Comedian Tim Heidecker takes his idiot host character from the performance art, cable access style web series based around amateur movie reviews On Cinema at the Cinema, a fictionalized version of himself, and extends the premise into a bizarre vérité mockumentary, Mister America. This Heidecker runs for district attorney of San Bernardino County despite not being a lawyer or even resident after narrowly avoiding being convicted of second-degree murder thanks to a botched music festival (think Fyre Festival).
Heidecker continues to excel at portraying the frighteningly realistic hyper-confident, self-entitled jackass. Co-writer/director Eric Notarnicola (a veteran of Nathan for You) uses our culture of scam artists and affinity for political docuseries to frame to the comical satire of dumb men in over their heads. Heidecker and Notarciocola venture into the real world and film regular people as part of their fictional narrative of a loser with a misguided vendetta.
On Cinema co-host Gregg Turkington (also a co-writer/producer) shows up as Heidecker's fictionalized co-host to check his ego and lies. His dry banter and deadpan love for obscure 1990s studio fare (think The Shaggy D.A.) is endearingly weird. Heidecker's unqualified narcissism, in contrast, is a work of outrageous comic delight.
Mister America is a blisteringly sad encapsulation of our current political discourse of toxic masculinity and self-delusion. How it parodies both our disdain and admiration for powerful idiots is searingly cringe-worthy. It's an original yet logical extension of these oddball characters mocking themselves and us.
Mister America is available to stream on various digital platforms and through video on demand.
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