Postal (2007)

--Review by Nic Brown

What do you do when you don’t have anything left to lose? If you’re Zack Ward in Uwe Boll’s latest video game-to-film flick, you go Postal. Ward plays the Postal Dude, a man who is truly down on his luck. He’s humiliated at a job interview, his obese wife is cheating on him (with everyone), and he is caught in a gunfight at the unemployment office. Now, as a last resort, he goes to his Uncle Dave (Dave Foley). Dave happens to run a cult that believes he’s the messiah. However, his divine status hasn’t protected Dave from the IRS and now he has to come up with a lot of cash or go to prison. The two come up with a plan to steal a shipment of a hot new toy that is in short supply and sell them on E-Bay. The only flaw in the plan is that the Taliban has set their sights on the same shipment to use in a terrorist plot to end the world.

Postal is a fast paced action/comedy that lampoons religion, politics, consumerism, big business, the media, and just about any other institution that falls into Boll’s sights. Zack Ward is great as the man who has had enough, the Postal Dude. Ward has the physical presence to pull of the demanding action of the film, but his comedic skills are what really set him out in this role. Comedian Dave Foley also stands out as the hedonistic cult leader who, despite being self-centered and larcenous, is still a likeable guy. As well as producing and directing the film, Uwe Boll also co-wrote Postal with his long time associate Bryan C. Knight. Boll even appears in the film as himself and plays off his own reputation in some of the film’s funniest moments.

Postal is an irreverent film that spares no one’s feelings. The film’s mix of violence, comedy, sex, and political satire is not for everyone. However, it is these same qualities that will offend some, which make the film so much fun to watch. The movie holds to comedic mirror up to America’s pop-culture lifestyle, drawing its humor from our own absurdities. Boll has been panned by many critics for his earlier works, and many will undoubtedly deride Postal for its violence and often crude humor. That is unfortunate, because to do so is to miss the film’s social satire. Postal is a whirlwind mix of violence and humor the likes of which is seldom seen. Check it out for yourself! (click here for the Postal website)