Labor Day (2009)

13% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(34 ratings)

Filmmaker Glenn Silber examines a labor union that embodied the grassroots momentum of Obama's presidential campaign and played a pivotal role in his election. The documentary includes interviews with journalist Ted Koppel and Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter, as well as a number of… More Filmmaker Glenn Silber examines a labor union that embodied the grassroots momentum of Obama's presidential campaign and played a pivotal role in his election. The documentary includes interviews with journalist Ted Koppel and Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter, as well as a number of politicians. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 16 min.
Directed By: Glenn Silber
Genres: Documentary, Special Interest

In Theaters: Oct 30, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Oct 30, 2009
Studio: International Film Circuit

Critic Reviews

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Director Glenn Silber's look at how window washers, public employees, janitors and other working men and women played a role in 2008's political events is heartening, and yet, a year after being filmed, unintentionally aggravating.
Mike Hale, New York Times
Rather than capturing the profound excitement so many people felt during the 2008 campaign, it just seems to be patting itself on the back.
Vadim Rizov, Village Voice
I'd call Glenn Silber's Labor Day a well-intentioned but dull, video-ugly documentary if it weren't partly financed by its subject, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); that just makes it a crappy infomercial.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
There's only so much rah-rah-sis-boom-ba you can take about a President elected on the premise of ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, who has merely followed in his predecessor's footsteps of starving the U.S. into dirt.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Mildly engaging, but lacks sufficient insight, intrigue and provocativeness to rise above the kind of footage you'd typically find in an infomercial or, worse, in propaganda.
Matthew Nestel, Boxoffice Magazine
. No opinion seems to stray from the talking points. Everybody's giddy to stump. Everyday. This makes the film feel padded and rinsed. Is the director solely trying to please his subjects?
Aaron Hillis, Time Out New York
The film never finds drama, focus or any greater purpose other than some dubious horn-blowing about the SEIU being singularly responsible for electing President Obama.
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine
A promotional film best suited for broadcast in an office lobby.