Search - F**K - A Documentary on DVD

Tess M. (duplica123) from STOUGHTON, WI
Reviewed on 4/23/2010...

It was a pretty interesting comprehensive look at the word, although it left me with a bit of a "So what?" attitude.

The two main arguments against the prevalent use of "Fuck" seem to be that it makes the user of the word immoral/ignorant, and it will cause immorality and ignorance in our children.

The people interviewed who are for the use of the word seem to focus on how much fun & versatile the word is, plus the fact that words don't cause immorality.

There are lots of clips of comedians - George Carlin & Lenny Bruce, as well as some footage of elected officials flipping the bird and saying fuck. Warning, there are also scenes of people having sex (fucking!) and, once again, Janet Jackson's boob. Plus they say "Fuck" constantly, so don't watch if you think they'll just say "The 'F' word" instead.

Overall, it was a wide look at the use of the word. Most of the "pro" side was funny and laid back, and most of the "concerned citizens" looked really really creepy and I couldn't take them seriously.

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Free Speech Or Abused Speech? Which Side Are You On?

B. Merritt | WWW.FILMREVIEWSTEW.COM, Pacific Grove, California | 03/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's puzzling how words effect people differently. Some are strongly affected, while others take them in stride. But one thing is for certain, the F-word has been a contentious four-letter symbol for a multitude of reasons.

First, is where it came from. There are so many false claims as to boggle the mind. Most of these fallacies center around a Playboy Magazine article from the 70s that said the F-word was "An order from the King to go forth and propagate." Supposedly this originated sometime around the 17th century and, of course, it's completely untrue. Helping to dispel this myth, the F**K documentary seeks to enlighten and entertain and does so for the most part.

So where did this dastardly word come from? The simple answer is: we don't know. We do know that it first appeared as a written word around 1456, but that's about it. What we do know is that now the word is held as vile filth by some, while others use it daily.

Cutting a large swathe across socio-political and generational lines, the documentary interviews everyone from cursing experts and porn stars, to Miss Manners and Pat Boone.

Anyone interested in the First Amendment should no doubt see this documentary along with THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED. Both focus on America's disdain for words over violence. It's quite all right to shoot someone in the face on TV, but say the word "F**k" and you're in big trouble with the FCC. A brief and sexually explicit scene from a European rock concert shows how open other nations are to sexuality and the F-word's express meaning, while American's can't seem to get over it.

That being said, I will say that I use the F-word on occasion but only within an appropriate context. I don't enjoy comedians who use it in every sentence (Chris Rock immediately leaps to mind) simply for shock value. I guess you could say that the F-word has its place in our society but, like chocolate, if you over-indulge in its use, you'll end up with a gluttonous-type problem. Whereas chocolate might end up giving you diabetes, over-usage of the F-word might end up making those around you shy away.

Some of the more comical moments in the film are with Pat Boone and rapper Ice-T. Pat Boone, Mr. Clean, never curses. What he does do is use his own last name as a sort of cursing venue. "If I get mad about a bad tennis shot, I'll yell `Boone!'" Ice-T heard this and, of course, used it to great advantage. He found it funny and said that "Tonight I'm gonna go home and Boone my wife."

Another excellent aspect in the film was showing how hypocritical some politicians were. Most notable among them were Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. Nixon probably had one of the foulest mouths ever to enter the Whitehouse, while George Bush enjoys sticking his middle finger up at cameras. This is quite ironic since these conservative "gentleman" are the one's who've lambasted the liberal left for its unruly and inappropriate support on free speech when referring to the word f**k.

This is a very interesting documentary with plenty of naughty and nice people giving their views on this little word."

After Half Way, It Got Old

Daniel G. Lebryk | 06/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's clearly hard to write a review of this movie, why, well it's about a word that is specifically banned in Amazon's reviews. We're left to the euphimisms they mentioned in the movie.

All kidding aside, the first half of this film is remarkably good. It's well put together and makes a lot of sense. Just after the couple simulating sex at the rock festival in Europe, the film just becomes repetitive and boring.

The movie is a classic talking head documentary. There's some cute animmation between segments (see the cover art, the same artist did the inter segment work). A couple of talking heads against a black background talk about some aspect of the word. It goes back and forth, and sometimes a clip is shown to illustrate the point. There's subtitles that are supposed to be witty (not really). The talking head list is very wide - from Miss Manners to Ron Jeremy (that pretty well covers the gamut there). Tera Patrick is surprisingly intelligent. And of course I'd like the movie when Kevin Smith talks.

There's a couple of good segments about Lenny Bruce and George Carlin - in so many ways this film should be about these two guys.

How offensive is this film - it's not really. That word is used over 800 times. But after about number 100, it's nothing. In fact you kind of find yourself leaning toward saying it in casual conversation. The views are somewhat well balanced between conservative view (Pat Boone) and liberal view (Kevin Smith). It isn't apparent the director had an axe to grind one way or the other.

An hour and 30 minutes, roughly. It's so R rated. Actually when you get down to the nudity, it's R not anywhere near NC-17. No violence. Minimal nudity (you would expect more). Tons of strong language."

Great F**king Documentary!

Jerry Benjamin | Los Angeles | 08/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A terrifically entertaining documentary, F**K explores and exploits the granddaddy of all swear words in nearby every respect possible. While being unabashedly foul-mouthed, this documentary examines the sides of both the offenders and the offended, the histories and the myths, and the politics and hypocricies of the F-Word.

With tremendously funny animation from Bill Plympton, hilarious and well-juxtaposed interviews, and a subversive tone too pointed to miss, F**K is a truly original, on-target piece of work that demands to be f**king seen."