Delta Farce

I, like most of us now a days, am rather sensitive to spoofs of our military or political system. These are nothing new, however, and some of them have been quite good. My favorites have been TV shows like “Hogan’s Heroes” and “Gomer Pyle,” along with the comic strip “Beetle Bailey”.

Unfortunately, “Delta Farce” isn’t anything like these. It did have the potential for being a great movie, but when the writers insert a flood of foul-mouthed language and sex talk, and inundate the viewers over and over with alternate lifestyles, the movie ceases to be enjoyable for many of us.

The plot itself could make for a wonderful family film. Three guys, Larry (“Larry the Cable Guy”), Bill (Bill Engvall) and Everett (DJ Qualls) are weekend warriors. (Take that very loosely.) On the flight to Iraq, they have to detour around a storm, and the trio, along with Sgt. Kilgore (Keith David), is accidentally dropped off in the Mexican desert. Larry, Bill and Everett, however, think they are in the Iraqi desert and can’t figure out why their map is so incorrect.

The three friends are eventually led to a village where banditos have been harassing the villagers for years. Thinking them to be Iraqi insurgents, these weekend warriors chase the banditos out of town. This gets them praise from the villagers, but wrath from the bandito leader, Carlos Santana (Danny Trejo). (He’s the bandito—not the singer.)

The trio eventually realizes they are in Mexico, meet back up their sergeant, and with help from the Delta Force defeat Santana and his men. All-in-all, it was a good plot and story line.

There were a couple other positives about “Delta Farce” in the midst of all the negative ones. One of these is how Larry’s attitude toward women changes. At the beginning of the film, he has a girlfriend he thinks is pregnant with his baby and proud of it. At the village in Mexico, he meets a beautiful seniorita, but treats her with respect throughout the film. In the “Where are they now” spoof reel at the end, he marries her. Another good one is when Sergeant Kilgore is kidnapped by the banditos. Even though he had treated the guys badly, Larry and the other two still risk their own lives to rescue their leader. It’s too bad there aren’t more good things in the movie.

There are about 100 swear words used, including almost a dozen misuses of God’s name. This isn’t the only foul language, however. There are at least another 100 times where there is talk of male genitals, “banging” a woman, and a host of other sexual comments. Seniorita Magdalena (Danielle Harnett) also wears low-necked dresses that show cleavage.

In addition to these remarks, there are also quite a few instances where alternate lifestyles are shown in what is supposed to be a humorous light. Throughout the movie, we find out that Everett is a cross-dressing, bisexual who enjoys playing with sex dolls and exposing himself to others. Another instance of cross-dressing is where the “man’s man,” Sergeant Kilgore, is forced by a couple Mexican men to wear some skimpy lingerie. There are also quite a few occasions of implied or forced homosexuality between men inserted as comedy. When Larry catches Bill and Everett sleeping together he says, “What in the name of Siegfried and Roy are you fellas doing?” Bill replies, “Don’t ask,” and Everett says, “Don’t tell.” At other times, Santana is shown torturing heterosexual men to compel them to talk by saying he’s going to allow his homosexual relative have his way with them. One of these times, Sergeant Kilgore is forced to sing with him the Sonny and Cher duet, “I Love You, Babe.”

The majority of viewers won’t be impressed by the barrage of sexual comments and actions throughout “Delta Farce”, and it definitely won’t qualify as family friendly. The Bible says that some sins shouldn’t even be mentioned, but this movie broadcasts them as something that is comical and should be enjoyed. It’s too bad the moviemakers chose to make “Delta Farce” into this kind of movie.

Violence: Mild / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy