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Rated 2.96 stars
by 281 people


ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Popcorn and Pitchforks
by Diana Saenger

No matter which side of the political arena or the economic tsunami you are on, no one can deny that Michael Moore gets the storm troopers out on both sides in his new film Capitalism: A Love Story. In yet another lool at what’s wrong with XYZ, Moore points out a lot of truths and offers some biased observations. But while he smacks us in the face about the realities of what’s going on around us, he also does it with a keen sense of humor.

One element of the film involves a Bart Simpson style look at Wall Street. Moore entertains moviegoers -- and people on the street there while filming was going on who look on in disbelief -- while he puts crime tape around buildings on Wall Street. Through a bullhorn, he beckons bank scoundrels to come out for a citizen’s arrest. In another scene he goes to a bank with a laundry bag to get back the money CEO’s took as bonuses.

Next up on Moore’s list are home foreclosures. The networks have done a pretty good job of covering this topic but Moore goes a little deeper when he follows a few families literally thrown out on the street with only a few hours notice. His cameras focus on a neighborhood of locals fed up with injustice. They match wits with a local sheriff over whether their family can remain in their home though they had a legal eviction notice. Even the sheriff finally succumbs to Moore’s attention-getting methods and leaves. A note in the film claims the family is still living there a year later without paying any additional payments.

One segment Moore includes in Capitalism is something I was totally unaware of. It concerns American companies that take out insurance polices on their employees without their knowledge. In a memorandum from one company Moore spotlights, it refers to these people as Dead Peasants. In one family exposed in the film, the wife was an employee who died unexpectedly. The husband and kids are shown as he explains her company got $81,000 from her policy while he didn’t even have enough money to pay for her funeral. Other companies mentioned have netted millions with this practice.

Although Moore is a liberal, he puts on the gloves against both national parties here, and it seems moviegoers on both sides are hailing his efforts. His look at the coverage of a group of auto workers let go without pay and their reaction is quite inspiring about the human spirit. As a filmmaker, he certainly goes to great lengths to prove a point -- or at least to bring it into the forefront. And you can’t argue with his success. Combining the above average ratings of his last five films, the approval rate is 90 percent by the nation’s critics.

In the end, I believe Moore wants us all to consider our own answer to the question Capitalism: A Love Story ultimately asks, which is, “What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism?”

And I can’t help smiling at Moore’s response to the question concerning what he hopes audiences will take away from this film -- “Popcorn and pitchforks.”

(Released by Overture Films and rated “R” for some language.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com .


                                                                                                                                                                               
 
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