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20th Century Fox presents

Freddy Got Fingered (2001)

"Daddy would you like some sausage?"- Gord Brody (Tom Green)

Stars: Tom Green
Other Stars: Rip Torn, Marisa Coughlan, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Julie Hagerty
Director: Tom Green

Manufacturer: DVCC
MPAA Rating: R for Crude, sexual and bizarre humor and strong language
Run Time: 01h:26m:56s
Release Date: 2001-10-23
Genre: comedy

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
F FA-B+ B+

 

DVD Review

As an added bonus to it's already great content, The Internet Movie Database maintains a running list of both the top and bottom 100 films ever made. Though there are hundreds of films released each year, most are the type found in the discount bin at your local video store. The worst film listed is unknown to myself, 1966's Manos, The Hands Of Fate, though I have trouble believing that it could possibly be as bad as Tom Green's film, Freddy Got Fingered. Put simply, Freddy Got Fingered is the cinematic equivalent to medical waste. It is disgusting, unfunny, and is perhaps the worst film I have ever seen.

In the span of the last few years, Tom Green has been blessed with a meteoric rise into stardom. Beginning with his Canadian public access show that caught the attention of executives at MTV, Green brought his brand of offbeat humor to America and became an overnight success. The Tom Green Show ran for several seasons on MTV, but like most television comics the big screen seemed a likely next step and Green went on his way. The result, supporting roles in the funny Road Trip, the mediocre Charlie's Angels, and the starring role in the horrifically awful Freddy Got Fingered. Though with his marriage to Drew Barrymore he is living out more than one man's dream life.

In the cinematic sewer that is Freddy Got Fingered Green plays Gord Brody, a slacker who dreams of becoming "the next Charles Schultz," although it is clear to everyone but Gord that his drawings stink. Gord moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream and work in a cheese sandwich factory. Naturally, things go worse than Gord expected and he is forced to return to Portland and move back in with Mom (Hagerty) and Dad (Torn). As Gord does nothing with his life, he meets a nurse named Betty (Coughlan), a paraplegic with a penchant for pain and oral sex. At the same time his war with his father leads to accusations of molestation, a trip to Pakistan, and other unfunny moments.

Freddy Got Fingered is nothing more that a 90-minute set piece designed to allow Green to go wild without the nuisance of network censors. While his skits on his MTV show were mildly humorous, his work here is overkill. Obviously Green feels more is better, when it is just the opposite. The golden rule of comedy is to bend the line, not break it. Green needs to learn that.

Just how bad is Freddy Got Fingered? I failed to laugh once in the film's 90-minute running time. Not once in fact did I chuckle, guffaw, or even smile.

I suppose I could go on about just how much I hated this film, but what good would it do? Kids will undoubtedly rush out to buy or rent this film the day it is released, because the jokes in this film are the kind that their parents don't want them to see. Well kids I have news for you, your parents don't want to see these jokes either. In fact no one in his or her right mind would.

As a final note, Freddy Got Fingered contains some of the most disgusting imagery ever captured on film yet the picture received an 'R' rating from the MPAA. What is it about this film that carries more of a message than Requiem for A Dream, The War Zone, Happiness, or Eyes Wide Shut? Each of which had to be cut severely to obtain an 'R' rating.



Rating for Style: F
Rating for Substance: F

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicyes


Image Transfer Review: Fox presents us with a very nice looking 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. Everything about the image is near reference quality. Fleshtones are accurate and colors are vibrant and devoid of any bleeding. The image is very sharp and detailed, and there are no signs of pixelation or edge enhancement.

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
DS 2.0English and Frenchyes
Dolby Digital
5.1
Englishyes


Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix for Freddy Got Fingered is typical of most comedy soundtracks in it's subdued manner. Dialogue sounds fine and is always clear, while the surround speakers are present only for the score and rock music soundtrack.

A Dolby 2-channel surround mix is offered in both English and French.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 29 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English and Spanish with remote access
Cast and Crew Biographies
Cast and Crew Filmographies
1 Original Trailer(s)
4 TV Spots/Teasers
5 Deleted Scenes
1 Documentaries
2 Featurette(s)
4 Feature/Episode commentaries by director Tom Green
Packaging: Amaray
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: RSDL

Extra Extras:
  1. Scene specific commentaries by harland Williams, Rip Torn, and Marisa Coughlan
  2. World Premiere Audience Participation Track
  3. Three minute PG edit of the film
  4. music promo
Extras Review: A commentary track by Tom Green leads off a host of extra features. Green's comments are annoying for the most part as he simply bounces from one topic to the next as if he has no real purpose, only the need to fill up the 90 minutes. At one point green states "We thought it would be funny if there was a kid who kept hitting his head on stuff." Statements like this are typical of the track.

3 scene-specific commentary tracks by Harland Williams, Rip Torn, and Marisa Coughlan are available. The three talk about working with Green and the scenes that are selected. Overall these commentaries aren't very informative and are more or less a waste of time.

5 deleted scenes are available with or without commentary by Green. None of the five are all that funny, though with a deleted scene titled "Sucking the cow" what would one expect?

An MTV special running a short 20 minutes features interviews with the cast and is a bit better than the film itself. That isn't saying much though. Of the same note a short "making-of" featurette is also provided. 4 TV spots, a music promo as well as the film's theatrical trailer round out the promotional side of the disc.

Finally, two strange extra features have found their way onto the DVD. First is a 3-minute PG cut of the film, that while mercifully short is basically a waste. Next up is a World Premiere Audience Participation Track that takes the audience from the film's premiere and allows you to watch the film as if you were at the premiere. Something must be wrong though because the audience can actually be heard cheering and clapping.

Extras Grade: B+
 

Final Comments

Nearly two years ago I had surgery that left me unable to move for three days, then walk with a limp for nearly four months. I would rather go through the pain of five of those surgeries than watch Freddy got Fingered again.

Kevin Clemons 2001-10-03