Hello there, sorry i haven't written for a while. I know you have all been wondering where I have been. The answer: unemployment land. I have finally gotten round to writing something. But, now I have something to write about. I've been to the cinema twice in the past two days and seen two comedies. Two very different comedies, Hot Tub Time Machine and Four Lions. Both funny, both completely different. Let's jump in the hot tub shall we?It is The Hangover meets Back To The Future + a squirrel. See and be disgusted, but in a good way.
From four men in the tub to four men who want to blow themselves up. Not the normal premise for a movie, but neither is a hot tub that is a time machine. Not one to be controversial, Chris Morris of Brass Eye brings us Four Lions, the tale of four inept suicide bombers. This film has seen a lot attention due to its subject matter, but let's forget that for the time being and concentrate on the film as a film.
Before seeing it I found the idea of mocking suicide bombers funny, but then when the film kicks in with a poor attempt at a threatening video by one of the four, it hit me that this film could be dangerous. But that thought soon passed and what you get is The Ladykillers of jihadists. It doesn't mock those affected in the July 7th bombings but the idea of blowing oneself up for a cause they don't quite understand. I can see why people will be upset, but I think they should see the film before they make their mind up.
Why are some subjects untouchable? Religion, war and politics have all been satirised to highlight the absurd nature of them, and this is exactly what Four Lions is doing. That's the whole point of satire isn't it, to mock the establishment and remove the veneer to show what it really is. The idea of martyrdom is mocked, not the people who have been injured in blasts, otherwise that wouldn't be funny. Putting a bomb on a crow is funny, isn't it? Even the police aren't untouchable, they are unable to tell a wookie from a honey monster. In the end
Some critics have called it the Life of Brian of our generation, I think they may have a point there. Satire is a clever form of comedy that shows the fallibility and idiocy of human nature. For some people this may be too close to the truth if that is the case avoid it, but if you want to see a film that is funny throughout, I highly recommend it.
