SYNOPSIS:
"Slackers Uprising" traces Michael Moore's 62-city tour of the swing states during the 2004 Presidential election and records the thrilling - and frightening - response he received across the country. Moore's goal was to convince millions of non-voting "slackers" - mostly between the ages of 18-29 - to give voting a try. Starting out in Elk Rapids, Michigan in front of an audience of 400, the tour caught on like wildfire with up to 16,000 slackers each night coming to see Moore and his traveling band of speakers, comedians and musicians.
To encourage the slackers to show up, they were offered a clean change of underwear, free Ramen noodles and a promise that no event would start before noon and no politician would be allowed to speak. These enticements filled basketball arenas and concert halls every night on the "Slackers Uprising Tour".
Along with Moore's appearance, "Slackers Uprising" features live performances or appearances by Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam), Roseanne Barr, Joan Baez, Tom Morello (of Rage Against Machine), R.E.M, Steve Earle and Viggo Mortensen. Original score by Anti-Flag.
MOVIE REVIEW:
You may have seen director Michael Moore (everyone in the know should recognize his cap wearing persona, and not forgetting his roly poly physique) in the theatres recently, asking you to for money to support big foundations like banks and insurance companies. Yes, the man who loves to create controversy has a new documentary hitting the big screens soon, and he has got an attention seeking trailer to prove how attention seeking he is. Before watching Capitalism: A Love Story, we received this DVD which made us wonder: Why don’t we remember seeing this in local cinemas? Isn’t every movie of his a must watch for all self respecting cinephile? After tackling issues like gun violence, unjust wars and the health system (which puts the American government in bad light), how could we have missed this documentary about, what else, but a movement to put the Bush administration in bad light – again?
After some research, we found out that this collection of footage which sees Moore on a 62 city tour to encourage people to vote was released as a free and legal download online in The U. S. of A. and Canada. No wonder we didn’t get to see it, because Mr. Moore probably didn’t think it would be of much relevance to show this movement which he calls “the birth of a new political generation” to anywhere outside his home country.
Affectionately labeling his target audience as “slackers”, these were Americans aged from 18 to 29 who totaled by the millions. In this 100 minute production, we see Moore traveling to state to state, speaking to these “slackers”, encouraging them to take action, to give voting a try. In the midst of this brouhaha (you have to see the number of people to believe what this man is capable of), we get to see how ugly the Bush administration can get.
And we don’t know that already from the Oscar winning filmmaker’s previous films? Sure, Bowling for Columbine (2002), Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) and Sicko (2007) were amusingly produced while they lasted, but this activist movement to make the Bush administration look bad has somewhat gotten stale, and isn’t making us (at least “us” refers to non-Americans) much interested anymore. Sure, we can be amused by how Moore offers free underwear and ramen noodles to those willing to vote, but how much more amusing can such antics be? And sure, we have interviewees praising and loathing his cause in this picture, but are we not already convinced of his objective is one that develops from seeking attention?
This documentary isn’t all that bad, considering how we were surprised by appearances from other artistes like Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, Roseanne Barr and Viggo “Aragon” Mortensen. And we also get to hear some music performances before our guest of honour Mr. Moore is introduced on stage by renowned artistes like R.E.M. Yes, the director has probably achieved what he set out to do, and we are waiting to see how he can make something refreshing for a change.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains no extra features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There isn’t much to complain about the movie’s visual transfer, and you can hear Moore give his speeches in the original English audio track.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
Posted on 3 September 2009
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