THE BIG ONE A film review by Steve Rhodes Copyright 1998 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Unlike those who think documentaries exist only in the landscape of serious ideas like the study of famine or repression, Michael Moore sees the genre in a completely different terrain. He envisions the art form as a way to mix theater of the absurd with standup comedy, and he wraps this all around a serious subject. In his latest movie, the maker of the famous ROGER & ME tackles the issue of corporate downsizing in America. But don't be taken in, this is just a ruse to let Moore demonstrate his considerable talent as a comedian. In one of the funnier movies this year, THE BIG ONE takes an unabashedly one-sided position on a subject that it really cares little about and produces one funny sequence after another.
The picture, which alternates between Moore's appearances in front of college audiences and his confrontations with public relations people at recently downsized firms, starts with a traditional monologue. Filmed in 1996 when he was on a book tour to promote his book "Downsize This! Random Thoughts From An Unarmed American," he starts by describing the results of his phony letter scam.
Using official-looking letterhead and checks, he donated $100 to each of the major presidential candidates, allegedly from groups that each would most likely find offensive. Pat Buchanan's check, for example, was from Abortionists for Buchanan. Every organization cashed the checks. He even got a computer-generated response, he claimed, from the Perot organization, thanking "Pedophiles of America for Free Trade" for their generous donation. The college audience went wild as he told the story.
When the Clinton organization found out after the fact that they had been hoodwinked, presidential press secretary Mike McCurry complained on television that Moore was an evil influence in politics. Moore's response in the film is to show pictures of the Lincoln bedroom and say his problem was that he just didn't donate enough to get any of the perks.
This fast-paced documentary veritably pulsates with energy. Using music as charged as the film's star and editing it with a deft touch, the movie never flags even if the last half does begin to get repetitious.
Skewering everyone, he develops a thesis that Steve Forbes is actually an alien from outer space. In typical Moore fashion, he takes an outlandish position and uses humor to make his point via pseudo-scientific analysis.
The show is at its most awkward when Moore meets people who have actually been downsized. He is in his element making low-level human resource people and company guards squirm, but comforting someone with real problems does not come naturally to him. The bottom line is that, as social commentary, the film is an abysmal failure, but, as comedy, it delivers. (It also has the misfortune of being released in a time when we have the lowest unemployment rate in several decades, so the tragedy of downsizing is no longer on many newspaper headlines or many people's minds.)
After ridiculing a long list of companies, where he never gets he further than the lobby, Moore finally hits potential pay dirt when Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike, invites him in for an interview. Although the jubilant Moore tries his best to make him look foolish, Knight finds the whole episode hilarious, laughing through almost every minute of it.
So where does the title of the movie come from? In the funniest segment of all, Moore discusses how we could better market "The United States of America." He argues that this name on battleships doesn't have near the power of something like "Great Britain," whom he calls a little island with an impressive name. He proposes we rename our country, "The Big One," since that's how we see our place in the world anyway.
He goes on to propose the music, "We will, we will - rock you," as a more powerful national anthem, cutting to a pumped-up crowd singing it while lasers pulsate around them. And finally, in place of our coinage's "In God We Trust," he suggests a motto better suited to current American culture, "In by 10, out by 2."
THE BIG ONE runs a fast 1:36. It is rated PG-13 for some strong language and would be fine for kids around twelve and up.
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