Big One

UPC: 031398139096

Studio: Miramax Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Language]

Summary: Comedic documentary filmmaker Michael Moore takes his film crew throughout the U.S. for The Big One, a behind-the-scenes video diary of the promotional tour for his book Downsize This! He appears at several chain bookstores throughout the nation, signing autographs and delivering wicked political commentary to audiences. Along the way, he stops at various small-town parking lots and malls, gathering brief interviews with assorted Americans. Some of his interview subjects include an ex-convict who was hired as cheap labor for TWA airlines while in prison and a group of Borders employees who organize a union. Brief celebrity appearances include Garrison Keillor, Studs Terkel, and Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen. In his typical ambushing fashion, Moore makes several cleverly unexpected visits to people in powerful positions. One attempt finds Moore bringing laid-off working mothers to visit a local government official with the intent of cleaning his office to show that they want a job. In Centralia, IL, Moore visits the Leaf candy company, who plans to move their factories to Mexico, resulting in massive layoffs. The camera crew heads into their administrative offices and attempts to meet with the CEO in witty trademark fashion. Other corporate targets include Johnson Controls, Pillsbury, and, finally, Nike, where CEO Phil Knight grants Moore some dialogue. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Big One

Format: DVD

Release Date: 06/14/2011

Runtime: 94 Minutes

Andrea LeVasseur

After the success of the satiric documentary Roger & Me, the indefatigable Michael Moore makes another humorous attempt to physically critique corporate America. While his first film moved in a direction with a clear goal in mind, The Big One lacks any singular purpose. It is essentially a behind-the-scenes look at Moore's book tour for Downsize This!, interspersed with occasional unannounced visitations at various corporate headquarters and brief interviews with laid-off employees. There are glimpses of the labor and management conflicts in middle-American companies, but then it shifts back to the book tour shenanigans, with Moore trying to dodge his pesky media escorts (who are, in fact, working people, too) and cracking up audiences at book-signing appearances. Throughout the film, Moore is shown on-stage, delivering his amusing political commentary, certainly positioning himself as a celebrity icon. This star status is a curious position for Moore, who, as the champion of the underdogs, was more effective as the outspoken outsider in Roger & Me. The final corporate assault of the film is an interesting meeting with Nike CEO Phil Knight, but without any lead-in information, this hardly can be called a conclusion. While smart and funny, yet missing a clearly defined topic, the focus of The Big One lands on Moore himself, which would set the tone for his Bravo TV series The Awful Truth. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Studs Terkel  Actor 
Michael Moore  Director 
Kathleen Glynn  Producer 
Jeremy Gibson  Executive Producer 
David Mortimer  Executive Producer 
World Famous Blue Jays  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Moore  Actor 

Country: USA