Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Errol Morris

Release Date:

3 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

What do an elderly topiary gardener, a retired lion tamer, a man fascinated by mole rats, and a cutting-edge robotics designer have in common...

Plot Keywords:

Robot | Topiary | Lion | Circus | Lion Taming

Awards:

8 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Dave Hoover	...	Himself (Wild Animal Trainer)
George Mendonça	...	Himself (Topiary Gardener)
Raymond A. Mendez	...	Himself (Mole-Rat Specialist) (as Ray Mendez)
Rodney Brooks	...	Himself - Robot Scientist

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Green Animals Topiary Garden - Cory's Lane off Rt. 114, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

Discussed in Episode 97 of the popular radio program This American Life. The subject was "Death to Wacky" and it originally aired on March 20, 1998.

Quotes:

[Why build robots]
Rodney Brooks: I think there's some deeper-seated thing which crosses the sex boundary of understanding life by building something that is lifelike.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ten Minute Flick School: Fast, Cheap and in Control (2004) (V)

Emergent Systems

In science, there is a property of any complex system, that more complexity and subtlety will result with each added component. This, in my opinion, was the subject of "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control." The parallels drawn between AI, societal mammals, commonality of life (the lion tamer) and art (topiary gardener) flesh out a world where the idea of "God" can well be reduced to a simple inherent property of existence. Mole rat societies are not so far from human societies; humans are not so different from animals; robots are not so different from animals; and each individual represents a unique degree of specialization that proves important to the greater society it exists in. I found this work elegant, subtle, and even-handed, not to mention completely unique in its structure and faith in the audience to decipher an individual meaning from the context provided. Each person interviewed is wholly engrossed in their craft, something for which no other human can be substituted, and that exuberance shines in their eyes. It's a strange ride that inspires wonder in trusting viewers, exactly the way that the experts' wonder has motivated their realization as truly unique humans.