-By Frank Scheck
For movie details, please click here.
When a movie begins with an extended quote from one of Ronald
Reagan’s speeches, you get a pretty good idea of where it’s going,
and
Last Ounce of Courage doesn’t dash expectations. This
religious-themed drama about a small-town mayor’s personal crusade
against “the war on Christmas” is about as subtle as the
character’s name—Bob Revere.
Clearly aimed to the red-state audience, the film is mainly notable
for the appearance of such screen veterans as blaxploitation icon
and—looking as beautiful as she did in
Summer of
’42—Jennifer O’Neill. Oh, and the fact that a fun if ultimately
dangerous drinking game could be devised around the number of times
the word “freedom” is uttered onscreen.
Yes, according to the screenplay written by co-director Darrel
Campbell, Americans are on the verge of losing every freedom
they’ve ever enjoyed, with the film dedicated to the millions
who’ve died fighting to preserve them since the country was
founded.
Revere (Marshall R. Teague) is immediately identified as a rebel
with his first appearance, riding a Harley adorned with an American
flag as if he’s just stepped out of
Easy Rider. He’s waving
goodbye to his son Tom, who’s on a train going off to war, leaving
a pregnant wife, Kari (Nikki Novak), who shortly thereafter winds
up widowed.
Cut to 14 years later—presumably the film is set in the
near-future, since the chronology doesn’t add up—when Kari brings
her teenage son Christian (Hunter Gomez) to stay with his
grandparents. The reunion goes fairly smoothly until Christian is
nearly suspended from school after he’s found in possession of a
Bible—it’s not technically against the rules, but the politically
correct principal is terrified of lawsuits—which riles his
grandfather up to the point where he begins living up to his last
name.
Soon, he’s defiantly erecting Christmas trees and putting statues
of angels in the town square, prompting retaliatory action by an
ACLU-like organization headed by the Grinch-like Warren “The
Hammer” Hammerschmidt (played by—who else—Williamson.)
By the time Bob gets jailed for his actions and experiences a minor
miracle thanks to the white-bearded figure sharing his cell, the
proceedings have gone so completely off the rails that even the
most staunch right-wingers will be shaking their heads in
befuddlement. This is a film that preaches to its choir with such
heavy-handedness that it makes Bill O’Reilly, seen briefly making
the same argument, seem understated by comparison.
—
The Hollywood Reporter
Film Review: Last Ounce of Courage
Religious-themed drama about standing up for freedom is the very definition of preaching to the choir.
Sept 17, 2012
-By Frank Scheck
For movie details, please click here.
When a movie begins with an extended quote from one of Ronald Reagan’s speeches, you get a pretty good idea of where it’s going, and
Last Ounce of Courage doesn’t dash expectations. This religious-themed drama about a small-town mayor’s personal crusade against “the war on Christmas” is about as subtle as the character’s name—Bob Revere.
Clearly aimed to the red-state audience, the film is mainly notable for the appearance of such screen veterans as blaxploitation icon and—looking as beautiful as she did in
Summer of ’42—Jennifer O’Neill. Oh, and the fact that a fun if ultimately dangerous drinking game could be devised around the number of times the word “freedom” is uttered onscreen.
Yes, according to the screenplay written by co-director Darrel Campbell, Americans are on the verge of losing every freedom they’ve ever enjoyed, with the film dedicated to the millions who’ve died fighting to preserve them since the country was founded.
Revere (Marshall R. Teague) is immediately identified as a rebel with his first appearance, riding a Harley adorned with an American flag as if he’s just stepped out of
Easy Rider. He’s waving goodbye to his son Tom, who’s on a train going off to war, leaving a pregnant wife, Kari (Nikki Novak), who shortly thereafter winds up widowed.
Cut to 14 years later—presumably the film is set in the near-future, since the chronology doesn’t add up—when Kari brings her teenage son Christian (Hunter Gomez) to stay with his grandparents. The reunion goes fairly smoothly until Christian is nearly suspended from school after he’s found in possession of a Bible—it’s not technically against the rules, but the politically correct principal is terrified of lawsuits—which riles his grandfather up to the point where he begins living up to his last name.
Soon, he’s defiantly erecting Christmas trees and putting statues of angels in the town square, prompting retaliatory action by an ACLU-like organization headed by the Grinch-like Warren “The Hammer” Hammerschmidt (played by—who else—Williamson.)
By the time Bob gets jailed for his actions and experiences a minor miracle thanks to the white-bearded figure sharing his cell, the proceedings have gone so completely off the rails that even the most staunch right-wingers will be shaking their heads in befuddlement. This is a film that preaches to its choir with such heavy-handedness that it makes Bill O’Reilly, seen briefly making the same argument, seem understated by comparison.
—
The Hollywood Reporter
