The Big One (1997)

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer:

Michael Moore (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Protecting the earth from the scum of corporate America.

Plot:

On his book tour, Michael Moore exposes more wrongdoing by greedy big businesses and callous politicians around America.

Plot Keywords:

Bookstore | Cincinnati Ohio | Narration | Airport | Labor Union

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Michael Moore	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elaine Bly	...	Herself - Random House Media Escort
Dan Burns	...	Himself - Radio Personality
Chip Carter	...	Himself - Forbes Campaign
Bill Clinton	...	Himself - Presidential Candidate (archive footage)
Jim Czarnecki	...	Himself (as Jim)
Brian Danitz	...	Himself (as Brian)
Robert Dornan	...	Himself - Congressman (archive footage)
Joel Feick	...	Himself - Radio Commentator
Steve Forbes	...	Himself - Presidential Candidate (archive footage)
Doug France	...	Himself - Random House Representative
Mary Gielow	...	Herself - Media Escort in Milwaukee
Bev Jacowski	...	Herself, Johnson Controls representative
Richard Jewell	...	Himself - Innocent Guy
Kevin Keane	...	Himself - Governor Thompson's Press Secretary
Garrison Keillor	...	Himself
Andy Crash Kelly	...	Himself - Radio Personality
Phil Knight	...	Himself - Nike Chairman
Tia Lessin	...	Herself (as Tia)
Mike McCurry	...	Himself - White House Spokesman (archive footage)
Diane Mitchell	...	Herself, Chicago Media
Rick Nielsen	...	Himself - Entertainer
Keith Peters	...	Himself - Nike Public Relations Director
Loretta Sanchez	...	Herself - Congresswoman Elect (archive footage)
Chris Smith	...	Himself (as Chris)
Jerry Springer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Studs Terkel	...	Himself - Author / Radio Host
Armstrong Williams	...	Himself - Radio Talk Show Host

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some strong language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Mayfair Entertainment International

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Michael Moore] [flint]Moore tries to convince Phil Knight to open a factory in Flint, Michigan.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where the geologist's husband calls her from the L.A. airport to say he's going to try to make it home, a strong aftershock collapses the wall that the pay phone is mounted on - as this occurs you can see cables attached to the wall pulling it over.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gilmore Girls: The Big One (#3.16)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Mississipi Moan

Pulp Non-Fiction.

Yet more excellent work from documentarian Michael Moore as he hits the road in 1996 for a 47-city tour to promote his new book "Downsize This". Funded by Random House Publishing, with that company having no idea that Moore is not just going to sign books, the all-world film-maker pulls no punches as he gets to the heart of corporation down-sizing just as some of the biggest money-makers in the U.S. start to have all-time record high profits. We see regular folks laid off by monsters like Pay Day (the candy bar company), Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Johnson Controls and Pillsbury. National corporations leaving the U.S. to pay lesser fees to employees in third-world countries is explained in great detail and Moore even has a unique conversation with Phil Knight, the CEO of Nike (also the only CEO brave enough to verbally spar), and needless to say Moore comes out looking much better than his opponent. "The Big One" shows the lack of political choices for the general public (the film makes it blatantly clear that the Clinton/Dole race of 1996 was a no-win vote) as blue-collar, middle-class workers fall in the work-place due to the lack of government control on power-mad corporations that only look at the bottom line and constantly talk about competition in their industry (this makes the big-wigs look even sillier in reality). The main theme from "Pulp Fiction" late during Moore's run of metropolitan areas ends up setting the overall tone of this exceptional documentary feature. 5 stars out of 5.