Customer Reviews

F**k

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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 F**K 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 "F**k" 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 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 f**k.

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

It's clearly hard to write a review of this movie, why, well it's about a word that is specifically banned in Amazon's reviews. We're left to the euphimisms they mentioned in the movie.

All kidding aside, the first half of this film is remarkably good. It's well put together and makes a lot of sense. Just after the couple simulating sex at the rock festival in Europe, the film just becomes repetitive and boring.

The movie is a classic talking head documentary. There's some cute animmation between segments (see the cover art, the same artist did the inter segment work). A couple of talking heads against a black background talk about some aspect of the word. It goes back and forth, and sometimes a clip is shown to illustrate the point. There's subtitles that are supposed to be witty (not really). The talking head list is very wide - from Miss Manners to Ron Jeremy (that pretty well covers the gamut there). Tera Patrick is surprisingly intelligent. And of course I'd like the movie when Kevin Smith talks.

There's a couple of good segments about Lenny Bruce and George Carlin - in so many ways this film should be about these two guys.

How offensive is this film - it's not really. That word is used over 800 times. But after about number 100, it's nothing. In fact you kind of find yourself leaning toward saying it in casual conversation. The views are somewhat well balanced between conservative view (Pat Boone) and liberal view (Kevin Smith). It isn't apparent the director had an axe to grind one way or the other.

An hour and 30 minutes, roughly. It's so R rated. Actually when you get down to the nudity, it's R not anywhere near NC-17. No violence. Minimal nudity (you would expect more). Tons of strong language.

I highly recommend this dvd. It not only keeps you laughing through out the show, but also gives you a history and possible origin of the word f**k. It's nice to see a variety of comedians and a little animation thrown in too! Over all, well put together and enjoyable to watch!

If you wish to laugh repeatedly, and also wish to learn a little about the origin and evolution of the most commonly used cuss word, then rent this movie. It documents quite thoroughly the right-wing's attack against the use of profane language, and even allows many of them to respond with their justifications for condemning mere human language, a basic right protected under the 1st Amendment. (Not as THEY interpret it, of course!)

Though the Right is represented here, this is definitely a movie only the more liberal-minded will truly enjoy, for it is quite "profane" and harsh toward conservatives who wish to legislate their brand of morality in the U.S., especially in its exploration of the Lenny Bruce trials and George Carlin's "seven dirty words." So, in other words, it's quite biased, but so what? The Right cares not for the equal representation of ideas, so disregard the ignoramus that gave this movie one star because it was unfair to the Right (boo hoo!).

If the prospect of living in a BushWorld frightens you, then rent this movie. John Ashcroft, the former Attorney General under W, is perfectly illustrative of the world social conservatives want: when he was giving a press conference, he covered up the Venus deMilos' breast becuase it made him uncomfortable. A great work of art, censored because it made an uptight prig uncomfortable. Next they'd start censoring Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, etc.

Haven't these people read the Old Testament? There's much worse to be found there: justification for the raping of women, justification for the selling of young girls into slavery, justification of slavery, stoning the unruly child to death and on and on and on, massive genocide and justifications for.

Maybe we should censor, or ban, the Bible next...

A terrifically entertaining documentary, F**K explores and exploits the granddaddy of all swear words in nearby every respect possible. While being unabashedly foul-mouthed, this documentary examines the sides of both the offenders and the offended, the histories and the myths, and the politics and hypocricies of the F-Word.

With tremendously funny animation from Bill Plympton, hilarious and well-juxtaposed interviews, and a subversive tone too pointed to miss, F**K is a truly original, on-target piece of work that demands to be f**king seen.

A sweet, cheeky job of analyzing the controversy over a four letter word. Unabashedly biased, despite the presence of both Hunter S. Thompson and Alan Keyes. For all it's celebration of free speech and fairly contemptuous treatment of the censoring impulse, it did give the best defense of censorship I've ever heard, via Miss Manners. She made the very sharp observation that simply as a matter of growing up, children will test boundaries. Why not give them one that's fairly harmless? I had flat never thought of that. She may have a point.

I was particularly charmed because my constitutional law professor, David Skover, was one of those interviewed. I'm a *teeny* bit worried about the . . . let's say contextualization of the clips as my con law prof's last statement, as presented, is *quite* misleading. But, for those of us in the know, hil-ar-ious.

Quite fun.

The F-bomb is a word many of us use often, if not daily. Its prominence in the English language cannot be understated. This documentary is a good, humorous look at its use and its various meanings and should be seen by everyone (18+) at least once.

A fascinating exploration of obscenities, the F word in particular, by comedians, linguist, writers, and other "in the know." The movie examines the word's influences through the ages and it's march through the 20th century, including its use by George W. Bush in relation to Saddam and in other instances. This movie is brilliant, particularly, when it traces the use of the word in all areas of our lives. It's a must see!

Very thorough examination of America's favorite word. The DVD exhanced my use of the word which I didn't think possible!

Freedom of speech is remarkably still an issue in this country and will remain so for the forseeable future. The makers of the documentary 'F**K' point out that if their work were to be shown on network television and accrued fines for its more than 800 usages of the F-word, $165 000 000 could disappear into the coffers of the FCC! 'F**K' offers a balanced look at an ancient word, people who are both pro (Ice-T) and con (Pat Boone). A search for the word's origins explores the common misconception that the F-word is derived from an acronym (for unlawful carnal knowledge; fornication under command of king). The OED states that f**k could be derived from the old French 'fuchre' to poke, or prod. Pat Boone provides some unintended levity when he mentions that he too has a rap song, and uses his own name as a substitute for cursing "Oh, BOONE!" Other appropriate contributions are made by Kevin Smith, Bono, and a European rock band that includes a live sex act, as they believe in "f**king for the environment."