Fort McCoy (2014)

The Worst Film Ever

Let's be realistic.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Kate Connor wrote and directed this affectionate and loving memoir of her family and the time they spent in Wisconsin at a place called Fort McCoy. Actually Camp McCoy, but I'll not quibble.Clan patriarch Eric Stoltz comes to the camp to be a barber for the GIs, he's got a heart murmur and is a 4-F. The same thing knocked with malaria knocked Errol Flynn out of war service. It grates on him constantly, both in looking at the kids going overseas and those coming back dead and alive. Even the Germans and Japanese who were captured get a bit of envy for their service.But wives and daughters also serve and the daughters form their own attachments to the soldiers, individually and collectively. Which brings me to the most poignant part of Fort McCoy. Young Gara Lonning entering puberty herself notices for the first time someone of the opposite sex. He happens to be Josh Zabel playing Heinrich who is a POW all of about 13 or so.There's a famous newsreel film of Hitler giving a pep talk to some Hitler youth now impressed into service for the Fatherland. By 1944 I'm sure many were dead and many prisoners of war. The little innocent attraction of Zabel and Lonning will wet the eyes and the ultimate tragedy reduce you to tears.Fort McCoy is a tale poignantly told and really should be seen to learn about how loss of innocence is too big a price for war.

What part of this is true? Camp (as it was then) McCoy was a POW camp ... that much is true. Officers were typically separated from enlisted. Nobody was allowed to where their uniforms. Where did the boy come from? Although the PW's were treated well (better that or troops were) they did not get to roam around at night. 'Frank' did nothing after the SS officer night walked in on his wife ... nope ... it was only after his daughter told him what she saw the SS officer did (yuk!!!)to the boy (Heinrich)that he manned up and went after the SS officer? True story? OK ...They go on a picnic with no food? Nobody cooked at all for this family? Certainly the mother didn't do much beside trot around being sensual? Answering the Camp switch board like it was a bordello? At the movies end ... some information on the 'real people' was given ... so ... what happened to her little brother? This movie was a waste of time to watch and a waste of time to make. People should not play with history.

I really hoped this was going to be a good movie but was really disappointed and surprised at just how bad it was, Stolz's acting was about the only good thing in the movie. His anguish over not being able to serve his country was believable but his co-stars (Connor) acting was just ridiculous and over the top. The US Army fort seemed more like a Boy Scout Camp with no discipline, security or any military bearing whatsoever. Whoever made this movie had no idea of what the military is like. There were so many things going on, its like the creator of this mess wanted to cram all their statements and beliefs in one movie with none actually being explored in depth. The topic of POW's in the USA during WW2 could have been explored with this film nicely yet the picture we were given is silly and very inaccurate. I have family who were around the German POW's in Opelika AL in WW2 and according to them, this movie is junk and I have to agree.

Fort McCoy is one of those smaller films that pretty much slipped through the cracks of audience exposure but was deserving of more attention. Stars Eric Stoltz and Kate Connor give very decent performances along with the entire cast. And because the film is based on a true story related to Connor, its significance is amplified. It's probably a safe bet that few people know much about WWII POW camps that operated in the U.S., and that in itself is enlightening. It's also beautifully filmed and well produced for its relatively modest budget. Even the score is well done. Connor proves to be a very competent actress we should hope to see more of. It's also nice to see Cameron Manheim in a modest role.