Slacker Uprising

Michael Moore – 2007 – USA

Slacker Uprising is the most self-aggrandizing of Michael Moore’s films.  Its primary purpose seems to be to demonstrate what a heroic person Moore is, or considers himself to be.  Unlike his main films that are more substantial and about specific topics, this one is more of an afterthought; a documentary about something that wasn’t that spectacular in the first place; namely, his attempt to recruit enough college-age voters to defeat George W. Bush in the 2004 election.  While I do like his other films, even when I don’t always agree with them, this one is pretty flimsy and not terribly honest.  I even have a problem with its very title.  Moore suggests that he helped launch some kind of grass-roots movement, but it is not so easy to differentiate this “slacker” revolution from the other pro-Kerry or anti-Bush campaign efforts that year.  Eddie Vedder and Viggo Mortensen appear and make speeches.  How is that separate from the fervent activities of many show-business figures in ‘04?  Celebrities were exceptionally vociferous, with some even vowing to leave the country if Bush were re-elected.  All of the self-righteous lecturing from Moore and the movie stars had no effect, of course.  Bush won, and Republicans mocked Hollywood for its delusional sense of importance to average American voters.  All of this is beside the point, though, and wouldn’t matter if Moore’s film did anything special.  It may be of interest to Moore fans and Bush haters, but it doesn’t have much to offer the level-headed and skeptical.