Review of Roger & Me (1989) by Steven T — 14 Aug 2005

Ok... so I guess I better start reviewing some movies........

Umm... I saw Roger & Me for the first time a couple of days ago. It was pretty interesting, and had some humorous elements, but the whole time I couldn't help but feeling like screaming at Michael Moore, "YOUR ARGUMENT IS FLAWED!!! IT'S A BUSINESS! IT'S NOT OBLIGATED TO HELP PEOPLE! IT'S OBLIGATED TO MAKE MONEY!" Moore did present a decent case for socialism, but all of his arguments seemed to just be emotional appeals... No one likes to see a mother and her children evicted from their home, but it's not Roger Smith's duty to provide food and shelter for the entire city of Flint.

Political views aside, Roger & Me is a fairly well-made documentary. Unlike Bowling for Columbine and Farenheit 9/11, Moore is less visible and lets the footage make his point for him. It's hard to argue with someone who keeps showing frame after frame of closed businesses, evicted families, overfilled prisons.... Nevertheless, it is because of the emotional nature of Roger & Me that I gave it the score I did. A documentary should make its point with reasonable, thought out arguments, not emotional pleas...