History Took A Holiday

Rating: 2/10 (22 February 2002)

Hmmmm. Set in 1776 in South Carolina. There's a war going on. Names like Cornwallis and Washington are included. Sounds like a movie about the American Revolution. Too bad there's almost nothing here about the American Revolution.
This is an overhyped, jingoistic example of American film-making at its very worst! Remember the "Evil Empire" Ronald Reagan spoke about in the 1980's? Folks, the Soviet Union looks positively angelic compared to the demonized British portrayed here. OK. I know that Americans routinely portray the British as being a lot worse than they really were (elsewise, how would they justify the rebellion, which had nothing really to do with "freedom" properly defined and everything to do with taxes?) But this was ridiculous. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when Ben Martin (Mel Gibson) comes running out of his burning house looking vaguely like an 18th century Rambo. Or when little Susan (Skye McComb Bartusiak) cries out in anguish "Papa! Papa! I'll say anything you want! Just don't go, papa!" And I loved the beginning, as the "mailman" delivers the package to the black woman at Martin's house and politely smiles and responds "you're welcome," to her "thank you." This is South Carolina in 1776. I doubt a white man would have been so polite. Of course there's a lot of violence, and the nasty old British kill a whole lot of innocent people. Blah blah blah! By the way, this has to have been one of Mel Gibson's sorrier performances. He came across as wooden to me all the way through.
What frightens me is that a lot of Americans are going to watch this and actually think that they learned something about the American Revolution! (Which is suggested by the current high ratings this thing has on this board!)
Just terrible. 2/10.