Achmed Saves America

I remember when ventriloquist-comedian Jeff Dunham began gaining momentum and slowly etching himself into a household name, right around the time I was in middle school (2006 - 2009). I remember viewing his early comedy specials on Comedy Central and laughing hysterically, even at one point thinking I could be a ventriloquist much like him. Dunham was one of the comedians who brought the art of the ventriloquist into the mainstream, using eccentric but highly memorable dummy characters in his skits to create a lively and infinite atmosphere.

Despite all efforts, the obvious fact is that converting one of Dunham's signature characters into animation inevitably cheapens and simplifies the process and art of creating a dummy character into just being another goofy character fortunate enough to get his own special. With Achmed Saves America, Dunham's famous puppet - a skeletal suicide bomber with a thick, Arabian accent - is welcomed to the animated medium, along with other famous characters such as Cheech and Chong and Jay and Silent Bob, who have been welcomed to the realm of cartoons within the last year or so. The result is a sporadically funny, sometimes interestingly satirical but a thoroughly flat and unnecessary endeavor that earns its laughs predominately because of the familiarity one will likely have with the film's source material.

The film revolves around its titular character (voiced by Jeff Dunham), showing his humble beginnings as an incompetent suicide bomber, who is blown up into a skeleton before being carried by a bird and dropped off in the United States. After landing in the middle of a road, Achmed is struck by a minivan carrying the Wilson family, your archetypal, well-off and good-natured white family.

The Wilson clan mistake the dead terrorist for their daughter's French foreign exchange student named Claude and, as a result, take him in to their family and treat him as one of their own. It just so happens that the whole town, cleverly named "Americaville," embraces Claude's arrival and the townspeople, who come from all over the political spectrum, treat him like he's the chosen one.

Achmed is passionately against American culture and customs, until he sees how friendly, welcoming, admittedly simple, and inherently loving they are, as well as the abundance of benefits such as all you can eat buffets and fast food. Now, Achmed decides to ditch his terrorist views and embrace the land of the red, white, and blue.

One thing that's sort of upsetting is that Achmed Saves America seems incredibly safe, given its source material. When it crosses the line of satire, it does so ever so safely, never assuring much commentary about liberals, conservatives, gun lovers, or American society as a whole seeps through. It also doesn't help that the special (it's hard to call this a film, really when, like such projects as Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie and Freaknik The Musical, it's hardly feature-length and feels more like an experiment) never reaches particularly raunchy heights. I speak not as someone requesting everything I watch be vulgar and dirty-minded, but to air this special on a network like Comedy Central and have the filthiest phrase being "ass-hat" seems kind of ludicrous.

There's fun to be had with this, however; the animation's simplicity works as a pleasant throwback, Achmed does score some very good laughs, Dunham's voicework translates well to animation (did he actually speak or did he use his ventriloquist techniques?), and the whole thing is hardly a task to watch at sixty minutes in length. It's just a shame that safer routes were taken over more risqué ones that would've likely ensure a long lifespan and impact.

Voiced by: Jeff Dunham. Directed by: Frank Marino.

Achmed, thru a series of misadventures involving his lack of skill in blowing things up, finds himself in Americaville (quintessential small town America). The Wilson's (a small town American family) mistake Achmed for the French foreign exchange student they're hosting. Achmed decides to go along and play the part, figuring it will allow him to enact his terroristic plans on the unsuspecting Americans. Will the Wilson's be able to melt this terrorist skeletons cold (figurative) heart, and make him luv the USA?

As you can probably guess, Achmed quickly sees the error of his ways, and that America is awesome! (Don't worry,, he still gets in a "Silence! I keel you!!" or two).

This loveable animated feature includes plenty of fun characters and lots of lols.

It's a 7.2 rating imo. (I can't see how any Jeff Dunham fan wouldn't like it)

Mr Dunham was great in hosting ventriloquist shows for various reasons, but one major one was refusing to get politically involved.

I know he wants to create a stream of residual income so he doesn't have to constantly be away from his family, but his now expressing political and social views (via this movie) is him further helping in having America destroyed as a nation with borders.

Therefore, if he truly wants America to be great he should be apolitical and stay away from any sexual stances.