Capitalism: A Love Story

Michael Moore...Blahblahblah (that blahblahblah incorporates everything you know and hear about the man). Onto the review!

In a world (go back and say that with EPIC voice) where people are losing their jobs, their houses and their sanity, one man will stand up and give voice to the voiceless and that man is Michael Moore. He of gun control wanting, Bush hating and free health care advocating fame, is back and fatter than ever. With his hushed faux sincerity, ugly baseball cap and constant prying for the truth, Moore returns to find out what happened to the United State of America. The short answer, for Moore is Capitalism. Capitalism happened to America and because of it, the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Moore is out to examine the effects of Capitalism, as well as the history of it. He recalls a time when Ronald Regan came through and changed business. He recalls when Americans stopped being able to pay for the things they needed with the money they earned and had to start relying on credit cards. He condemns every single secretary of treasury of the last 5 presidents for helping cause this down turn. And he does it all with that typical Michael Moore innocent voice and doughy frame.

Moore's movies are typically only as good as his stunts. And he has always had good stunts. This movie is no different. Here he goes out to all the big banks in an attempt to get back the bailout money to give back to the people. He wants to make a citizen's arrest of all the CEOs of major banking companies and before the final credits he goes as far as to wrap crime scene tape around every big banking firm's building. It is an audacious, hilarious and fruitless stunt, but he makes his point- the American people were robbed! The story leading up to the bailout might be the most interesting in the movie as Moore interviews members of the Senate to find out how the deal got done in backrooms witrh handshakes and under the table dealings. He cuts this with footage of outraged senators and compliant senators in senate hearings about the potential bailout. It is an interesting piece of Government and Moore is not afraid of worrying about boring people by showing it all.

In this movie, more so than the last two, I think, Moore has found good human stories. he has found stories of people with whom we can sympathize. He has also found a pretty shocking human story, in my opinion. He discovers that many big businesses take out life insurance on employees where they are the benefactor, so if an employee dies, the company can make money. One woman lost her husband to cancer and his place of employment made 1.5 million dollars off of the family's grief. This is a remarkably disgusting business practice and points to the greed of the CEOs in a Capitalist economy. One can argue the legal parameters and of course, it turns out it is legal, but what about the question of morals? At what point does money stop being the important factor?

I think that is Moore's major point in this movie: At what point does money stop being the most important thing in life? Moore puts all of the blame under this blanket of Capitalism and he makes some very convincing, entertaining and thought provoking points, but at one point does someone just factor in individual greed? Sure, Capitalism breeds a kind of greed, but don't aren't some people just greedy on their own? Moore's attempt at condemning the institution and some of the people who are behind the institution is admirable, but I think his scope is too narrow. He shows us a few examples of how well businesses can run when they are run as a democracy and how when everyone is happy, everyone makes more money, so he kind of covers his bases, but again, individual greed is inherent in some.

I do think this is Moore's second most effective movie (After Bowling for Columbine) mostly because of one story in particular. If you followed the news in the weeks before and after the election, you might remember a group of blue collar workers who had their plant shut down and were not paid because Bank of America refused to give the bosses credit to pay the employees at the end. These employees had a shut in at their former place of employment and it caught national attention. Obama applauded their efforts and the whole city rallied around this group of people, bringing them food and cheering them on. Because of the bailout, BofA could afford to give these people their just due, but they were refusing, and eventually the people had their say and BofA caved. In a sequence that brought tears to my eyes, Moore perfectly captures the human spirit to endure and persevere.

Capitalism: A Love Story mixes depressing images of run down houses with funny animated sequences. It opens with comparing us to ancient Rome and then from there Michael Moore does his Michael Moore thing. He is not going to convert any people as people know what to expect from him, but he has created an interesting documentary rich with human stories about how we, the under represented can rise up and fight back. Moore ends his movie with a call to action and that is what is required. People have to fight back and not accept the lot they have been given. It is a surprisingly humanistic approach, for a rich film maker to take, but that is what makes Michael Moore so unique. He lives in excess, but he preaches to the little guy and in this case, I hope the little guys listen.

Final Grade: A-