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Michael Moore Hates America (2004) More at IMDbPro »

11 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Solid, albeit very low-budget documentary, 18 October 2004

Author: Chris Dugan (strugan81@aol.com)

I got a chance to see this at the SMAASH film festival in Excelsior, MN.

A solid, honest and *true* documentary from a first-time filmmaker, "Michael Moore Hates America" is a rebuttal to Michael Moore's "documentaries" and the shrillness of our modern political environment in general.

The movie is not an attack on Michael Moore, nor is it even a dissection of his filming "techniques" (see "Farenhype 9-11" for that). While Wilson does question certain scenes, and ideas from Michael Moore's documentaries, his focus more on the American spirit and livlihood that Moore seems to think dosen't exist.

Much of the commentary comes from Penn Jillette of "Penn & Teller" fame. He has a potty mouth, but he hits the nail right on the head about Moore's tactics and "documentaries" in general: It's impossible to really capture the truth and once the cameras are rolling all bets are off-essentially the Heisenberg uncertainty principal on film. Wilson dosen't reel from this truth at all, and even shows himself using the same tactics Moore uses to get around reality.

The movie is clearly very low budget (it appears that virtually all of it was shot on MiniDV using hand-held cameras) and lacks the slick titles, fast editing, and overall gimmickry of a modern, large budget documentary. Rather than undermining Wilson's point, this on- the-cheap quality actually helps reinforce his point: All the slick editing, quick takes, and loud music in the world can't substitute for the truth.

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