Review of Slacker Uprising (2007) by Kyle F — 04 Oct 2008

The quintessential Michael Moore is back once again in a documentary covering his 2004 democratic election campaign. Moore is his typical controversial, eccentric-self, and the film ends up being very similar to the others he has released (although, slightly less captivating in my opinion).

The footage of this film is mostly of Moore speaking in front of college crowds at campuses across the U.S. with the goal of getting the young voters to the booth. The film (and campaign) are clearly aimed towards democrats, so it's unlikely this movie would appeal to anyone outside of the Moore's political standpoint.

As another reviewer stated, this film has obviously been on the shelf for a few years, and it shows. The content doesn't really feel worthy of a theatrical release, which I think is due in part to the repetition of material (his speeches are fairly similar at each campus), and also because the pacing of the film is thrown way off by the long, drawn out performances and speeches by musicians. If these scenes were reduced, the film would be much shorter, but I think the pace would be more balanced.

All in all, this film is very motivational. I found myself entertained for the most part, either laughing at Moore's crazy antics (I loved the scenes from West Virginia), or feeling moved by the speeches. Give it a shot if you enjoy Moore, otherwise it's probably not your cup of tea.