The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron (2003) (TV)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Penelope Spheeris

Writers (WGA):

Brian Cruver (book)
Stephen Mazur (teleplay)

Release Date:

5 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The Rich Got Richer, The Rest Lost Everything.

Plot:

The rise and fall of the Enron company, as seen from the perspective of employee Brian Cruver, based on his book.

Plot Keywords:

Enron | Greed | Tube Top | Evil Corporation | Red Dress

Cast

Christian Kane	...	Brian Cruver
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Courtney
Cameron Bancroft	...	Duffy
Nancy Anne Sakovich	...	Liz Perry (as Nancy Sakovich)
Natalie Brown	...	Amber St. Pierre (Miss April)
Aleks Paunovic	...	Lazarri
Jonathan Higgins	...	Greg McLainey
Mike Farrell	...	Kenneth Lay
Brian Dennehy	...	Mr. Blue
Jon Ted Wynne	...	Jeff Skilling
Paul Christie	...	Andrew Tillman
Tom Keenan	...	Allen Flemming
Larissa Gomes	...	Anna-Marie
Jennifer Hill	...	Miss August
Steve Ratzlaff	...	Welling (as Steven Ratzlaff)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hotel Fort Garry, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Robert Greenwald Productions

Quotes:

Mr. Blue: We're the bad guy. We're the criminals. And don't think it's just this company. There's hundreds of Enrons out there, a thousand, cooking the books, inflating the earnings, hiding the debt, buying off the watchdogs.

Soundtrack:

More Than I Deserve

Greed is bad.

This movie is a decently entertaining depiction of the fall of Enron, which was one of our nation's leading companies. It's based on the point of view of a recent University of Texas MBA grad, who gets hired in the bankruptcy division of Enron. For people who didn't follow the scandal, the movie does a solid job of illustrating why greed led to Enron's demise. With shareholders and upper management demanding better numbers (and thus better stock value), everyone was under pressure to cook the books.

There is some comedy in the movie (the Arthur Anderson audit team is always playing nerf basketball or computer golf; one of the characters gets a job at Worldcom after being laid off at Enron). However, being a TV movie, there is not much time for character depth. Did anyone really feel for the woman who lost her college savings in Enron stock? Also, I understand the producers were looking for star power, but Shannon Elizabeth did not belong in this movie. She is far too pretty to be playing a down-to-earth farm girl who hates the glamorous life her fiance brings her. Overall, this is a watch able movie for those that are interested in business.