Fuck

Fuck

Directed by: Steve Anderson

Starring: Drew Carey, et. al

Genre: Documentary

Run Time: 93 min.

Release Date: November 2006

On The Web: Official Site

Teaser: Movie Trailer

Reviewed by Byron Merritt

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 FUCK 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 “Fuck” 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 the shit outta 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 fuck.

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