Roger & Me

Rating:
Summary: Everyone needs to lighten up already....
Review: I haven't seen any of Michael Moore's other films besides this one, and it painted quite an interesting picture... All I know is this movie was pretty funny and kinda sad. This movie was released in the late 80's, and basically tries to show the what the director believes are inequities between the working class schlubs and rich, management types. The thing that seemed to come through for me was the issue of greed. I don't think greed in and of itself is all that bad, but when you make decisions that adversely effect thousands of peoples ability to economically support themselves soley on the basis to fatten your bottom line, or increase your annual bonus, or buy that third or fourth house, then maybe something is wrong. I don't have a problem with some people having a lot of money, but when said fortunes are gotten through deceiving and cheating those doing the work that produces said fortunes, that doesn't seem right. It's interesting that this was made almost 15 years ago and just recently we've witnessed the excessiveness of a number of CEOs within the last year or two, and how their actions have affected those that worked for the companies, Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc. Is Michael Moore some kind of prophet? I don't think so...but he could remake this movie today with any number of individuals involved in the current scandals. I have heard many critics say he takes things out of context, misrepresents the truth, and edits scenes or even removes them to make his point. Maybe this is true or not, I don't know, but I do know this was pretty funny and I think a lot of people on both sides should lighten up. Oh yeah, that rabbit skinning lady was pretty freaky.

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Summary: A "Documentary" That is anything but....
Review: After watching this film, it moved me enough to do some research on the topics discussed and the film itself. I was shocked to find out that this film was edited and put together completely out of order and sequence in order to give more weight to the items that Mr. Moore felt were more important and suited his agenda. I felt lied to, and if you knew the truth and then watched this "documentary" you would as well. A true documentary states the facts and leaves the conclusions up to the viewer. Mr. Moore does not trust us with the truth especially if it seems it does not fit his agenda. Do not waste your time, there are many better films if you want to see fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Extremist
Review: I started watching this film, but gave up in disgust. The film twists facts or takes facts and portrays them scathingly out of context in order to support extremist views. While the focus of this film is, allegedly, to show how General Motors hurt the city of Flint by closing a plant during an economic boom, this closing was not done to punish the poor and benefit the rich, as the film implies. The plant was closed because of problems with productivity and quality control that had turned it into a white elephant ready to become an albatross. Those problems had been long-standing and not responding to remediation. This is fiction pretending to be documentary; it's as realistic as the Blair Witch.

Rating:
Summary: Great entertainment, but also cruel
Review: This is a hilarious documentary. Moore has a gift of humor, and his makes very compelling points that are deadly serious. This is a classic. This is the type of documetary that absolutely needs to be done, again and again.

Its also really funny. The downside is that you are laughing at real people, not actors, and you get the sense that Moore's humor is acheived through his manipulation of these people. He gained their trust, encouraged them to "open up" and reaffirmed them when they did. They shared themselves with Moore, and then, through some clever editing, and by their own remarks, they are made to look like fools. When this happens, its your cue to laugh.

Sure, its funny, and if you can't laugh at this documentary, you are taking like too seriously. But in looking back, you begin to see that the subjects of this documentary were done a disservice by Moore.

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Summary: One of the greatest documentaries ever...
Review: Michael Moore outdoes himself with this visceral documentary about the fate of doomed town Flint, Michigan. Through dark humor, shocking moments, and valid points, Moore examines poverty in America from all sides of the issue, getting interviews from all sides of the conflicts presented. It chronicles a few years in Flint and their attempts to become a prosperous town despite an incredible amount of poverty and bad press. Moore does what filmmakers are afraid to do: he tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. Like it or not, what is on the screen is all true, and no one but him and those suffering seem to be doing anything about it. I cried at one point in the movie, when Moore is interviewing a man who went crazy while driving home from his terrible job one night. The Beach Boys came on the radio and the man lost it. I did too. Tears started coming down. I'm revered in a rich white community, so seeing such poverty a state away from me hits me hard. I'm so used to the good life that I never stop to look at the people who have it so crummy. I cried watching this movie. I was shocked that people in America were actually treated this way. In one scene, a man is shot right in front of the camera because he was trying to protect his family. In another, a woman kills a rabbit to sell to someone for food so she can make money. Moore documents it all, and gives it to us with no strings attached. You should not miss this remarkable film.

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Summary: Influence has been felt worldwide.
Review: People around the world have told me that they love this movie and find it hard to believe it was made in the USA. Why so hard to believe? Because it seems so un-hollywood? That's what I figured was meant by that comment. But wait, there's more. What really surprised non-americans was that THIS was America. Looking like some third world country. The world shown here is so vivid, so depressing, it's hard to reconcile to the image we export to the world around us. Anyway, it's not a perfect movie, as Moore is obviously trying to create a certain image which has been pre-fabricated in his mind. But these pictures don't lie. This is the world happening away from the cameras and the lights. Away from the warm glow of the silver screen. The America we Americans ought not to forget.

Rating:
Summary: I've Never Laughed So Hard While Getting So Angry
Review: "Roger and Me" is a wonderfully bitter documentary by Michael Moore, tracking Moore's attempts over the course of three years to get a face-to-face interview with Roger Smith, CEO of GM, which crippled the city of Flint, Michigan by closing its factories and relocating to Mexico. Ostensibly, this is to save money, according to GM's spin doctors, but this makes no sense because they're one of the most profitable corporations in the world at the time they close the factories.
When Moore realizes he can't nab an interview with Smith, he instead focuses the film on the effects Flint is suffering following their primary income source's departure.
For the broad scope of things, Moore watches a parade whose route passes countless boarded-up windows and dilapidated buildings. He follows a sheriff's assistant who looks almost bored as he evicts numerous people from their homes in the month leading up to Christmas. And he tracks embarassing attempts from the powers-that-be to improve the city through stupid ideas like an indoor theme park celebrating GM's history in Flint and a towering hotel that nobody in the city could afford to stay in.
On personal levels, Moore speaks to a high school classmate getting evicted from his house, an assembly line worker-turned-prison guard who observes he's in charge of a number of ex-coworkers, and an assembly line worker who committed himself to a mental institution the day the last plant closed because he couldn't take being fired by GM for the fifth time in as many years.
And through it all Moore keeps us from turning away in disgust by making us laugh, peppering the documentary with snide comments and asides about the upper class (like the country club folks who say none of these problems would happen if the auto workers just went out and got new jobs---kind of hard to do with the rest of the city closing down in a domino effect, folks) and GM's spokesperson who refuses to do her job and speak to Moore, while the people doing their jobs are getting fired.

You'll be angry and your perspective will be altered, but you'll have a good time anyway, thanks to the cutting, startlingly honest and funny "Roger & Me".

Rating:
Summary: They were expendable
Review: Business is war and employees are an expendable aspect of it, as the 1989 film ROGER AND ME colorfully illustrates. The documentary depicts General Motors' desertion of its Flint, MI, plant for the lower expenses and cheaper wages of Mexico. Riveting as the bolts that hold Cadillacs and Buicks together, ROGER AND ME tracks journalist Michael Moore's attempts to interview G.M. chair Roger Smith as ex-employees' attempts to build new lives fail. When it comes to the autoworkers' union protection, ROGER AND ME shows how the divide-and-conquer method works so well for General Motors. See ROGER AND ME!

Rating:
Summary: Agree with it or not, it's a hilarious movie
Review: Michael Moore directed this thought-provoking movie documenting GM's massive plant closures in Flint, Michigan. The ensuing layoffs plunge Flint into a terrible situation - it becomes crime-ridden and destitute and is selected as Money magazine's Worst Place to Live in the US.

Moore is obviously opinionated - he backs the "stakeholder" view of corporations that says that corporations must be obligated to their employees, the community, etc., as well as their shareholders. It's not a view I completely agree with. And many might be turned off watching this movie finding it's got a strong liberal political bent.

Still, Moore isn't making fools of his characters. They're doing so themselves. At a "Great Gatsby" party, the well-to-do give interviews dressed in cashmere sweaters with canes and luxurious furs, calling the poor lazy, while hiring auto workers to play "living statues." Four rich elderly women golfers, none of whom have ever worked in their lives, call the auto workers lazy for not finding new jobs. A lobbyist for GM calls the layoffs necessary and healthy, and is in turn laid off himself. It's hilarious and at the same time very disconcerting. The emnity between rich and poor in the movie is obvious and seems to come from another era.

The town government's solutions to its problems are even worse: Build Autoworld, a $100 million tourist attraction (which closes for lack of interest within a few months)! Build a massive hotel and convention center (which attracts a Scrabble convention, and that's about it)! Retrain the auto workers - with crime exploding, they can be guards in the new jail!

Flint's problems are obviously very real. Moore's question is a very valid one: is this the necessary result of capitalism and corporate cost-cutting? Should we as a society try for a better solution? Could we have done better in Flint? After seeing this movie, it's difficult to justify ignoring the problem.

The question is how to respond. Moore seems to see the movie as a statement of good vs. evil. I find the problem is much more difficult. GM at the time was being killed off by inexpensive, high-quality Japanese imports, and had a cost structure that was too high. Its shareholders clearly wanted higher profits. Was it rational to move jobs to Mexico, which would save costs tremendously? From a corporate and shareholder standpoint, yes. Corporations have to deal with ethical dilemmas like these constantly, since their ultimate obligation is to their shareholders, the owners, and shareholders want their money to make good returns. Corporations risk making themselves look very bad in the process, as GM certainly does here. But is that enough to prevent a company from making such decisions? And is it healthy for the economy as a whole to prevent companies laying off employees domestically (as is done in Germany right now, with often very detrimental effects to its companies)? Good questions, and good of this movie to raise them.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Michael Moore . . . for existing
Review: I watched this film in the theater way back in 1989 as a freshman in high school and it opened my eyes to an entire reality that I had no idea existed. I knew there were disgruntled people in the world, but I had never seen them voice their problems through film. Michael Moore became an immediate personal hero and has yet to disappoint me. Sure, his tactics can be criticized. Sure, we can all complain that he is too biased or too personally involved with his subject matter to be objective. But, his message is what is important. I don't have to agree with him 100% of the time to realize his value to an ever increasingly apathetic nation. It is refreshing to see someone stand up and disagree with what they find unacceptable. It is our much underused priviledge to speak out at things we find unjust. It is our duty. Here is a man, regardless of agenda or technique, who has found a way to reach a huge audience with his message . . . and it all started with Roger & Me. This film should be mandatory, regardless of whether you agree with his viewpoints or not.