The only joke is that anything and everything goes (including the Titanic! And I.M. Is any of this reading as amusing yet? If so, that’s better than it plays on screen, since the proceedings’ boisterousness doesn’t translate into actual cleverness. Washington is heartbroken by this turn of events, not least because Lincoln was the true revolutionary destined to attain liberation for his countrymen, while he’s just a hard-partying lunkhead whose primary characteristic is boasting hidden chainsaws up his sleeves. This, of course, makes no historical or rational sense, nor does the fact that Arnold promptly reveals himself to be a werewolf and takes a fatal chomp out of Honest Abe’s neck, killing the top-hatted idealist. Having stopped the colonialists from their traitorous mission, Arnold turns his attention to Ford’s Theatre (its logo that of the famed automaker), where he sets his sights on best friends Abraham Lincoln ( Will Forte) and George Washington ( Channing Tatum), who are there to enjoy a stage performance by the Red, White and Blue Man Group. No sooner has John Hancock put his legendary signature on the document-exclaiming to his good friend Ben Franklin about the British, “These bucktooth fun police can suck it because we’ve done it, boys! We have declared out independence”-than traitorous Benedict Arnold ( Andy Samberg) and his redcoat lackeys storm the place, gruesomely assassinating everyone and blowing the building to kingdom come. Yet incapable of generating actual laughs from its crazed premise, it’s a lark that ultimately sounds far better on paper.ĭirected by Matt Thompson ( Archer) and written by Dave Callaham ( Wonder Woman 1984), America: The Motion Picture (on Netflix June 30) opens with the signing of the Declaration of Independence over a game of beer pong. Boasting a great voice cast, a pleasingly muscular, loopy visual style, and a desire to celebrate the country’s core values while playfully critiquing its failures to uphold them, it has all the ingredients of a revisionist-history hit. Enter America: The Motion Picture, the duo’s latest producing effort, which reimagines the nation’s battle for independence against the British in gonzo absurdist terms. the Machines, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s animated track record has been just about spotless-which means it was only a matter of time before they suffered a misstep. Between Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Mitchells vs.

America the motion picture