F**K: A Documentary

Although a fair number of people believe that the infamous “f” word is an acronym hailing from early England, derived from the phrase “Fornication Under Consent of the King,” that particular definition is of much more recent vintage: namely, Playboy, circa 1970. That's just one of the interesting lexical tidbits presented in Steve Anderson's scattershot but entertaining and informative guide to one of the best all-purpose words in the English language: “fuck” (and its variants), which can be used as a verb, noun, adverb, adjective, and interjection (sometimes, as comic Billy Connolly humorously points out, all in the same sentence). Combining archival news footage and film clips, witty animation from Bill Plympton, and interviews with a wide range of linguists, pundits, and entertainers (including the late Hunter S. Thompson, Drew Carey, Janeane Garofalo, Ice-T, Miss Manners, Pat Boone, Bill Maher, Alanis Morissette, director Kevin Smith, music critic Dave Marsh, and porn stars Ron Jeremy and Tera Patrick), F**K rampages through the colorful history of the “f” word (which first appeared in print in 1475, and is found in the poetry of Robert Burns) and its impact in areas such as free speech battles (from Lenny Bruce's standup comedy to protests during the 1960s) and mass media (from George Carlin's famous “seven words you can't say on television” bit to the expletive-laden HBO series Deadwood). Although both liberals and conservatives weigh in here, it's pretty clear where this “unrated” film's sympathies lie (there are even scenes of a couple apparently having intercourse—no penetration is shown—onstage during a rock concert designed to raise environmental awareness). On an organizational level, the documentary is a tad, well, fucked-up, but it also boldly goes where no other language arts documentary has gone before (even featuring an astronaut's utterance of the “f” word over a hot mike, marking the first recorded instance of “fuck” on the moon). DVD extras include a director's commentary, deleted scenes, and extended interviews. Recommended for more adventurous collections. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)