Many of the pieces of this satire work wonderfully. The look and feel is dead on. However, often, the humor is so opaque that at time it's non-existent. Smart people made this film; people who know history very well. On that level it plays perfectly. However as a comedy it rarely hits the mark.
The conceit is that the film is really a British documentary on the history of the Confederate States of America. It's an alternative history mockumentary that looks at how American history would have played out if the Confederacy had won the American Civil War. The film even includes fake commercial breaks with less than PC products for sale. After the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln goes on the run and flees to Canada, where he dies of old age. The "documentary" shows clips of old movies where Jefferson Davis figures out how to rebuild the North by giving slave owners a tax break. The CSA becomes a great aggressor colonizing South America. Later Asian immigrants are turned into slaves in the West. In the time leading up to World War II, the CSA president meets with Hitler and discusses the waste of killing the Jews when they could make wonderful slaves. The CSA attacks Japan instead of the other way around. Many of the accomplishments of blacks who would have been U.S. citizens, become Canadian landmarks like rock 'n roll, jazz and Olympic record breakers. In modern times, there is even a home shopping network for slaves.
As any history buff will discover, many of events presented in the film are based on facts. The Confederacy had planned to invade South America. Many of the fake commercials are based on real products. For history fans, this is a very accurate portrayal of what a CSA really would have been like. Therefore, it often fails to work as satire, because it is never skewers the truth, only presents it as is. There's no absurdity to it. You chuckle, and think to yourself, "yeah, that's probably how it would have unfolded." When it goes for laughs, it makes the jokes obvious. The spoofs of movies get the look right, but the acting is way over-the-top. Up against the subtle aroma of the historical aspects, the attempts at humor have a vintage cheesy odor.
Writer/director Kevin Willmott proves one thing with this film — he's an intelligent guy. However, his career as the next Mark Twain (or even Robert Townsend) is in doubt. When I first read about this film out of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, the premise had me excited. Willmott tees up and swings well, but the follow through is shaky. History buffs, especially Civil War-philes, will find the film well worth a perusal, but everyone will find the humor as successful as the real Confederacy was.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
