How's Your News? (1999)

Director:

Arthur Bradford

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A Documentary chronicling the travels of a team of reporters and crew across America in a hand painted RV...

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Robert Bird	...	Reporter
Sean Costello	...	Reporter
Chad Everett	...	Himself
Susan Harrington	...	Reporter
Harry Perry	...	Himself
Larry Perry	...	Reporter
Ronnie Simonsen	...	Reporter
Vincent Van Patten	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Movie Connections:

Featured in Reel Paradise (2005)

Soundtrack:

Hey How's Your News?

After you watch this film, you will be able to divide your life into two parts: before and after

I have seen this film so many times I have lost count. I remember one time, when I was watching it with some girls who I was hanging out with from this class I was in at the time, we were about a fourth or a third of the way through the film and one of them had to use the bathroom. We paused the film, and then one of them was silent for a bit and then turned to me and said in all sincerity, "This is going to be one of those films where there is my life before and then there is my life after, isn't it?" I knew that I adored the film, but I was never able to verbalize its importance until she said that. Now, that is entirely how I describe the film to people who haven't seen it, and yes, everyone who has seen it that pitch has agreed with me afterwards, this is indeed just that type of movie.

There are people who claim that the movie is exploitative of the handicapped cast, but if that was true then how come the entire cast and their families and friends and co-workers and camp staff fully endorse the movie 100%? The a-holes who think the movie is exploitative believe that the handicapped and mentally challenged individuals in society should be "protected" and that they should be kept out of the public eye where they might possibly be teased (they think that they should just stay in their houses, away from where they can mix with society, and that they shouldn't be allowed to experience life like "normal" people).

See, in How's Your News, they constantly put the handicapped and mentally challenged right in "normal" people's faces in the public. This is where the movie shines because people have to then deal with the handicapped, whether they become uncomfortable, laugh, cry, get depressed, whatever--the point is that they have to deal with the handicapped people that the "normal" people in society would often like to forget even exist.

The handicapped and mentally challenged cast in this film challenge social norms and affect the people's lives that they encounter along their roadtrip. Many people become uncomfortable, some get to re-examine their lives spurred on by the cast's innocent questions, some smile, others are rude, some get angry, and others become utterly confused. But whatever the case, the people in the documentary have to deal with them because they are right in their face, and they have to acknowledge that the handicapped and mentally challenged are people too (and if they don't, honestly they just look like a-holes).

The people who think that the handicapped and mentally challenged should stay "protected" in their houses while being separated from society are the true bigots. Once you see this movie, you will understand, it is hilarious, heartwarming, and well-made--see this film!

NOTE: Yes, the very first time you see it, it is absolutely normal to be uncomfortable for the first 10 to 15 minutes (20 for some, even). But trust me, stick it out because this film will change your life. I can't recommend this film enough.