Tom Green is a genius. He has somehow managed to become a pop culture icon while
doing some of the most vile, annoying and grossest things imaginable on his MTV
show. He has repulsed much of America, while at the same time picking up a legion
of fans. He has either offended or entertained everyone in this country. However,
in “Freddy Got Fingered,” the emphasis is more on the offensive than
on any type of entertainment.
Tom Green plays Gord, a 28-year-old loser who still lives in his parent’s
house. He is constantly berated by his father (Rip Torn) for being such a failure
in life. Gord dreams of being a cartoonist, but after that dream is squashed,
he gets a job at a cheese sandwich factory. However, Gord cannot even keep that
job, and moves back home to his parents. Gord manages to meet a beautiful young
nurse named Betty, who dreams of attaching rocket packs to her wheel chair.
Understanding the plot of “Freddy Got Fingered” is about as hard as
comprehending those Radio Shack commercials with Howie Long and Teri Hatcher.
In other words, it makes absolutely no sense. The film is just 90 minutes of gross-out
gags that give new meaning to the word “gross.”
Consider the following. While skateboarding, Gord’s best friend manages to
severely hurt his leg. After licking the friend’s open wound, Gord takes
his friend to the hospital. In the bed next to the friend is a woman going into
labor. Suddenly becoming a doctor, Gord takes it upon himself to deliver the baby.
Ripping the infant from the woman’s womb, Gord discovers the baby is not
breathing. To resuscitate the stillborn, Gord swings the baby around by its umbilical
cord, spraying blood everywhere. I don’t have to mention Gord biting the
baby’s umbilical cord off or the Indian woman chanting with tambourines for
you to still know that the scene is very disturbing.
That’s just a taste of what audiences will get in “Freddy.” Calling
the film “bad” is not doing it justice. I believe Tom Green knows that
he has co-written, produced, and directed a terrible movie. He wants to shock
audiences and push the envelope further than anyone has every dreamed of pushing
it before. Does he succeed? Yes, you will definitely be grossed out. However,
“Freddy Got Fingered” is not the grossest movie you will ever see, nor
is it the dumbest. It does come pretty close to both, though.
Every critic in the world hates this film, and by next weekend every audience
member that pays to see it will hate it as well. “Freddy Got Fingered”
is a film that will be universally despised. Perhaps that is Tom Green’s
ultimate plan, his ultimate joke. And believe me, it’s a joke that is funnier
than anything else in the movie.

E-mail the author: Patrick PowellLIFE Et cetera Writer