I just watched Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising, the free movie I told you about here. Got it as a free download from Amazon to my office TiVo.
I go hot and cold on Michael Moore. I think some of what he's done is brilliantly clever and I admire his sheer chutzpah. When Fahrenheit 9/11 was an issue, a lot of folks bombarded me with "fact checks" that they thought proved Moore was a sleazy conman and liar…but the proof of that seemed thin to me and it's gotten thinner ever since. Ultimately, I don't think he was any less accurate than most of the mainstream media — and about Iraq, probably more accurate than most. On the other hand, some of his excesses strike me as manipulative and tasteless…and not always in the way that "tasteless" can be a good thing.
His Slacker Uprising is a 100-minute infomercial for Michael Moore. We follow him on his 2004 campaign tour, trying to get the vote out for Kerry. There are a lot of audiences showing their love for Moore. There are clips of really, really stupid people opposing him or trying to silence him. (Well, of course. Moore edited this film.) I'm afraid I don't see the point of the movie except to tell us that (a) Mr. Moore sure did a lot to try and get Kerry elected, (b) that Moore can (or could) fill huge stadiums with adoring fans…and (c) that Kerry would have done worse if not for Michael Moore. About the only insight you'll get is why it's free. If I'd paid for a DVD or gone to a theater and bought a ticket for this, I'd have been pissed.