By Nicolas Rapold in the September-October 2019 Issue
Short Takes: Mister America
(Eric Notarnicola; USA, Magnolia Pictures; Opening October 9)
Tim Heidecker is back as... “Tim Heidecker,” legend in his own mind from the fictive show On Cinema at the Cinema, co-hosted by “Gregg Turkington” (Gregg Turkington). The faux-verite Mister America imagines Heidecker’s reliably funny blowhard taking the next logical step in self-delusion: political candidacy. That’s despite the character’s near-conviction for selling fatal vaping materials to EDM concertgoers; his opponent in the race for San Bernardino DA is the “rat” prosecutor from the trial.
From the September-October 2019 Issue
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Details like the preening EDM obsession and Heidecker’s own perfectly tuned jackass routine distinguish the movie in what might appear to be a crowded field (comprising past political piss-takes and Veep). What sets Mister America apart is that the backstory means we’re watching a likely murderer run for office, ludicrously unredeemable even if his day-to-day sins are dumb hustler lies that don’t leave anybody dead (that we know of). Gregg becomes the thorn-in-the-side nemesis, feeding the doc crew stories of Tim’s act of arson and Antman trivia; there’s also fine, subtle supporting work from Terri Parks as Tim’s campaign publicist.
So it’s very much like an extended episode in the Heidecker-Turkington universe (with dead air and low-rent production values less of the gag). But if Heidecker’s not holding a mirror up to our idiocy Borat-style, there’s no mistaking the echoes in a thin-skinned, name-calling brute elbowing his way onto political center stage for the ugliest reasons. Which makes the character’s ineffectuality a not-unpleasant bit of wish fulfillment. —Nicolas Rapold
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