Slacker Uprising (2007)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Absolutely the worst movie.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I came across this movie when I heard that it was available for free on iTunes. So I downloaded it. I watched about 1/3 of it, but never finished it. I finally got through and finished it yesterday, and here's what I think. It sucked. It falls under the categories of "pointless" and "liberal propaganda" It would be one thing if Moore presented the facts on both sides, and let you choose, but he's so obviously biased towards the left that the movie fails to be a documentary, more of a sweaty fat man's rant. Oh, and wasn't it just amazing how at every college he went to, he was wearing a shirt and/or hat of that college? Gee, way to play to the crowd. There were some funny moments, like when he created funny campaign ads that were in silly ways anti-Kerry. And whenever the counter-protesters showed up, the crowds reaction and Moore's were good. But that's just about all that was good about this movie. It was edited well, and had a pretty good soundtrack (You get to hear Eddie Veder, Tom Morrello, among others). What really disturbed me is one man in the movie gave Moore his dead uncle's Bronze Star.If anyone has seen "Team America World Police", I love that description of Moore. It's pretty much just like it.

I'm glad this was free to download or made about as cheap as a film from a major filmmaker (and say what you will, like him or hate him, it's your right either way, he is a major filmmaker now in America), because it is a lessor effort. Since I am a Michael Moore fan and admire his "big" movies greatly (Roger & Me, Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine) it was easy for me to decide to want to watch this. But this does also fall, even for fans, into that category akin to The Big One, which was, as this is, a travelogue of Moore going around on a tour to promote something with him as the focus really instead of something else like guns or GM in Flynt. The only little difference is that Moore is on the road to promote voting- for Kerry in 04 of course- and tries his best to rally up support, even in Utah where a businessman pays 25 grand to *not* have him speak at a school- which is, any way you look at it, commendable.Now, it goes without saying that people hate Michael Moore. And when I mean hate I mean that he has to have at least one bodyguard, or more depending on the city, in the hopefully unlikely event that he could be attacked or shot or whatever. He is such a strong target for the right and even moderates and a handful of liberals that he still remains a potent poster child for spreading lies and propaganda. This can be argued this way and that, but Moore makes a point more than once during his time traveling around and giving the occasional press conference that he is just one guy making films, and the media has/had a responsibility during the lead up to the Iraq war. He is a target, but not one to stand down. It's hard to at least not respect that. And as for the other side, he gives them some screen time in Slacker Uprising: at least 15 minutes of the film shows how many republicans (obviously the majority but with some vocal power) and bible-thumpers came to protest outside and inside during Moore's speeches. He gives them their just do to speak. And also makes sure to offer them military enrollment forms as they are Bush supporters. He may be many things, but Moore's got balls.So watching some of these ups and downs throughout the 62 city tour, of both the highs of speaking to tens of thousands of people in venues that are swing states, and some of the controversy stirred due to Moore's polarizing nature, are interesting. The only problem really comes with the fact that, stylistically, Moore goes simple for this one. The musical choices, the actual score, is repetitive and doesn't do much to add to the picture, which is a shame since Moore is usually creative and inspired with his choice in music, and only some moments of his brand of "gotcha" humor creeps in. The actual musical performances from guests Eddie Vedder and Tom Morello and Steve Earle are fantastic though, with Roseane Barr and the other musician in Tennessee just OK (Viggo Mortensen is a nice surprise).It's not any triumph of film-making, wont win any awards, and it certainly shouldn't be paid much for. It's the right choice to offer it up online for free or as cheap as possible on DVD, since those who want it can get it and those who definitely don't can pass on by... unless their curiosity is peaked somehow. It's good for one watch, even for those who want it right away, and then to move on along as it's now four plus years gone anyway. For what it's worth, on its own basic and unpretentious terms, it's not too bad at all.

I voted against Bush in 2004, but the film was actually pretty boring and didn't bring anything new to the table. He had promised he'd throw his next documentary online, maybe he threw out this stuff because he didn't want to skimp out on the earning potential of an actual decent documentary he's making.I had thought he was making a documentary showing all the things corporations have been getting away with in the last four years, but actually it's about Michael Moore's tours around the country for the 2004 elections. Literally it's just footage of his speeches to different universities and local press conferences when he toured several cities in swing states. Moore didn't present anything new we hadn't been hearing for the last 8 years and he said absolutely nothing about the 2008 candidates.The format of the video was depressing. Moore says bring back the troops, kick out bush for a while to a cheering audience, it shows a random musical guest or celebrity then it shows a news caster talking about what the polls show to give a little time effect. While there's nothing particularly wrong with format, that's all there is to this film, it just repeats over and over as he tours different cities.What the heck just happened? The blip.TV embed does not allow seeking so I couldn't just skip to the end to see if he had something more aggressive or interesting up his sleeve. Moore is know for stirring up controversy and attacking what he feels are the "bad guys" straight-on. There was no face-to-face talks and interviews, only speeches to loving supporters and in a few instances, quips to the opposition that also showed up. He should have made a real documentary or at least critical review of the 2008 candidates, the slacker uprising could have been a DVD extra at best. Edited footage of him as super hero almost changing the tide in the swing states will only gain support from the hardcore Michael Moore fans. Moore brags in the film about how 30 - 40% of republicans that watched Fahrenheit 911 ended up liking it. The same cannot be said for this film. There is no investigative journalism like his previous documentaries. It's Moore talking to his supporters and registered democrats in addition to having the benefit of editing his "best of" moments.Republicans that watch it will only get annoyed. The film starts by saying Kerry was in the lead until the Bush admin ran an unfair smear campaign on Kerry. Kerry did nothing and his popularity dropped among veterans. Moore countered this pretty well in the movie, but he didn't counter the footage of Kerry saying he would have voted for the war even if he knew the intelligence was false at the time. A few moments in the film would drive zealous republicans crazy like: allowing a guest to sing the Finland national anthem to a confused crowd that wasn't properly told why, his comments on immigration, some of Roseanne's over the top jokes, and finally Moore insanely accepted, I believe it was, a bronze star that belonged to the grand father of one of the people in an event. Literally a guy went up and offered a family war metal from a deceased relative. I cringed as Moore seem to give as little humility to it as someone offering to pay for his dinner, "Really are you sure? Wow thanks." It's a waste. People fight to defend their country but more so to defend their family. You just can't take something so personal to someone's family history when its completely meaningless to yours. Democrats who watch this movie will get bored, since it's the same rhetoric we've already heard. Go watch several of Obama's speeches or check his website instead of watching this movie. Republicans who watch it will get annoyed and have more to complain about, further outlining the divisions between the parties that we should instead work to break.

This film just feels like one long anti-bush rally, it is quite literally his city-to-city tour with no new revelations or any attempt to even break up the rally footage. There's tonnes of long performances by singers I'm not too familiar with and liking these singers is the only time I can see someone liking this film. After the first 15 minutes you'll see why this film is free. The timing seems convenient too, I was wondering why he held onto this film for a full term but it seems apparent that he's trying to use it to influence the 2008 election. If you're an American voter that's already anti-bush then you may enjoy this but it has 0 entertainment value.