Postal (2007)

User Rating:

3.9/10   

Director:

Uwe Boll

Writers:

Uwe Boll (written by) and
Bryan C. Knight (written by)

Release Date:

18 October 2007 (Germany)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Some comedies go too far... others start there.

Plot:

In the ironically named city of Paradise, a recently laid-off loser (Ward) teams up with his cult-leading uncle (Foley) to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park; somehow, the recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent.

Plot Keywords:

Bomb Shelter | George W. Bush | Hitler Spoof | One Word Title | No Opening Credits

Cast

Zack Ward	...	Postal Dude
Dave Foley	...	Uncle Dave
Chris Coppola	...	Richard
Jackie Tohn	...	Faith
J.K. Simmons	...	Candidate Wells
Ralf Moeller	...	Officer John
Verne Troyer	...	Himself / Voice of Krotchy
Chris Spencer	...	Officer Greg
Larry Thomas	...	Osama bin Laden
Michael Paré	...	Panhandler
Erick Avari	...	Habib
Lindsay Hollister	...	Recorder
Brent Mendenhall	...	George W. Bush
Rick Hoffman	...	Blither
Michael Benyaer	...	Mohammed

Also Known As:

Postal: Der Film (Germany)
Postal: The Movie (USA) (alternative transliteration)

MPAA:

Rated R for extremely crude humor throughout, including strong sexuality, graphic nudity, violence, and for pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime:

100 min | 102 min (Director's Cut) | 107 min (uncut) | 130 min (Director's Cut) (approx.) | Germany:114 min (Director's Cut DVD)

Country:

USA | Canada | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | USA:R | Canada:18A | UK:18 | Australia:MA | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Cloverdale, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Running With Scissors

Trivia:

As stated by Uwe Boll on several occasions and in the audio commentary on the DVD, no big agencies wanted their stars in the movie.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When the Taliban shoot up the roof of the van, bullet holes can be seen everywhere on the roof, even over the driver’s seat where no one fired a weapon.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Asif: Congratulations, Nabi. We are at the doorstep of our martyrdom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Back to the Woods (#6.9)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Intro: Paradise sucks

Does Boll pull it off? No. Did I laugh? Yes.

This is Uwe Boll's best film to date. That being said, it's still crap. Abundant plot holes, crudely forced shock tactics, a shallow attempt at satire, and the worst director in the entire world are just the tip of the iceberg on why this movie blows. I hate Boll's work. I hate his belligerence. He should not be allowed near a camera.

The ultimate question, however, is did I laugh? Yes. In spite of everything , I laughed. This movie is Uwe Boll's "F*^# you!" statement to the world. He's going to continue making movies whether we like it or not, and he's actually a lot better at crude humor than any sort of horror, adaptation or whatever random dung heap genre he sticks his nose into. He even makes fun of himself in this movie during a cameo between him and the actual creator of the postal franchise. For some weird reason, I respect that.

Zack Ward was fantastic, and really should be getting better work. This may be a rare time when an actors participation in a Boll film didn't herald their imminent career death. He proved himself to be an adequate action actor, and I'm hoping this gets him some publicity. The same cannot be said for Verne Troyer or Dave Foley, who are circling the drain. (I still laughed though.)

Is it worth the price of admission? Nope, but it's so much closer than any of Boll's films have ever been. Boll may be a deluded, stubborn and angry man,(at the Q&A he explained to us in a very serious tone, how postal was a gutsy, intelligent satire) and his work may be awful, but Boll genuinely loves films and wants to make them. He wants to get better and who knows? Maybe one day Boll will produce something worthwhile. Tasteless director John Waters invented Hairspray, which was thought to be impossible. Maybe Boll will one day harness his ambition towards film-making in a productive way. Or not. Who cares?

You shouldn't see postal if you have an option, but if you don't, you might giggle a few times, in spite of yourself. However, if you're a moron, you'll love it!

-Max

P.S: Boll has always clashed with wheelchair-bound "AintItCool" news leader, Harry Knowles. They don't get along at all. Why do I reference this? There is a mentally challenged character in the movie who begs for money from the seat of a motorized wheelchair. Can you guess his first name?