American Carnage, 2022.
Directed by Diego Hallivis.
Starring Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Jenna Ortega, Allen Maldonado, Bella Ortiz, Jorge Diaz, Yumarie Morales, Catherine McCafferty, Brett Cullen, Andrew Kaempfer, Paloma Bloyd, and Eric Dane.
SYNOPSIS:
After a governor issues an executive order to arrest the children of undocumented immigrants, the newly detained youth are offered an opportunity to have their charges dropped by volunteering to provide care to the elderly.
Everything about American Carnage is in bad taste. Co-writer/director Diego Hallivis (penning the script alongside Julio Hallivis) starts the film off with an admittedly intriguing montage cynically portraying American values (and justifiably so) that concludes with a tear on mainstream media right-wing fear-mongering painting immigrants (undocumented or not) as villains, while proclaiming that our country thrives on having such antagonists. Peppered is footage of celebrities, movies, and political speeches (there is archival footage of the crusty orange Cheeto former President himself), suggesting some stylistic thought went into this rant. It also sets American Carnage up to be a politically charged drama.
That tone continues as we are introduced to JP (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), a teenager working the night shift at a fast food chain, regularly dealing with confrontational racism from the mouths of entitled and demanding white customers. His sister Lily (Yumarie Morales) has also just learned that she’s getting accepted to the college of her dreams. The siblings have opposing ideas on how to find success in America and one day be the providers for their mom, but otherwise, they are tight and supportive of one another.
At a family gathering celebrating the news, ICE storms the home, separating and detaining the family. Naturally, that’s a very real situation that unfortunately happens often, but American Carnage is using all of these broken systemic functions and racism and something that happens to actual families, just to set up a clunky horror show where a group of detained undocumented immigrants willingly join a program for elderly caretaking that upon completion, will see them supposedly reunited with their loved ones. JP is grouped with many obnoxious personalities that are too comedic and goofy to fit in with the political subtext American Carnage is trying to get at (there are some cringe metaphors here).
The supporting cast involves Jenna Ortega (who seems to be in a movie every month so far this year, which is not something I’m going to complain about although I wish she had better material here), Allen Maldonado, Jorge Diaz, and Bella Ortiz. Most of them portray characters grossed out by practically anything involving assisting the elderly. In contrast, JP and Micah (Bella Ortiz) want to do the right thing and provide some comfort to the elderly, even if it means getting their hands dirty. Of course, they also develop feelings for one another (including an awkwardly hilarious transition into a pre-sex scene that is just as clumsy). However, there’s also something undoubtedly off about these elderly folks, who are prone to zombie behavior (trying to bite the faculty members).
Some credit is due to the production designers, who make this facility look simultaneously inviting and ominous. However, the plot turns that American Carnage takes are absurd and only further betray whatever statement the script is trying to make. They also require the makeup department to do things that they simply don’t have the budget or skill to pull off, meaning that the last 30 minutes are funny but not in an intended way.
It’s almost impressive how American Carnage continuously gets dumber and less socially and politically engaging, even though those themes are fundamental to every wacky plot twist. Even on paper, the movie is just a terrible idea.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
