Review of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) by Jess K — 31 Dec 2009

While likely being as objective as any documentary has been in years, Smartest Guys in the Room is most effective counterargument to Reagan's notion of "government is the problem" (the misguided mantra of the conservative movement).

The film is part historical document on how deregulation lead to the rise and inevitable fall of the world's largest house of cards and part morality tale of how easily intelligence can be corrupted by greed, praise, and lack of oversight.

The most shocking material is the power one company, wealthy only on paper, had over American life, from arbitrarily shutting down an entire state's power grid, to having a governor recalled and replaced by a hand-picked lackey, and even electing a president.

Followers of deregulation and the absolute free market should watch this, see the truth behind their patron saints, and repent. It's a shame that Ken "Kenny Boy" Lay was able to take the easy way out, dying before being sent to prison.

Worse yet, nothing has yet been done to correct a system in which numbers on paper are worth more than workers. Not terribly entertaining, but a very important film.