THE BIG ONE
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: **1/2 OUT OF ****
United States/United Kingdom, 1997 U.S. Release Date: 4/10/98 (limited) Running Length: 1:31 MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Featuring Michael Moore, Garrison Keillor, Rick Nielsen, Phil Knight,
and others
Director: Michael Moore
Producers: Kathleen Glynn
Screenplay: Michael Moore
Cinematography: Brian Danitz and Chris Smith
Music: World Famous Blue Jays
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
The first misconception to correct about Michael Moore's THE BIG ONE is that it is a documentary. It's not – Moore doesn't make those. As was proven after the release of Moore's debut, ROGER & ME, the director uses real people, places, and circumstances, then stages events (see Harlan Jacobson's piece in the November/December 1989 FILM COMMENT for more details). Reality – a fragile commodity in any "fact-based" motion picture – takes a back seat to what will play well on a movie screen. As a result, it's best to consider Moore's films as entries into the ever-growing category of pseudo (or "meta") documentaries. Or, perhaps even more accurately, view it as an exercise in self-publicity.
Having said that, however, it's necessary for me to point out that Moore is a talented film maker who is capable of putting some very funny moments on screen. And, regardless of what methods were used to produce the movie, it still makes an extremely valid point about the way big business mistreats its workers, laying off people and transferring manufacturing to third-world countries rather than sacrificing a little profit. Having been "downsized" myself, I understand and share Moore's anger. With ROGER & ME and THE BIG ONE, he has become the motion picture industry's champion of the "little guy."
THE BIG ONE is a filmed diary of a book signing tour Moore embarked upon to promote his 1997 bestseller, DOWNSIZE THIS! From St. Louis to Milwaukee to Portland, he moves across the country, scrawling his autograph on the inside covers of books, visiting corporate headquarters in fruitless attempts to see CEOs, and doing bitingly funny standup acts at universities and during other public speaking engagements. Moore's theme, italicized through humor, is always the same: that corporate America, in bed with politicians, is raping the common man. It's all about greed. At various times, he calls the leaders of major companies "terrorists" and "murderers." And he has the evidence to back up the charges.
THE BIG ONE is a hit-and-miss affair. Some of the episodes detailing Moore's repeated failed tries to meet with CEOs (Leaf, Johnson Controls, Pillsbury, and Proctor & Gamble are all targets) become tiresome, and it's a little troubling how much grief he gives the average working guys who stop him (they are, after all, ordinary men and women trying to hold down a job – the kind of people Moore proclaims to be a voice for). Moore also has a tendency to dwell on the obvious, such as how corrupt and subservient to big business the political process has become.
On the other hand, THE BIG ONE also boasts some noteworthy scenes. One particularly disarming moment features a woman near to tears confessing to Moore that she has just been laid off. The film maker, apparently not expecting this, seems genuinely moved by her plight. On another occasion, Moore relates how Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan accepted a contribution from a group called the "Abortionists for Buchanan," how President Clinton took a check from the "Hemp Growers of America," and how Ross Perot felt compelled to reject $100 from the "Pedophiles for Free Trade." There's a revelation about how much nearly-free prison labor is employed by large corporations – the next time a telemarketer calls, it may actually be someone in a jail cell. Finally, there's a hilarious proposal about how to reduce the nation's drug problem.
The film's climax (inasmuch as a rambling pseudo-documentary can have a climax) features Moore's face-to-face meeting with Nike CEO Phil Knight. It's not a particularly satisfying encounter for either man. Moore doesn't press very hard on the tough questions and Knight comes across as more out-of-touch than genuinely malevolent. Like most of the rest of the film, this sequence gets the point across without offering much depth. As for the title, there's actually a little mystery about what THE BIG ONE refers to – as far as I can tell, it's either the United States of America or Michael Moore's ego.
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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