Kevin Smith's "Red State" ruthlessly satirizes just about every form of extremism that you can identify in contemporary American culture—religious fanaticism, governmental bureaucracy, political hypocrisy, sexual obsession, and homophobia, to name a few—and it does so in decidedly perceptive and entertaining fashion. Ironically, Smith himself has taken his cinematic style (well-known by his beloved fans) to similar extremes—the violence here is brutal and abundant, the hypocrisy is rampant, the fanaticism is unapologetically self-righteous—and the result is an all-too-plausible story of what could very well happen when a religious zealot is so thoroughly convinced that he alone understands what "God" wants, the government is so thoroughly convinced that it knows precisely how to handle religious zealots/domestic terrorists, and some horny teenagers get in the way. The script is intelligent, the directing is sharp and effective, and the performances—especially John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Michael Parks—are outstanding. Don't miss this one.
Review of Red State
