American Violence

AMERICAN VIOLENCE is so bad it makes BLOODSPORT seem worthy of consideration for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

None of the story-line of AMERICAN VIOLENCE is even remotely plausible. The film's biggest premise is that Dr. Amanda Tyler (Denise Richards), a college professor, would actually have some say about the outcome of a man sentenced to death in Texas. Good Luck!

The entire film is just a hamfisted and amateurish presentation of an anti-death penalty point of view backed up by weak and tired arguments that have been offered time and time again. What was desperately needed was a little fresh insight on 'The Facts'. And, the violent sequences to bolster the argument against violence were corny, poorly presented, and completely unbelievable.

The whole project made me wonder what it might be like to have a film where toddlers recite the dialog from GOODFELLAS, and even that wacky undertaking would probably be more realistic, credible, and dramatic than anything in AMERICAN VIOLENCE. The only reason that I gave it two stars instead of one, is that I like Bruce Dern- maybe he was hard-up for money.