The response to Moore’s latest book and movie offerings
In answer to your first unspoken question - no, I have not yet seen Moore’s newest free movie, “Slacker Uprising”, nor have I read his book “Mike’s Election Guide”. In answer to your second unspoken question - yes, I do plan on watching the movie but not reading the book. So, since I have no first hand knowledge about the quality of either of Moore’s newest products, I have to turn to the Internet to see how the rest of the world seems to feel about them. The reponse? It’s mixed, but in general things the reviews tend to sound like this:
From The National Review about “Mike’s Election Guide”:
Well, at least he’s spared the local cineplex.
Michael Moore didn’t really bother trying to influence this election with another documentary — his new film, Slacker Uprising, is online-only and merely a travelogue of his 2004 anti-Bush tour — so instead he’s tossed off a book, Mike’s Election Guide. With Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, Moore at least tried to make a case for voting against Bush, even if it was all conspiratorial nonsense. This time around, Moore’s just been lazy. He’s actually published a book straight-up telling people how to vote.
Given that Moore is a leftist radical given to astounding acts of greed-driven hypocrisy, it’s pretty presumptuous (even for him) to publish an election guide. Let’s face it: Asking Michael Moore to tell you how to vote is like asking Stevie Wonder to drive you to the airport — no good can come of it and ultimately you’re to blame. Now let’s get something out of the way — Mike’s Election Guide is a lame bit of cultural detritus that every living thing can and should safely ignore.
Ouch. I will admit that was one of the harsher reviews I read, but the tenor is about the same all around. But maybe “Slacker Uprising” is faring better after it’s dismal premiere at TIFF last spring? Let’s see:
From MLive.com:
Thankfully, the title has been changed for the better. But the 102-minute film isn’t up to snuff as far as Moore’s films go. It’s a straightforward and repetitive travelogue, consisting primarily of footage of Moore stirring up large audiences with anti-George W. Bush polemics, and introducing celebrity guests, from the sublime (Eddie Vedder) to the shrill (Roseanne Barr). In between, he splices bits of newscasts covering his speeches, which were often subject to Republican vitriol, and fly-on-the-wall scenes of Moore chastising the media at press conferences.
Regardless of what side of the partisan divide you fall, it’s easy to see with Moore’s previous work — “Roger and Me,” “Bowling for Columbine” — that he’s a talented filmmaker and satirist. Those expecting his wit and behind-the-camera skill will be disappointed with “Slacker Uprising” — it’s visually inert, and lacks the by-turns snarky and poignant first-person narration Moore usually provides.
From Emory Wheel:
Where “Slacker Uprising” truly fails is in its lack of organization. The film almost completely abandons the structure of his earlier work, replacing it with the loose, unpredictable structure of a 1970s variety show. It has numerous musical numbers and mediocre guest stars like comedienne Roseanne Barr, who fails to amuse a hefty portion of the on-film audience.
A select few of these musical numbers make for some of the strongest moments in the movie. Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam’s infamous frontman, delivers an inspired acoustic cover of Cat Stevens’ “Don’t Be Shy,” while Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave fame delivers an uncharacteristic acoustic performance.
These pleasant musical interludes do little more than break up the monotony of speeches — and sometimes they don’t even do that.
When R.E.M. and Anti-Flag take the stage, it is only to deliver more speeches, not to play any of their hits. While the appearance of these very political bands is fitting, especially in a youth-heavy setting, the lack of musical performance is quite disappointing.
Moore’s first-person narration is also absent, making the film feel much less personal than his previous works. Combined with the amount of footage that shows Moore being mobbed by his adoring public, this causes the film to feel a bit like a self-congratulatory pat on the back.
Ouch again. It doesn’t seem that Moore is faring too well with either his book or his movie. If anyone in our audience has seen or read either product, please comment and let me know what you thought. I mean… it *can’t* be that bad...... can it?
Comments
Jambi! This troll bores me! Bring me a new one, and then mix up some pudding!
Jambi! This troll bores me! Bring me a new one, and then mix up some pudding!
Y’know what, Rann? You’re right. Billistics here hasn’t had anything constructive to offer or say… well… ever. And since he can’t seem to do anything but disrupt the flow of dialogue here, and that *is* against the rules… he’s banned.
I’m so tired of this. I don’t care if you have a dissenting opinion. In fact, I *WELCOME* dissenting opinions as long as they are well stated and argued with intelligence and decorum. I’ll have a factual, intelligent, honest debate with anyone. What I will NOT tolerate are trolls, troubleseekers, and those who only disrupt, insult, or refuse to rationally discuss the topic(s) at hand.
So… anyone want to actually answer the question now? I’d love to hear views on the movie or the book, I really would. So let’s have some REAL discussion, m’kay? :)
Y’know, I’ve found lately that I end up defending Moore a lot on these boards.
Well… not this time. Slacker Uprising is pretty damn awful. Easily his worst movie by a long shot - yes, much worse than The Big One.
Y’know, I’ve found lately that I end up defending Moore a lot on these boards.
Well… not this time. Slacker Uprising is pretty damn awful. Easily his worst movie by a long shot - yes, much worse than The Big One.
Now you, ogden, are an example of a Moore defender that gets it right. You aren’t insulting, you offer intelligent responses and questions and are respectful of all parties. I don’t mind you defending Moore at all - I tremendously appreciate your style and the way you handle yourself when you do it. I just wanted to let you know that. :)
Okay, about the movie then… it WAS that bad? Can you give some reasons why? Do you agree with what the reviewers have said so far (you can hit the category tag on the right for “Captain Mike” for early reviews as well)? What makes you say it was truly awful?
For the record once again, with the exception of “F 9/11”, I have always largely like the way Moore *MAKES* movies. I thought “Roger & Me” was a wonderfully done film from a technical and artistic standpoint. I think he has a certain style and wit that is enjoyable and shows talent and promise. It just tends to be the message and the “facts” of his films with which I tend to have problems. ;)
Thank you.
Something I can usually depend on in a Michael Moore movie is that I’ll be entertained. Sicko does a nice balance of comic and tragic moments, and has a clear three-act structure; Roger & Me is a funny David and Goliath story; even Fahrenheit, which is a much lesser movie than those two, is at least fast-paced, funny, and has a few legitimately memorable scenes (the classroom footage, the Lila Lipscomb stuff, etc.).
Slacker Uprising is basically just fluff. It has all the depth of one of those celebrity profiles in People Magazine. It has no momentum, rising action, or tension - it just sorta zips along, monotonously and repetitively. Also, I’m amazed Moore included so much footage of students, celebrities, and other people praising him as if he were the second coming of Jesus. Moore should be smart enough to know that including all this self-aggrandizing footage is going to make him look like an egomaniac. Doesn’t Moore read his reviews? (Especially after last year’s Captain Mike debacle, I have no idea why he would bother releasing this one).
My favourite part was the concluding scenes, where Moore points out that the 18-24 year old demographic was the only age group that John Kerry won outright, as if to imply that the Slacker Uprising tour made a big difference. I guess nothing will humble this guy.
I watched slacker uprising last weekend, and found it very hard to focus upon whatever message that Moore was trying to get across. The concept was choppy and unorganized, the theme was sort of “look at me I am trying to save you all from yourselves, get out and vote for Kerry to prove me right.” If this is what the theme was supposed to show in the first place.
I think that all this film shows is the complete ineptitude of Moore trying to influence a generation that really doesn’t care about what happens in the country. I shown the film to some students that are classmates, they also seemed unimpressed, they felt that the film was a waste of their time, as was Moore’s trip across the nation trying to influence them to vote.
Personally Donna, it is not even worth your time to review this film, as all you will want is your time back from watching this film, like myself.
Evan
Wow… I’m actually kind of surprised to hear this from you guys. So it really is everything they reported at TIFF (when it was still called “Captain Mike") and in the new reviews, eh? Thank you all for the warnings!
I don’t think I’ll be in any rush to watch it then. Don’t get me wrong… I’ll watch it eventually. If I’m going to critique Moore’s work I’d better have seen it and understand it, you know? However, methinks I won’t hurry up and do it right away. I have better things to do with my time at the moment. ;)
Of course I would love to keep on hearing from anyone else who has either seen the movie or read Moore’s new book - the more opinions we can get the better!
Thank you both for your responses - I truly appreciate them… and both of you. :)
I saw it, and it just isn’t any good. The film is nothing but a portrayal of his 60 cities tour to get Bush out of office in 2004.
His other films has had some kind of message. I think that this one hasn’t.
Now, a movie doesn’t have to have a message. A documentary taking the viewer on for a ride can be good initself, but for doing that it has to engage. Most of the time you find yourself yawning at the repetetive theme. Some kind of rally, footage of upset republicans, an artist performning - repeat.
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It was done on the cheap about an old election, it’s not like it’s one of his other movies that were actually shown in theaters.
How many awards did Manufacturing Dissent get?