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Delta Farce

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Source: Catholic News Service

Stale, flat attempt at a military comedy starring Daniel Whitney in his guise of Larry the Cable Guy, supported by "Blue Collar TV" co-star Bill Engvall and the twitchy D.J. Qualls, playing amiable dumb-guy Army reservists called up to Fallujah, Iraq, but landing instead in a remote Mexican village, where they take on local bandits. Director D.B. Harding, evidently assuming a short attention span for the audience, chops the comedic scenes into annoyingly tiny bits, but is more successful turning Larry into a good-hearted, Southern-fried teddy bear. Some crude language, sexual innuendo, gay characters, a scatological sight gag and some ethnic slurs. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. | Search Screen | Results Screen | Previous | Next | First Hit Word | This document, ranked number 6 in the hitlist, was retrieved from the NEWS database. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Download File MOVIE REVIEW May-14-2007 (560 words) With photo. xxxm Delta Farce By Kurt Jensen Catholic News Service NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Delta Farce" (Lionsgate) is a stale, flat attempt at a military comedy, with the unusual twist being that Daniel Whitney, in his guise of amiable redneck Larry the Cable Guy, gets most of the straight lines. Support comes from feckless Army Reserve buddies Bill (Bill Engvall of "Blue Collar TV") and Everett (the twitchy D.J. Qualls). Called up to active duty to serve in Fallujah, Iraq, they and their Humvee are instead conveniently dumped out of their transport plane near a remote Mexican town, where, thinking for about half the movie that they're in an Iraqi village, they take on a group of local bandits headed by Carlos Santana (Danny Alejo). Dumb misfits who eventually carry the day have been the staple of military comedies since World War I, but director D.B. Harding, faced with the unpleasant challenge of a comedy about the Iraq War, and evidently assuming a short attention span by the audience, has chopped his film into annoyingly brief sequences. The character of Santana, while free of the usual stereotypes of a Mexican villain, undercuts the comedy by delivering wry lectures on political correctness that might have seemed funnier on the page. There are no comedic payoffs, only scattershot one-liners and dog-eared sight gags. The screenplay by Bear Aderhold and Thomas F.X. Sullivan, is more successful in turning Larry into a Southern-fried teddy bear, if not a romantic lead. The single indication of the sly satire this film might have become is a scene in which the three dimwitted soldiers reason that in keeping the town -- which they now know to be in Mexico, not Iraq -- free of bandits meets the U.S. government's definition of combating the war on terror. The

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