Erma Bombeck, American humorist and all-around funny lady, once said, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” One of the great things about the comedy genre is that it can sometimes be, for all its trappings of farce and irreverence, the most honest appraisal of contemporary society. It gives us the same sharply focused spotlight on the human condition as drama but with the deceptively effective safety net of laughter that actually in turn allows us to confront our fallacies more easily. But sometimes that paradoxical process can be hampered by the unspoken rule: there are just some things you do not poke fun at. For the longest time, and especially since 9/11, terrorism was not something to joke about. Enter Four Lions.
Four Lions is the story of four Muslim radicals living in London. Together they are plotting a major attack to shake the capitalist infidels to their core and spark the onset of the ultimate religious war. The problem is that these are four of the worst terrorists alive and they are no more equipped to incite global religious upheaval as they are to sprout wings and fly. The group’s leader Omar and his faithful, if simple, friend Waj even manage to get themselves tossed out of a training camp for…accidentally blowing up the camp’s leadership using the wrong end of a bazooka. The “makeup attack” they decide upon will require cunning, tenacity, and funny costumes.
Four Lions is outstanding. It is the epitome of great farce and one with the brazen boldness to make one of our greatest shared fears the root of our laughter. The characters are so multi-layered and well developed that every joke, no matter how outlandish, rings true. These are the Murphy’s Law terrorists who are routinely hoisted by their own petards and do more damage to themselves than they do to the betrayers of Allah. It’s their complete ineptness that allows the audience to, if not sympathize, at least enjoy spending time with four terrorists.
More than anything, Four Lions is an impressive piece of satire. I would argue that it doesn’t have a political compass despite its subject matter. It doesn’t cast Muslims in an unfavorable light whatsoever and in fact makes several references to the fact that the most radical thing about most of these guys is how radically incorrect they are about the tenants of their own faith. Four Lions is more a deconstruction of the face value of the universal fear of terrorists. By its very nature, Four Lions seeks to rid terrorism of its strongest component and make it acceptable to laugh about. It’s sort of that either-everything-is-okay-to-laugh-at-or-nothing-is situation that forces us to reevaluate what we fear. The consequences of our fear are shown to be just as destructive as those who profligate that fear; the scene with the police in the restaurant near the end leaps to mind.
Four Lions hit DVD and Blu-ray this week and I strongly encourage you to purchase it. Normally this advice is based solely on the film itself, but the release of Four Lions carries with it an additional, very special, distinction. The Alamo Drafthouse–long the haven of all things cinema–has finally taken its last logistical step towards total world domination: film distribution. Four Lions is the first movie to be released under the momentous Drafthouse Films banner. If you’ve read any of the number of film-geeks-turned-film-journos on the Internet then you’ve probably caught a whiff of the insane awesomeness that is Tim’s Fantastic Fest. You and I can only imagine what new and exciting titles will become the subsequent releases for Drafthouse Films.
Here’s a quick tidbit about the Four Lions DVD: when you’re on the “deleted scenes” menu, wait until you see a seagull and click again. You’ll see. It’s rare that DVDs still carry Easter Eggs so this is pretty cool. Also, this film was directed by Christopher Morris who plays the head of Reynolm Industries on The IT Crowd, another Under the Radar selection.
