Roger & Me

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Roger & Me

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Roger & Me

Anita Bryant, Bob Eubanks, Michael Moore, Pat Boone, Roger B. Smith

Documentary about the elimination of 30,000 jobs in Flint, Michigan by General Motors.

Id: 10902264

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Roger & Me Recent Reviews
  • Stinger839
    July 24, 2008
    Stinger839
    worth watching for modern Moore fans who can appreciate his humour or for those who want to see less national politics
  • drago25
    April 11, 2008
    drago25
    After pretty much dismissing Michael Moore because I really don't agree with his methods and think he's hell of annoying, I decided to go back to one of his earlier films just because. After all, it's not my contention that Moore is a poor filmmaker - quite the contrary, he's a r...( read more)eally talented documentary filmmaker and whether or not you agree with his points or his politics, his films grab your attention. I'm thinking mainly of Bowling For Columbine - after that, I too, like so many others, were swept away thinking this dude really knew his shit and was sticking it to the man. I've changed since then, though, and have come to distrust the way his films are edited in particular. ANYHOW, Roger & Me is a very early film by Moore in which he focuses on the closure of several plants by General Motors in his hometown of Flint, Michigan (the town he rambles on about in every other film, too), and his Moore's futile efforts to meet with the chairman of GM. Watching this film, you really get the impression Moore just might be an egomaniac, because the film focuses to no small degree on him - it even starts out with childhood pictures and films of him, like I care! The other major problem is this. Obviously I don't expect the film to be objective in any way, he has a point he tries to make from his point of view. Which is something about the soul-lessness of the corporate entity for eliminating 30,000 jobs, moving the plants to Mexico (where the cars can be made much cheaper), and indirectly causing a lot of hardship and poverty. The issue is that some of the people interviewed who Moore places on the "evil" side of the argument (the corporation) make much more valid points than Moore does. Especially one GM representative in particular who is shown repeatedly. Moore obviously attempts to demonize him - but the whole time he's making perfectly valid, intelligent points to the effect that corporations are require by law and by their stockholders to maximize profit and not consider what effect its actions might have. This is how the corporation has worked since the beginning, it's just the way it is, so to try to demonize the corporation's representatives when they're doing what they are required to do, as it has been set out by law, is essentially pointless. This was really an unforgivable flaw to the film - if the main point of your completely objective documentary film has little to no validity, it doesn't help the effectiveness of the film. Obviously this was a very biased review, but I figure it's okay for a film by an incredibly biased (and obnoxious) filmmaker.
  • BlueTorch
    April 5, 2006
    BlueTorch
    Michael Moore's first documentary; I found it lacking in focus. Michael Moore would perfect his technique in later films; this feels more like a 'test run', and a little bit ridiculous at times. Still, there are shades of Moore's ingenuity and vision.
  • sportsphenom1
    July 29, 2009
    sportsphenom1
    Moore is always good sensationalizing the material by focusing the subject in the spotlight and putting it on the "spot". There's not much here I didn't already know, except for more of an intimate knowledge of Moore's background and of Flint, Michigan. But for most people, there...( read more) might be a lot of "food for thought" in this corporate exposing documentary. In the end, it's sort of hard to feel sorry for people that have to "lie in their bed after they've made it", so to speak. Generally, people only get fire in their belly when times get rough for them personally. Nevertheless, for a more thorough and interesting investigation of GM and their mischievous ways, see "Who Killed the Electric Car?"
  • trisarahtops22
    November 20, 2008
    trisarahtops22
    It was interesting having watched all of Michael Moore's more recent films, then going back and watching this last. He had humble beginnings, but he is a great documentarian and this early movie is no exception!
  • eryri
    December 19, 2009
    eryri
    Great docu from Michael Moore.
  • stargirlsk8r
    December 5, 2009
    stargirlsk8r
    I saw it at the Traverse City Film Festival this past summer, and it was a very interesting look at my old home town of Flint, MI.
  • Rossjm
    December 3, 2009
    Rossjm
    I started this documentary knowing absouloutly nothing about General Motor's in Flint, except from what I had read on the back of the DVD. But as Moore informs entertaininly you soon feel like you have read a huge book on it and would be ready to do an essay afterwards. This is w...( read more)hat Moore does best, in all his documentaries, even if he is often bias.

    He crafted a magnificent documentary, using some moving images with some very good interviews and it really allows you to empathise with the workless, poor people he blames General Motor's for.

    Moore's voice over is always easy to understand without patronising the viewer and he has the perfect voice to make you wantto listen. Not bland or emotionless ever.

    Although this is not his greatist documentary (I believe Bowling For Columbine is better) but certainly not his worst (Farenheit 9/11, which I still throughly enjoyed) this is a film that will interest you throughout, as we follow him on his journey to talk to Roger B. Smith, the chairman of General Motor's.
  • musickeys
    November 30, 2009
    musickeys
    Roger and Me is about (the then unknown director) Michael Moore's attempt to interview the CEO of General Motors Roger Smith, and what was behind his decision to close the automotive factories in Moore's hoemtown of Flint, Michigan.

    GM's closing in Flint, Michigan was virtual...( read more)ly a fatal blow to the city, and like nearby Detroit, Flint has never recovered financially or socially from it even to this day. Moore uses the history of the automotive industry to showcase how generations of employees came to believe in loyalty and reliance on the American Dream in the 1950's. His exploration of the idea poignantly illustrates how modern business methods have no comparison with the industry business methods of the past. The desperation of the people and the fall out of unemployment - watching a family being evicted during the Christmas holidays - is very moving indeed.
    Moore tries desperately to interview Smith to no avail, but does finally succeed in asking Smith a question in a crowded room (almost identical to way George W Bush is questioned in Moore's Fahrenheit 911 much later)

    There are no easy answers here, so Moore doesn't offer any. But interestingly, Moore also doesn't have the polish or manipulative sophistication evident in later movies. This one is more of a rough draft or template for "Bowliing For Columbine" and "911"

    Still, it's a good movie and will be especially interesting to those who grew up in an automotive town like Detroit, or who work or worked in the automotive industry. They will find this movie disturbing, and the funny ironies a little harder to laugh at because it hit nerves much too close to home.
  • MikeSchleich
    November 28, 2009
    MikeSchleich
    The one that started it all. See what gave Michael Meyers the confidence to attack all of those political issues.
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