Rating: Summary: You'll never think the same about America or your Car again Review: This is one of the most emotionally powerful documentaries on business I have ever seen. It's insanely dificult to create a movie that looks at both business and government the way this film does, but through an odd stroke of luck, Michael Moore pulls it off beautifully! The entire film is filled with the repricussions of an event which rocked the Automobile industry, and the entire town of Flint, Michigan. The logic makes you laugh, and the people make you cry. It's one of the best documentaries out there. Michael Moore did a fantastic job with this documentary, putting all the money he had in the world to make it. Watch it, and learn from it!
Rating: Summary: Talent Spoiled By Left-Wing Ideology Review: When I saw this movie the first time, I was in a fine mood, with two lovely girls, and I thought it was one of the most hilarious things I'd seen in my life. A few months later, I had just graduated from university, felt lost in the real world, was in a particularly bad mood, so I thought that I'd watch it again, to cheer myself. It was one of the most heart-wrenchingly depressing movies I'd ever seen. When the Flint authorities announced that they were sinking their last few million into "Auto World" I almost burst into tears. Any work that has such potential to provoke such disparate emotional reactions IN THE SAME VIEWER is noteworthy. However, throughout both viewings, I kept thinking to myself, "Yeah, it's sad that these people will be out of work, but what the hell does Moore want GM to do? Continue operating the Flint plant and hemorraging money, thus destroying not only the livelihoods of Flint residents, but also jeapordizing the lives of GM employees nationally?" The notion that an enterprise can give up all operational considerations save that of job security is just a ridiculous idea to which not even Marx himself would subscribe. The whole thing just seemed like a humorous exercise in class envy, wealth-coveting, and sour grapes. He then competently proceeds to completely drain any sympathy we might have developed for the residents of Flint, making both the rich and poor seem like pathetic dolts with not a brain in their collective head. I actually began to WANT Flint to fail because the citizens were portrayed as being so creepy and contemptible. I highly doubt that I was left with an accurate impression of this beleaguered city. Anyway, I thought it was cowardly of Roger Smith to not grant the interview. He should have sat the obviously-not-missing-any-meals Moore down and unflinchingly explained to him why it was unfeasible to continue operations in Flint. Had he done so, he would have been the hero of the film. Or perhaps there would have been no film.
Rating: Summary: God Awful Review: This movie is just horrible. It's as dreadful as it can come. The scene with the woman killing the bunnies is the sickest thing put on film. Whoever's involved should be ashamed and disgusted with themselves. Stay away!.
Rating: Summary: The greatest documentary ever made Review: I just thought it was the funniest, most sincere, most sarcastic, and most poignant movies I have seen in a long time. Having gone through two major layoffs from GE, It also hit home as thousands of us were laid off at Christmas time also. Michael Moore is a caring, humanitarian and a super genius! I just need to get the sequel, "Pets or Meat, the Return to Flint".
Rating: Summary: too fakey Review: the acting was really bad. that plot was not believable. i was very unimpressed.
Rating: Summary: Flintstoning: the Fall of GM and a Community Review: We will express our support for universal human rights and, particularly, those of our employees,the communities within which we operate, and parties with whom we do business. --Excerpt from GM's Core Values & Guiding Principles Michael Moore's Roger and Me is the tragic satire of the dismantling of the middle class, blue-collar community in Flint, Michigan. This documentary focuses on the closing of the town's largest employer-General Motors-resulting in the loss of over 30,000 jobs and the destruction of Flint's economic culture. The film is a litmus to the bitter realities of "business gone bad"-or worse...gone bureaucratic. GM was more than an industrial leader to its employees-it was the cornerstone of life in Flint-an industrial Mecca. Employees believed in the vision of GM, lived the industry's values and devoted their careers to its existence. Those who lost their jobs during the plant closing in the 1980s also lost self-identity, self-respect and integrity for their personal lives. Terminated GM workers were forced to find any means to make a living: Amway franchises, lint roller factory work, plasma donations, prison guards, Taco Bell line cooks (where most GM workers were terminated because "line work was too fast and stressful"). One woman morbidly resorts to selling rabbits for pets or meat. As Money Magazine dubs Flint "The Worst Place to Live in America," the film is threaded with daily evictions of families who cannot make rent, and the never-ending search for Roger Smith-Chairman of General Motors-as well as an overdue explanation of why GM disenchanted its employees. From Pat Boone to the Hyatt to Miss America to Auto World, no one could save Flint from its demise. According to a GM spokesperson,"GM has not promised and does not owe employees cradle-to-grave security." Ironically, its guiding principles state something completely different.
Rating: Summary: The Flint Stoning Review: For any student interested in the negative power of bureaucracy--rent this movie. It certainly defines the need for value-laden organizations where employee voices are heard. The closing of the GM plant ripped apart a culture--and a community. It reminds viewers that we are all disposable and no job is sacred. Michael Moore, my hat is off to you. Your hometown of Flint should be very proud for bringing to life their stories--and in a very tasteful and sincere manner. I would love to see a sequel.
Rating: Summary: california rivethead Review: This is an incredible look into the process (and dark heart) of one of America's largest companies. As an employee of both GM and Toyota I can tell you from personal experience what you see is not a joke! Are we "high paid unskilled labor"-yes! Do we earn our money-that's a yes measured exponentially! There is a dark thread of humor running through this "docu-drama" that is straight off the assembly line. There is no other place on earth (other than prison) more demoralizing or humiliating. It's absolutely the hardest work out there and this film reveals its bitter outcome when a thoughtless bottomlined executive needs to save his rear-end. I also recommend on a very high note reading the book "Rivethead-Tales From the Assemblyline" by Ben Hamper. Who's he? He's the guy in this movie in the mental institution (because of his job)playing basketball,and, he's also best friends with Michael Moore this feature's director. And please disregard that first review you read on this movie-judge for yourself!
Rating: Summary: That's all very nice, but... Review: I was just wondering why Moore never mentions the fact that Flint was the highest paid GM plant in the US (the average worker made close to 100 grand/year) and were demanding more. Maybe that's part of the reason GM (and other US companies) are moving to Mexico and overseas - because they don't really have the magic money tree to pay the unions as much as they keep demanding. I just wish he had addressed this... Well, you can't have everything, I guess. Otherwise, the film is a darkly humorous depiction of what happens when unskilled union workers are forced to face the real world. (Gee, I hope I don't sound biased here.)
Rating: Summary: definitely michael moore's best! Review: obviously this is the documentary that made michael moore famous (or infamous). his in your face attitude is what makes this film so much fun to watch. although it is really depressing (seeing as how these are real people and all!), it is also fairly amusing at times. i can't believe how in depth this documentary is! i mean it spans over a year (or longer, i forgot). i just hope this film did some good, by making people see that many corporations do more damage than we (the employees) do, and should be held responsable for their actions. obviously michael moore is biased, i don't see how a non biased person could do a documentary about flint michigan at the time. michael moore is a good film maker, and i respect his beliefs and his other projects, but this film is what put him on the map and was critically-acclaimed. the one thing i don't like about michael moore and this documentary is that... he never is wrong. if he was wrong about anything, we surely wouldn't see it in this film. i know he has been wrong about some things, but we only see the things he is right about. this makes for entertaining filmmaking, but not totally truthful. all in all this is a great documentary, and is very powerful. moore's follow-up, "the big one", wasn't quite as powerful, because he tries to fix so many problems at once. while in "roger & me" he sticks to one problem, and it makes for an interesting, sometimes depressing, documentary with moore at the wheel. highly recommended!
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