Presidents in Parody: FDR-American Badass
Perhaps in an effort to follow up on the modest commercial success of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, in 2012, another production company, A Common Thread, made another film about a famous president who also secretly hunted monsters. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the film makers' selected subject, and instead of hunting vampires, his target was zombies. The film was called FDR: American Badass and it starred actor Barry Bostwick in the title role. Earlier on in his career, Bostwick had played the part of George Washington in the more dignified miniseries of the same name in 1984.
The plot of this 93 minute film followed a pattern similar to the Lincoln film, i.e. using actual historical events, but with a highly fantasized sub-plot. In this film, Roosevelt contracts polio from a venomous werewolf bite. But as the film's description says, "FDR won't stop at single-handedly ending the Great Depression and prohibition. With the help of a team of historic figures, he must end WWII by exacting revenge on an army of Nazi-werewolves from the comfort of his Albert Einstein-designed wheelchair of death." The film is described as "an outrageous, over-the-top spoof, FDR: American Badass is the untold true story of our country s greatest monster-hunting president!" The three leaders of the Axis powers appear in the film as werewolfs.
The film played at a film festival in March of 2012 and went straight to DVD on September 24, 2012. It was neither a commercial nor a critical success. It was rated R For crude and sexual content, pervasive language, some violence and drug use. Perhaps the following review from Entertainment Weekly best sums up the film:
"Don’t watch this if you believe the man who steered our nation out of the Great Depression, helped lead the Allies to victory over fascism in World War II, and strengthened America’s social safety net through Social Security deserves to be treated with only total, unwavering respect."
If you're still curious about the film, much like how you can't stop looking away from an accident scene, here is the official trailer (caution, it contains a few swears):
The entire film can be found here.
The plot of this 93 minute film followed a pattern similar to the Lincoln film, i.e. using actual historical events, but with a highly fantasized sub-plot. In this film, Roosevelt contracts polio from a venomous werewolf bite. But as the film's description says, "FDR won't stop at single-handedly ending the Great Depression and prohibition. With the help of a team of historic figures, he must end WWII by exacting revenge on an army of Nazi-werewolves from the comfort of his Albert Einstein-designed wheelchair of death." The film is described as "an outrageous, over-the-top spoof, FDR: American Badass is the untold true story of our country s greatest monster-hunting president!" The three leaders of the Axis powers appear in the film as werewolfs.
The film played at a film festival in March of 2012 and went straight to DVD on September 24, 2012. It was neither a commercial nor a critical success. It was rated R For crude and sexual content, pervasive language, some violence and drug use. Perhaps the following review from Entertainment Weekly best sums up the film:
"Don’t watch this if you believe the man who steered our nation out of the Great Depression, helped lead the Allies to victory over fascism in World War II, and strengthened America’s social safety net through Social Security deserves to be treated with only total, unwavering respect."
If you're still curious about the film, much like how you can't stop looking away from an accident scene, here is the official trailer (caution, it contains a few swears):
The entire film can be found here.