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 s a caveat, let me say that I haven't seen any of
Michael Moore's documentaries, for two simple reasons: one) high school has
taught me to rebel against peer pressure, and the overwhelming peer pressure
to agree with everything Moore says by his legion of sycophants is
intolerable; two) I have no interest in documentaries. Having said that,
from all that I've read, heard, and seen of the man, I believe Michael Moore
to be very much a part of the Establishment (in this case, the Leftist
Establishment), and as such I do not buy into his "Everyday Joe"
shtick. And besides, on a purely personal basis, I find his personality to
be obtuse and overbearing.
Having said all of the above,
there's little about Michael Wilson's "Michael Moore Hates
America" that interests me, and as a result the film works best when
it's steering clear of its subject matter. The film is most interesting when
it offers up a blunt look at the making of documentaries, with some very
frank and surprising behind-the-scenes view of Wilson and his crew as they
go about making their film. In most of his interviews with pro-Moore people,
Wilson does his best to hide the film's title, sometimes even lying about
the subject matter, knowing full well that such an inflammatory and
seemingly biased title like "Michael Moore Hates America" would
either make people clam up or spout anti-Moore propaganda.
It's when the film takes a stab at answering its own
question that "America" stumbles mightily. There are the
prerequisite interviews with anti-Moore pundits, some offering up what
seems like spur of the moment pop psychology on everything from Moore's
vanity to self-loathing to the filmmaker's seemingly venomous distaste for
his own country and a guy name Charlton Heston. And then there's the
lengthy interview with a wounded soldier who found himself an unwitting
star in Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11". It's a painful interview to
watch, especially since you can't help but feel that the soldier is
showing very obvious misplaced bitterness. To be honest, the whole segment
made me squirm, and I couldn't help but feel that Wilson was using the
soldier to make his point, in the same way he's criticizing Moore for
having used the soldier in the first place.
As he crisscrosses the country in search of his
elusive subject, Wilson gets a break when Moore literally lands in his
backyard. At one of Moore's many University speaking engagements, Wilson
finally gets the chance to request an interview with Moore in an
auditorium full of Moore fans. The result is predictable: Wilson is
shouted down by Moore, who launches an immediate counter offensive that
aims to deflect questions by attacking the questionnaire. If you've ever
seen any of Moore's TV appearances where the anchors ask anything that
even remotely surpasses blind devotion, you will have seen this uncanny
talent at work. In fact, it's almost scary how easily and quickly Moore
turns the tables on his would-be detractors.
Again, the best moments of "Michael Moore Hates
America" has nothing to do with Moore at all. It's the discussions
about what constitutes a fair and honest documentary that really earns the
film points, including a long sit-down with a very foul-mouthed (but
surprisingly insightful) Penn Jillette (the speaking half of the magician
act Penn and Teller), and an interview with Albert Maysles, the so-called
"Godfather of documentaries". The film does get in some good
jabs at Moore, especially the fact that Moore has become a millionaire
many times over by doing a lot of complaining about what's bad about
America, seemingly oblivious to his deriding of the so-called
"American Dream" while living it himself. (A college dropout
from small town America becomes a millionaire through hard work. Hmm.
Sounds like the American Dream to me.) And then there is Moore's continued
support of loser political candidates, including a funny 1992 footage of
Moore viciously deriding then-candidate Bill Clinton.
And if it is Wilson's contention that Moore doesn't
play fair, then Wilson is determined to play it honest. In one of the
film's more honest moments, Wilson's cameraman prods Wilson to tell
Maysles the title of his (Wilson's) documentary, since at this point
Wilson has been conducting the interview without ever mentioning the
title. You can almost see Wilson practically fall to pieces as he waits
for Maysles' reaction, which in itself is priceless. Another great moment
comes when Wilson gets a chance to go on TV to promote his movie. In
Jillette's words, Wilson royally "f's" it up. A man of Moore's
vanity would never have shown himself in such a negative and clumsy light;
to his credit, Wilson isn't afraid to show all the warts.
Despite its title, "Michael Moore Hates
America" is really not mean spirited in the least. In fact, it's
quite an uplifting film, and Wilson himself comes across an affable,
everyday fellow. There's a great segment in the middle that explores the
2004 version of Flint, Michigan (the "star" of Moore's
breakthrough documentary hit, "Roger and Me"), which bears
little resemblance to the Flint Moore continues to use as a bludgeoning
instrument against Big Business. To see Flint as it stands today, and to
hear Moore talk about it from his Hollywood soapbox, one gets the feeling
Moore has not been back to Flint in many, many years.
In any case, allow me to predict your reaction to the
film (should you decide to see it): If you voted for John Kerry, you'll
think the film is part of the "Right-Wing Conspiracy"; if you
voted for Bush, you'll think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
And if you voted for neither men, you'll just think Michael Moore is a
really fat man with a big mouth who bitches way too much. As comedian Greg
Giraldo brilliantly remarked about Moore: "If
you're going to dedicate your career to ranting about the excesses of
American capitalism, you probably shouldn't weigh 450 pounds." No
kidding.
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