God Bless America - Reviews
“(Tara Lynn Barr, in a
performance both sweet and psychotic)” Los Angeles Times
*
“with his sidekick (a marvelous Tara Lynne Barr)” Little White Lies (UK)
*
“with a … teenage girl (winningly played by Tara Lynne Barr) Daily Film
Dose
*
“As good as Murray is, Barr matches him beat for beat, and she's got her own
tricky ground to cover. She makes it seem real that Roxie would want to come
with Frank, and she makes a great sounding board for him.” Hit Fix
*
“I’ve never seen Tara Lynne Barr in anything, but her performance destroys
recent stuff like the young female lead in ‘True Grit’ or Chloe Moretz in
just about anything she’s ever done." MUBI
*
“Tara Lynne Barr…turns in a solid performance as the sweetly manic Roxy.
Given that's it's her debut (her credits to this point are little more than
a smattering of guest spots on shows like the Suite Life of Zack and Cody)
it's a pretty terrific piece of work from someone who's still a teenager
herself. The world needs more ingénues capable of being at least slightly
deranged, right?” Ain’t It Cool News
*
“Tara Lynne Barr, in her first starring role, is absolutely charming and a
wonderful discovery for Goldthwait: she is able to sermonize and wield an
Ak-47 at the same time.” Spotlight Toronto
*
“Barr invests Roxy with something more than just ordinary teenage angst.
Their chemistry and charisma is undeniable”
Obelist en Route
*
"Tara
Lynn Barr, in her film debut, is a cross between Molly Ringwald and Bonnie
Parker (right down to the wardrobe that riffs on Dunaway’s iconic fashions)
and manages to tread the line between precocious and downright terrifying
winningly"
Movieforum
*
“…promising newcomer Tara Lynne Barr” Lost In The Multiplex
*
“Tara Lynne Barr plays Roxy and she's a breath of fresh air every time she's
on the screen.” Plug In
*
“...Roxy (Tara Lynn Barr) who might not have the best aim with a handgun, but
does a mean Jeff Foxworthy impression and has an impressively long list of
grievances (and Star Trek trivia) for one so young.“ Twitch
*
“Joel Murray and 17-year-old Tara Lynn Barr steal the show as a modern-day
teen Bonnie and middle-aged Clyde, out to cure the ills of a cynical and
jaded country.” Pro Networks
*
“Tara Lynne Barr is good as the young spitfire Roxie as well, though less
polished as an actor. Despite that, she’s got an innate charisma and is so
full of peppy vim and vigor that you can’t help but like her. I imagine her
work here is going to lead to several more opportunities for the actress in
the future.” Temple of Reviews
*
“The chemistry between the two protagonists is heightened by both Murray and
Barr's impressively striking performances”
Reel Film Reviews
*
“Barr is a
likable spitfire with a decidedly Ricci-ish quality”
DVD Talk
*
“Barr gives one of the most vivacious, deviously
funny and dynamic newcomer performances that we’re bound to see all year.
She holds her own as the foul-mouthed intelligence of the character put on
page by Goldthwait flows through her like a lewd prophet speaking in
tongues.” Film School Rejects
*
“God Bless
America is a film everyone should see, if only to see Joel Murray’s
marvelous performance, or Tara Lynne Barr’s petulant, fascinating work.” The
Daily Texan
*
“Frank’s
execution of Chloe is witnessed by one of her classmates, Roxy, played by
Tara Lynne Barr in perhaps the single most gleefully nihilistic performance
a teenage girl has ever given in all of cinematic history. Roxy’s Tarantino-esque
rant about why Alice Cooper is the greatest, most influential rockstar of
all time— I mean, she does prove it here beyond all argument— is one of the
film’s comic highlights." Dangerous Minds
*
“Despite
all the onscreen violence and comedy, God Bless America is really a
character-driven film, and the performances by both leads are fantastic.
Joel Murray (Mad Men) plays it like a veteran actor who should have been one
of our cinematic treasures long before this film, and hopefully this role
will garner more work for him. Perhaps an even better performance is that of
young Tara Lynne Barr, who's previously been in very kid-friendly shows like
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on the Disney channel. Despite her doe-eyed
appearance, she flawlessly plays the adorable sociopath of Roxy with such
ease that you'd think she'd been doing films like this her whole life, all
18 years of it." Slackerwood (Austin Film Society)
*
“Tara
Lynne Barr has a breakthrough performance” Free
Press Houston
*
"To call this film
brilliant would be an understatement of simply epic proportions. The movie
is propelled by amazing performances from the central duo, the experienced
Joel Murray and the precocious Tara Lynn Barr. Murray does a fantastic job
at imbuing Frank with all the pained disappointment, righteous indignation
and too-long-suppressed rage that the character needs in order to encourage
sympathy – no mean feat when, in essence, he is a mass murderer by the time
the credits roll. However, it is Barr’s borderline psychotic Roxy who steals
the show, an exceptional debut performance from the young actress with a big
future." Film International
*
"Thenceforth he's accompanied by Chloe's psychotic 15-year-old
schoolmate. Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr – watch this face)"
The Guardian (UK)
*
"Tara Lynne Barr makes the leap from Nickelodeon kid actor to complex
lead (via TV soaps) with stunning ease. Her Roxy is a bundle of energy and
teen neuroses that settle just below her natural exuberance. It’s a fine
performance that meshes beautifully with Murray’s lower energy nice guy gone
south." Eclipse Magazine