to door. They finally find someone who wants them to come in and perform a miracle. The funny twist is that the guy in the house is crazier than they are, and he wants Brian to get rid of imaginary demons in the house.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. There is a LOT to laugh about in this movie. Anybody who can't see that is too busy trying to sit around and come up with existing movies to compare this to (as someone else here dd). This movie is unique. You're not going to find a good comparison. Watch it for yourself and find out.

Greetings again from the darkness. Mockumentary that combines elements of Christopher Guest film-making with "The Office", "My Name is Earl" and "Napoleon Dynamite". The blending of these elements, disappointingly, forms something with very little entertainment value. It was very uncomfortable watching the screening of this with the director and much of the cast and crew. They laughed and guffawed at moments that just made me cringe.

A tip of the cap goes to Tony Hale for making an appearance ... I suppose in an attempt to give back to the art. More successful actors should do this. Other than that it is a too long, one-joke, unfunny mess that is little more than a mediocre student film. I will say the idea of a guy who claims to be "a" (not THE) Messiah is a pretty funny place to start. Too bad the "interviews" were weak, the site gags cheap, and the punchlines lacked punch.

When this film ended, I felt as if I'd spent an hour and a half in an asylum. Keeping up with Brian's belief system is exhausting. Brian is like the ultimate believer, he believes so hard that he is blind to everything else around him. To those of us outside his delusion, it's hard not to laugh, especially at his contradictions and lack of knowledge about the bible. I suppose all messiahs must come across as delusional, but this one has no special purpose from god, and god's not talking to him, and you have to admire his willingness to ignore or misinterpret what's happening around him. The "gliding Jesus" car chase was hilarious, but served to illustrate Aaron's limited functioning. I must say that I particularly enjoyed Miriam's various "takes", small changes in her face and posture in reaction to Brian's various lunacies. This was a subtle and nuanced job of acting. Also, keep an eye on her costume changes through the story. You'd like to think that she's more "normal" than all the rest of them; but really, she's just as cracked the others.

Most of these characters should be in an institution somewhere, not out running around loose. It's a very funny movie, but I'm glad I'm on the outside looking in.