Green overdoes everything--script, direction and performance--so much that the film is almost mindbogglingly unwatchable. Most of the humour centres on splattering blood, animal genitalia and abrasive surrealism. Green tries to find comedy in injury, disability, illness, child abuse and Pakistan. He never bothers to create a character; Gord is just a collection of goofy reactions, silly voices and physical mayhem. Meanwhile, he heaps endless indignities on the brave Torn. After the most embarrassing scene, Torn screams, "I've never been so ashamed of anything in my life!" ... supposedly about his loser son. It's all so tasteless, cruel and resolutely unfunny that it brings to mind Andy Kaufman's warped routines, in which his entire goal was to put his audience at unease. Maybe that's what Green is doing here--playing a joke on the viewers, acting like he's trying to be offensive and crass, when the film is really a sappy ode to father-son bonding. Even if that's true, this is still one of the worst films of the year. Maybe of all time.

very vulgar themes and situations, language, gore

12.Oct.01

"Okay so it's full of mindless violence and crude piss taking for the sheer benifits of comedy entertainment, but it works. I mean, I haven't laughed so much in my entire life. It was orginal and a lot better than some of the comedies which are around today which start off funny but end up with more meaning than laughs. So all I gotta say is that if you find this offensive then you need to get a life and a sense of humour." --Roxy, London 6.Mar.02