Search - Masters of Horror: Joe Dante - Homecoming on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 10/1/2022...

Director Joe Dante really nailed it with the soldiers in this!

Masters of Hilarious Horror

Bad Johnny | Los Angeles, CA | 06/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm amused by the reviews here--from either political side--that take this as anything more than what it is. IT IS A HIGHLY ENTERTAINING SATIRE! I do not ascribe to the political beliefs put forth by this piece, that has never been a prerequisite to good entertainment. But is it funny?--oh, YES! Highly recommended as one of the finest Masters of Horror segments. Whether your Republican, Democrat, or completely uninterested in politics--this is an amusing poke at the political process taken to absurd proportions. I swear it won't corrupt or subvert you."

Anyone that wrote a review of this movie just proved its poi

Hans Laursen | Long Beach, CA | 07/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I find everyone's statements on here equally moving. That is the whole point of making a movie is to entertain. Even those who say they hated were still moved enough by it to put their dissent in writing. Any movie, love it or hate, if it moves you in any way, was successful in that mission.

Those of you who don't like it - don't watch it. I've always thought that Jerry Springer and shows like it would go away if the people criticizing it would simply change the channel. We changed the channel with Dan Quayle - and he went away.

My biggest surprise after seeing this movie is why the national media haven't been raising holy hell on this one. The dissenters will say it's because the movie sucked so badly, the fellow dissidents will say it's because of suppression or something like that.

To those who say this movie is despicable and not honoring our troops are relating more smokescreen poppycock for our naive consumption.

1) The reason our troops are fighting for us is for the very reason this movie is allowed to be made. "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." - Thomas Jefferson Those of you who think it's wrong for someone to make something like this needs to go back and read a history book and then the Constitution again. I find it very disturbing when people, especially those with political power, start saying what should be considered appropriate speech. Ever heard of inalienable rights? Where do you think those come from, Washington, D.C.? or the Almighty?

Someone who "hated" this movie will say that free speech doesn't give you the right to dishonor our country or our troops. If that's true, please let me wash your feet, because only a power beyond us meer mortals can decide what rights we have and in what way we are allowed to practice them.

2) One can concede that the troops probably voted more for Bush than Kerry. Lincoln did probably win reelection because of the soldiers vote.

While officers tend to be Republican, keep in mind that enlisted men tend to be Democratic. After all, the military is more ethnically diverse than our own country at times - probably because they started 20 years before the rest of us thanks to integration with Harry Truman. And, besides, when you make 12,000 a year, well I guess pocket book issues might matter a little more than to people than those who legitimize selfishness like Ann Coulter.

3) The movie never states who the soldiers are voting for, although it clearly implies it's not the Republicans. The movie shows a bumbling nominee - presumably Kerry (although this one states to not have served in the military - which should make the conservatives happy because they can't fathom a real patriot or American for that matter that isn't a registered Republican). To claim that this movie is disrespectful to our soldiers because of who they'd vote for implies that those folks believe they could have only voted Republican. A truly scary omen in a democracy.

If you think the movie doesn't like our veterans, simply go back and watch the entire movie. You must have missed that scene with the Af-Amer. couple and the soldier they take in. They might be Democrats, well at least there's an 89% chance they didn't vote for Bush."

Come Again?

Mark Eremite | Seoul, South Korea | 04/03/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Written by the fellow who gave the world "Monkeybone" (Sam Hamm) and directed by the gentleman responsible for "Loony Tunes: Back in Action" (Joe Dante ... okay, okay, he also did "Gremlins"), "Homecoming" is yet another "Masters of Horror" misfire.

This time around, the story concerns a world where right-wing political pundits inadvertantly cause dead American soldiers to come back to life. David Murch (Jon Tenney) and Jane Cleaver (Thea Gill doing her best Anne Coulter imitation) offer up the typical Republican soundbites in defense of the (tactfully unnamed) President's ill-advised War in Iraq. One of those soundbites? "I wish those soldiers COULD come back, because I'm sure they'd tell America how proud they were to serve and give their life for this great country of ours." Or something to that effect. What do you know? The Republicans get their wish.

Of course, the zombie soldiers AREN'T glad that they're dead. And what is their idea of vengeance? They demand the right to vote against the President. That's right. As soon as their dissenting ballots are cast, they drop lifelessly to the floor, their point having been made.

This little vignette makes ITS point in the first seven minutes of filming, and then it just keeps on making it over and over again. Some have said that your enjoyment of the show will depend on your political bent, but I think any clear-headed individual can see that no matter your governmental ideologies, this is just one long, slow, poorly-written joke. There IS some dark humor here, but it's also unintelligent, hateful, and obvious.

Ah well. Propaganda isn't known for its tact. "Homecoming" has a vendetta, and that's all it has. I'm all for exposing corruption and deceit, but even if there are those who agree with this film's message (and many, many do), I fail to see how those same people can also agree with the film's self-righteous moralizing, its hate, its presumption.

After all, this little "screw you" to the current administration props up its high horse on the idea that the conservatives are only promoting their own selfish agendas by claiming to speak for America's fallen men and women. But "Homecoming" is guilty of the exact same offense. By the last frame, it's obvious that no one in the show is aware of the self-defeating irony of their proselytizing, which is really the only horrific thing about this turkey."