Four Lions 2010

Boundary-pushing British comedian Chris Morris has mounted many memorable media hoaxes in his quest to expose and explode public gullibility. Here he sets out to shatter the fear-mongering mythology of the lethally focused jihadist: he’s made a taboo-busting comedy about four terrorists who are complete dorks. Cuttingly articulate, Four Lions hones its insults with dazzling velocity and nerve. — BG

“Morris studied the cases of homegrown British Muslim terrorists with real or imagined links to al-Qaida, and turned the results into a very dark slapstick farce about a group of lovable but incompetent morons devoted to the task of launching jihad in the industrial north of England. Yes, it’s In the Loop meets Paradise Now, and Morris dishes out the ruthless satire in all directions: the hardass white Muslim convert, the wholesome Pakistani immigrants, the devout mosque-goers, the inept police, the studiously liberal British politicians – they’re all criminal-grade idiots. You’ll laugh uproariously at what seems like a nihilistic but good-humored film, until you realize that Morris isn’t actually kidding about any of it… It’s pretty hard to imagine an American audience of any size tolerating this film. But it’s a first-rate example of the self-lacerating, take-no-prisoners current in British comedy.” — Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com

“Terrorist cells have the same group dynamics as stag parties and five a side football teams. There is conflict, friendship, misunderstanding and rivalry. Terrorism is about ideology, but it’s also about berks.” — Chris Morris