Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

VERDICT:
7/10 Filthy Rich White Guys

Not the best thing Moore’s ever done, but it’ll still get that blood boiling.

Capitalism: A Love Story is about Michael Moore doing his best to break down how capitalism operates in the US using specific examples of how we’re getting effed in the a, why it’s probably not the Swiss watch of a system that the wealthiest of the wealthy make it out to be and how it allowed (and continues to allow) for some outrageously immoral and greedy bastards to reap the benefits of landing our economy right smack in the shitter.

Fun times!

Writing reviews about Michael Moore movies are always an interesting process for me. Well, just talking about Michael Moore seems to be an interesting process for pretty much everyone, similar to meeting your girlfriend’s parents for the first time and immediately asking them why they voted for McCain. The thing is, I like the guy, I think he’s made some damn good documentaries on some really important issues that border on required viewing (mainly Columbine, Roger & Me and The Big One), but I’m also kinda suspect about his journalistic…strategies.

I’ll save specific examples for specific movies, but even though Moore seems to be a voice of reason in politically driven documentaries nowadays, there are times where I gotta wonder if he’s coming off more as the far-left version of FOX News. Alright, maybe that’s pushing it, but Capitalism: A Love Story isn’t the first time I’ve watched one of his movies and felt a bit emotionally manipulated. Maybe it’s the overly-sympathetic tone of his narration when introducing a victimized family or his occasional tendency to stray from the subtle, but that kind of reporting rubs me the wrong way.

But by the same token, these are real victims we’re seeing and even though Moore might not always go about making his point in the best way possible, the point is made and the point is effective. Some of the points he brings up were things that I already knew, like how the top 1% of wealthy Americans make more money than the lower 90% combined, but hearing it again while seeing hard-working or out-of-work folks get evicted from their homes because they’re being royally screwed by people with power is nevertheless an eye-opener. There are also a handful of other examples like this that I wasn’t aware of, like how some of the biggest companies in America have been making a habit of taking life insurance policies out on their employees so that they get all the money when the said person dies instead of the victim’s family, and that stuff sticks with you because that stuff ain’t right.

But for all these moments that make you shake your head and want to punch out the first suit on Wall Street, I’m still not really sure what the hell capitalism is. The main problem with Capitalism is that it’s just unfocused and for all Moore’s efforts to explain this corrupt economic system to a simpleton like myself (my words, not his), my definition of it more or less boils down to “the rich get richer while the poor get poorer”. Could be that I just wasn’t paying close enough attention or what, but it’s still somewhat discouraging to sit down and watch a movie about capitalism yet still not feel like you actually understand capitalism by the end.

Then again, my being out of the loop on this might happen to be a testament to just how effective capitalism is as a system when it comes to hoodwinking the masses, but like I said, it sucks to feel stupid.

While Capitalism: A Love Story is a wake-up call in many regards and has enough moments of appalling realism to drive its message home early on, it unfortunately stands as one of Moore’s more forgettable efforts. Those interesting tidbits of corruption stuck around with me when all was said and done, but the final product didn’t have me utterly fuming like I had hoped it would, nor did it have me laughing all that much, and by the next morning I almost forgot I even saw this.

Nonetheless, our economy sucks and it’s nice to know the names and faces of some of the bigwig, selfish mother effers who got us here, but I don’t think it’s gonna be converting anyone who think Moore’s an asshole.