Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (2011)

Wonderful character development!

Absolutely the worst movie.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Sure, didn't we all have a good laugh at Sarah Palins expense? Admit it: like me you were waiting gleefully for a new interview during the 2008 elections, waiting for Mrs. Palin to blur out another avalanche of nonsense, hog-wash and absurd gibberish while standing in the limelight. Somehow half-convinced that we were watching an episode of Candid Camera or that somebody had elected the village-idiot to run as vice-president of the United States. At the same time trying to ignore the fact, as one commentator put it, "that (had McCain won), this woman would be a 72-year old man's heartbeat away from being president" – somebody who couldn't find major hotspots like Iraq on a map, but was convinced that she could see Russia from her porch.I've always been a fan of Broomfield's Gung-Ho-style journalism. Or rather let's say, I've always enjoyed his style without necessarily coming to the same conclusions (no, I don't think that Kurt Cobain was murdered by his wife, as Broomfield has suggested in his "Kurt & Courtney").The "appeal" (if I may use the word in this context) of Sarah Palin is that she is one of the members of this profession that allows a good insight into her mind. Politicians have long since learned numerous tactics and skills regarding body-language, gesture and syntax to be able to "shield" them off from prying minds. At times this can backfire (to mind comes Bill Clinton, who gave his Spiel away when pointing and nodding in the wrong direction while proclaiming "I did not have sex with this woman!"). Another fine example would be his wife Hilary: comparing her body-language when she was "just" First Lady to nowadays, where she has obviously gone through rigorous training, is like comparing night and day. Save to say, Sarah Palin possesses no such skill.Broomfield doesn't have to dig through the dirt much. Mainly, he only needs to sit back and let Sarah's (former) friends, allies and acquaintances do the talking. The dirt would appear virtually out of nowhere, as if just waiting to hit Broomfield's camera. We get what we would expect and probably knew from the very beginning: it's a picture of a complete incompetent, bungling yet ruthless and ambitious politician, who entered the presidential race with the same hope of somebody purchasing a lottery ticket at the petrol-station. In short: it would have been child's play to mock or ridicule the documentary's subject, but – being the gentleman that he is – Broomfield opted not to go down that path, so his film never seems like a hatchet job (in contrast, let's recall Michael Moore tearing into a certain actor, of whom he knew that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and hence was easy prey; the contrast couldn't be starker). "Don't demean yourself and ridicule fools – they'll do that all by themselves", like the saying goes. Interesting, entertaining and distinctly neutral (at least from Broomfield's side, who opted to heed that saying mentioned above). 7/10

If you're looking for a fair and balanced view of who Sarah Palin really is, look no further. This documentary sheds light on topics that Sarah Palin has lied about, ignored and hidden for several years.Sarah Palin has proved she can make a connection with people through deceitful tactics by making people feel as though she's catering to their values and principles. After time, the Alaskan people realized she only told the people what they wanted to hear and completely ignored or refused to honor her promises to the people who empowered and or elected her.Many of Sarah Palin's followers are too committed to her propaganda to change their view of who she really is. If you look at the "facts", you'll realize how scary the reality is that Sarah Palin almost made her way into the White House. I highly recommend anyone who supports or loathes Sarah Palin to watch this accurate and balanced documentary.

The only film I'v e seen before by Nick Broomfield was his war film Battle for Haditha (2007)and this film was a pleasant surprise even though it's incredible bias against Palin. However, this shouldn't prevent anyone from seeing it.Nick Broomfield goes up to Alaska visits Palins, friends, family(especially her parents)old co workers and also friends from high school. Broomfield comes across as friendly, naive version of Michael Moore, or a more accurate description, he resembles Louis Theroux.With his British accent, polite manners, he comes across someone not looking to do a hit piece but rather just curious about Palin, her family and also her politics.But as one would expect he uncovers a lot....stuff that show Palins complete incompetence, her inabilities as politician and her close links to the religious right.Oddly enough the harshest critics are not liberals, former friends, enemies, but actually from her own political party. Therefore this film regardless of bias does not promote her enemies but rather showing that Palins career and future hopes at becoming president was very slim even before it started.Should be seen by anyone, regardless of political color because it asks a lot of interesting questions, such as what kind of politicians do we want and also what qualifications should a presidential candidate have?

When you view almost any political documentary. You firstly have to accept that the documentary maker is almost always going to have both filmed and edited the movie with a preconceived opinion on their subject. This is the way with most documentaries and is even more so with political documentaries. Add to the mix Nick Broomfield who is an extremely skilled film maker who has a skill which he shares with Louis Theroux of using the persona of the quizzical English foreigner to draw information out of his American subjects. Now to the movie it's self. To his credit Broomfield shows his attempts from the outset to get Palin to contribute to the movie, and it'd Palin had taken this opportunity Palin would at least have been able to defend herself against Broomfield's findings. Now defenders of Palin will justifiably contend that the process would of been rigged from the outset, and there is no doubt Broomfield is an intelligent man. However you would expect a potential President of America would be able to fair well in a battle of mental dexterity with a documentary maker. In the movie Broomfield paints Palin as a small town Alaska woman who obtained anything she wanted in life by using small town bully tactics that eventually failed Pallin at state level, and would be potentially disastrous on a national and global level. Early on in the movie we are informed that Palin was thrust into American national politics as the running mate of John McCain as a late choice for the VP nomination. This resulted in Palin receiving as much shorter vetting process than other potential VP candidates. One has to wonder whether if Palin was subject to the same degree of vetting as other potential VP candidates, would Pallin have been selected at all? Over and over during the films running time Palin is portrayed as a petty vindictive woman who treats the truth liberally to serve her own means. The fact that this portrayal is often painted by former friends, party members and employees really gives weight to these findings. Overall I am left with the impression that if not for the McCain teams desperate attempt to diversify their voter base by recklessly bringing in Palin, then Palin would of messed up in Alaska sooner or later and would never have reached the national and global consciousness. What is also scary is the revelation (not only made by Broomfield) is that the Tea Party movement in which Palin is so prevalent and purports to represent so many small town Americans is supported by Murdoch (that moral bastion). and the Koch brothers. Still a thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking movie.