Roll over Leni Riefenstahl, there’s a new film in town…
As Salon has reported tonight, there is a hastily made “documentary” in the works called “George W. Bush: The World’s Greatest Cowboy in The Big Picture”.
Seems our good friends over at Citizens United, the right-wing group that unsuccessfully sued to stop national advertising of Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 are trying to pull off the very thing they condemned by creating what appears to be a slobbering kiss to the ass of GW for the first half of the documentary, with the latter half being devoted to slamming Clinton (naturally) & Kerry on such items as thelargely debunked claims of the not-so Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Already, questions are being asked about whether or not this latest film is legal, especially since the director is creating two films for the Republican convention.
My prediction:
First and foremost this movie will suck. And in ways that will suck despite your political affiliation. Anything this rushed, hamfisted and based on already debunked claims can’t be a good thing.
It won’t be funny. Say what you will about Moore, but I think most people would at least admit he is a relatively funny guy (cue angry retorts here about how goddamned “funny” he was with BfC). Consequently his films are tempered with some laughs. Given the rushed nature of this film, I doubt they’ll get much laughs in. Angry, hard-core Republicans aren’t the funniest bunch of people you’ll ever meet. See Dennis Miller for example. Better yet, don’t.
Consequently the film will be all the more tedious and insufferable.
It will get released, straight to video, and many a finger will be wagged over the fact that F 9/11 will have more copies to rent than The Worlds Greatest Cowboy at your local Blockbuster- clearly demonstrating that not only the media is controlled by the liberals, but so are the video stores.
I can’t wait to see it sink like a rock. But hey, maybe it’ll make more than America’s Heart and Soul, which was billed as the anti-F9/11. It made a grand total of $314,402, according the Box Office Mojo’s documentary page.
Hell, even Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy made more than that! ($421,516)
Just to remind folks who either care or who will be pissed off by it, Fahrenheit 9/11 has made $162,328,500.00 worldwide so far. Cite: Box Office Mojo’s Fahrenheit 9/11 page
Of course, it will make many tens of millions more when it’s released on DVD/VHS OCTOBER 5.
Other excellent documentaries to keep an eye out for, some are in or are coming to theaters, some are on video already:
Isn’t there supposed to be a Michael Moore bashing movie coming out sometime? Michael Moore Hates America? Whatever happened to that? I can spot that movie’s first lie already. It’s the title.
I actually read Al Franken is a Buck-Toothed Moron back in 1996, while I was waiting for my wife in Barnes & Noble. I can almost guarantee that the movie will suck. The Republicans always seem to do this. They don’t seem to realize that they have Rush to deliver fresh commentary for roughly 9 hours a day, five days a week.
Michael Moore has always said, publically, that his film is a “satiric documentary.” It’s intended to be funny, and so people can laugh regardless of their political stance. (Sure, some people laugh harder, but c’mon, it’s like John Stewart or Jay Leno making fun of this or that politician.)
My suspicion is that these right-wingers will make a serious “documentary” that’s nothing but political diatribe. That won’t attract an audience, except an incestuous one. (“My mother saw it, and my cousin Freddy, and the entire population of Fort Mudge, Georgia…”)
My brother is of the opinion that the film is out to catch Moore using his own tactics (as the filmmakers see them). That is, it’s intentionally hyperbolic, misleading, manipulative, and at times downright dishonest. It’s a parody of Moore’s work that at the same time jabs at Moore’s positions (by interviewing Moore debunkers, happy working Americans, etc). The key note of the film is when the filmmaker fails to get an interview with Moore, just as Moore failed to get an interview in Roger and Me.
Me, I kind of doubt it’s so subtle. “Michael Moore Hates America” is something that a right-winger would say with a straight face in this political climate. I think it’ll be a right-wing diatribe that lacks Moore’s humor and skill. Besides “The Daily Show” has already hilariously deflated this film.
These guys have no sense of humor? Come on! “World’s Greatest Cowboy”? “The Big Picture”? I’m Rolling On The Floor, Busting A Gut, Pancreas And Various Parts Of The Nether Region, Pissing Off The Cat!
Haven’t seen the movies I snipped from the quote above (though I’ve heard truly great things about Bush’s Brain), but I can certainly second the recommendation on the first two. The second is more than a bit long-winded and occasionally unfocused, but very informative viewing.
And I’m sorry, but I can’t really agree on Orwell Rolls in His Grave. While some of it is worthwhile (the interview segments with the former journalist who has become a media watchdog were fascinating), I thought its production values were distractingly amateurish, and the movie spent way too much time obsessing about stuff that provided little or no rhetorical traction (e.g. the 2000 election, the issue of which are handled much better elsewhere).
I’d hardly call this excellent. It seems like it had worked well as a book, but translating to film, it was one of the dullest things I’ve ever sat through in my entire life.
Yup. He’s even publically stated that he won’t do jokes against George W. Bush, just because he likes the guy. Which is grounds for automatic loss of his comedian credentials(*), as any satirist and late-night talk show host knows.
(* = Though some will argue that he never had those to begin with… )
I read somewhere recently that he claims his political veiws were radically changed after 9/11 and he’s surprised everyone else’s weren’t changed, too.
To hear him now he just sounds… bitter and angry (IMHO).
Historically, comedians have always faired better when they’ve been anti-establishment. When they’re shilling for The Man, it’s always less funny.
My guess is sometime after his HBO show was cancelled. He’s always had those tendencies but his new MSNBC show is a festering pile of concentrated unfunny. Not doing Bush jokes really eliminates most of the good material and makes you look like a partisan goon.
I used to like DM but his MSNBC show sucks. It seems like he’s playing the “asshole talk show host” character from Joe Dirt but without any irony.
Andros, at first I was sad about Dennis Miller too. He had been a favorite of mine. Loved those rants!
But if you watch his new show once or twice, the sad feeling melts into contempt. He isn’t the same man. It is embarrassing.
It’s not just his politics. His judgment in general seems to be affected. Who would have the Governor of California as his first guest on his first show? They discussed problems in California. (yawn…)
Back to the subject of pubbie docs:
I don’t mind propoganda. I just don’t like dishonest propoganda. No lies.
