The bitter, sarcastic assaults on Roger B. Smith are mixed, with virtuosic dexterity, with documentary scenes from Flint, trying to reinvent itself as a luxurious conference centre and tourist mecca, and as a viewer you feel the heat of anger as Moore interviews the ageing and boundlessly naive entertainer Pat Boone, a spokesperson of General Motors in the 60s, about the situation, and all he gets in return are platitudes and blandness. When Moore asks the local beauty candidating for Miss America what her hopes are for Flint, she says, "I just hope that everybody in Flint crosses their fingers for me at Miss America next week ...".

Of course, as is the case with 'Fahrenheit 9/11' and 'Bowling for Columbine', this is no documentary in the established British tradition. It is rather a heated argument in a debate, using all the means of demagogy and populism. But it certainly gets its message across, and as film art it is unbeatable.

Pure Moore
Review date: 2004-07-30 Rating: 8 out of 10

There is no disputing Michael Moore has recently become a massive franchise in his own right despite - we hope - him still opposing the concept of such a thing.

In the UK Moore's recent films are less enlightening than I imagine them to be in the States but they still prove amusing. Fahrenheit 9/11 is nothing different to what we have been seeing every day on the BBC and the wacky gun nut expose that was Bowling for Columbine, despite being and excellent piece of film making, doesn't affect us, it is just those crrrraaazzyyy Americans shooting each other again.

Roger and Me is different, it is Moore's virgin outing, even before the excellent TV Nation and Awful Truth TV Series (well worth importing on region 1 from amazon.com as I did). It is well before the Moore hype of late and he is indisputably talking from the heart at all times.

You see a town - Flint (Moore's home town); home of General Motors absolutely ravaged be plant closures and the resulting social consequences. I looks like the sort of images you saw in post communism Russia after the Iron Curtain fell! Virtually 100% unemployment (apart from the Bailiff you see throwing people from their shanty-town-like homes). People skinning pet rabbits for meat, children's beds being thrown onto the street and poor people being paid to be "statues" at rich people's parties! (seriously).

The image presented in the film is a far cry from the American dream, and it is genuinely shocking from the outside because, this time, I really didn't know this sort of this happened in America.

Essential for any Moore fan, brilliant for anyone who wants to look at the true social structure of small town America.

'O Roger, Where Art Thou?? (4.5 stars)
Review date: 2004-07-16 Rating: 8 out of 10

Say what you will about Michael Moore, but I think the guy knows how to make some very entertaining and interesting documentaries. I may not see eye-to-eye with him on a lot of things, but this was one entertaining film! This is the one that made his career what it is today. Highly praised by critics and audiences all around, "Roger & Me" proves to be a fascinating documentary filled with humor and heart.

The film revolves around the closing of General Motors factories in Flint, Michigan. The closings causes families to lose their homes, their jobs, and most of all their well-being. Michael Moore is determined to get General Motors Chairman Roger Smith to come down to Flint and see the devastation his company has caused. Of course, just trying to MEET the man throws all sorts of obstacles in Moore's way... and it's all caught on film! All of this equals an entertaining documentary that is unpredictable and untamed.

I'm not that big on documentaries, but I have to admit that I enjoyed this one. Michael Moore does an excellent job of bringing to light problems that may seem so insignificant to the rest of the world. And he's determined too, which is why this all works. He tries so many times to get in touch with Roger, no matter what kind of trouble he runs into. His passion is easily observed through this movie, that's for sure.

The DVD isn't the grandest of DVDs. It's not in widescreen, but for a movie like this it really isn't that big of a problem (I'm not even sure if this was originally shot in widescreen or not). The picture and sound quality is pretty good, considering how old it is. The theatrical trailer and commentary are the two special features on the DVD. I think an important film of this caliber should've received better DVD treatment, but what can you do? It is what it is.

"Roger & Me" is a surprisingly witty and sharp documentary that shows you a side of Big Business that was never meant to be seen. Coming from a guy who doesn't really fancy documentaries all that much, my advice to you is to pop this baby into the DVD player and strap yourself in for one wild ride. -Michael Crane

tragically brilliant
Review date: 2004-06-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is a fantastic documentary and even better than 'Bowling For Columbine'. The situation which Flint GM workers faced after the closure of their plant was awful but they gained little support with the public figures interviewed for this film coming up with such daft advice as "keep your fingers crossed!" As people were being evicted from their dilapidated homes there were wealthy ladies on the golf course saying that they felt some ex GM workers didn't actually want to work, and the local Taco Bell owner fired all his former GM staff saying that they couldn't keep up with the pace and that he felt making tacos was harder than working on an automobile production line.

Throughout the film there is an air of ridiculousness with many events seeming more akin to an episode of The Simpsons rather than a real documentary. Whilst the town is floundering the local authorities build a massive hotel and shopping complex which subsequently goes bust and then there's the parade which marches past the lines of boarded up shops led by a beauty queen whose words to the unemployed masses of Flint is basically 'wish me luck in the Miss America finals!'. And just when you think things can't get any worse the tourism department comes up with the tragically funny 'Autoworld'; a theme park created to celebrate the town's depleted industry which features a recreation of how the town used to look and a puppet autoworker singing cheerfully to the robot which has taken over his job.

'Roger & Me' is a tremendous film which is both amusing and heartbreakingly sad. It shows how the people who worked at the GM factory at Flint were not only let down by a big corporation but also by those in their community who should have been there to support them.

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