Roger & Me (1989)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Coxxie M

  
  Flint truly is one of the scrungiest shit-streaks in the country. one of the reasons for this is that they take the time to form lynch mobs in order to burn copies of magazines that criticize their poodle-vomit stenched fucking town.

• AJ V

  
  A fantastic documentary from Michael Moore, his hometown is a subject he knows a lot about, but it's more than that really, and I highly recommend this movie, even if you don't like documentaries.

• _kelly .

  
  worth watching for modern Moore fans who can appreciate his humour or for those who want to see less national politics

• Christopher M

  
  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… More
  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 really 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.

• Curt C

  
  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.

• Richard F

  
  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… More
  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 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?"

• Sarah P

  
  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!

• Christopher B

  
  When this came out it was one of the most exciting docs I had seen. It was great to see a doc that dealt with important issues while being constantly funny and entertaining. Granted, I'm sick to death of the "editorial" doc where the filmmaker feels compelled to add… More
  When this came out it was one of the most exciting docs I had seen. It was great to see a doc that dealt with important issues while being constantly funny and entertaining. Granted, I'm sick to death of the "editorial" doc where the filmmaker feels compelled to add himself to the mix now, but back in the day this was very refreshing.

• FanGirl B

  
  I love Michael Moore always standing up for the normal people, the union worker etc. We need more people like him.

• nathometer

  
  Not his most entertaining movie, but its a interesting perspective on what happens due to globalization. I tend not to agree with him and his tactics because they don't show results.

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