Bowling For Columbine
Written and Directed by: Michael Moore

Michael Moore is finally reaching a point in his career where people will no longer be confusing him with actor Roger Moore, and his latest film, Bowling For Columbine, is only going to get him even more recognition. Not that his previous documentaries, Roger & Me and The Big One, didn’t cause a lot of buzz. Not that his TV shows TV Nation and The Awful Truth didn’t have sizable cult followings. Not that his books Downsize This! Random Threats from an Unarmed American and Stupid White Men weren’t bestsellers. There was also a certain movie that he wrote and directed called Canadian Bacon, but that may or may not be best kept under wraps.

Anyways, the point is that just about everyone should know who Michael Moore is, and love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit that he’s one of the best shit disturbers around. Give him a video camera and a cause and he will courageously run out and get in people’s faces, asking the questions that no one else has the guts to ask. Many people question his credibility and his filmmaking tactics but maybe these same people are just scared of the ideas that he is presenting. Personally I try to look past all these things and simply ask myself if the movies raise relevant questions and whether or not they are entertaining. The answer to both of these questions as far as Bowling For Columbine is concerned, is a resounding yes.

Bowling For Columbine documents Moore’s quest to deduce exactly why it is that the U.S. has such an extreme amount firearm-related fatalities every year. It’s a topic that’s as appropriate as ever, and he combines stock footage, TV news footage, and anything else he can dig up, along with narration and video and film footage of interviews and set pieces he created himself in order to point out both the absurdity and the horror brought about by a seemingly gun crazed nation. Along the way, he signs up for an account with a bank that gives out guns as free gifts, interviews “shock rocker” Marilyn Mansion, pitches an idea for a TV show called “Corporate Cops”, and even takes two Columbine survivors to K-Mart to try and get a refund for the bullets that are still lodged inside their bodies. The movie’s title originates from the fact that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold supposedly went bowling on the morning before their killing spree, which prompts Moore to ask (with tongue planted firmly in cheek), “Why wasn’t anyone blaming bowling for corrupting these youths”? He also interviews Matt Stone, one of the creators of South Park, who oddly enough is originally from Littleton.

Bowling For Columbine is often hilarious. Moore’s sarcasm, bluntness and quick-wittedness during interviews are classic, and his choice of songs for the soundtrack of this movie was also pretty amusing. At points, Bowling For Columbine is reminiscent of American Movie, a documentary about a couple of rednecks following their dream of making a film, with regards to the eccentric people that are interviewed, and some of their unintentionally ironic quips. A seemingly South Park-inspired cartoon depicting a brief history of the U.S. is also one of the comical highlights of the movie.

The movie, however, is not all about poking fun and getting laughs. There are a lot of horrible tragedies that the movie explores, and some pretty disturbing facts. The eerie combination of Columbine security camera footage and 911 phone call recordings in particular is rather unsettling to watch.

As with any documentary, you have to realize that what you are seeing on the screen is not the ultimate truth. The director is in full control of the message that comes across, and depending on his or her agenda, the truth is usually going to get stretched or distorted in some way. It’s certainly true that the selective editing of this movie can be misleading at times, and much of the information we are presented with is questionable or incomplete. For instance, I think it is safe to say that the majority of Canadians actually do lock their doors. (But perhaps not in the middle of the day, which is when Michael Moore conducted his supposed “investigation” into this trend.) Also, in discussing the murder rates in Canada, he glossed over cities like Toronto, which had about 30 homicide cases involving firearms last year. Still a drop in the bucket compared to the U.S., but a little more serious than Windsor or Sarnia. The thing is, I don’t think that Bowling For Columbine claims to have any real answers in the first place. Moore emphasizes and summarizes as he chases down a few theories here and there, but in the end, I think he ends up being just as puzzled about the whole thing as we are.

The movie’s inevitable climax comes when Moore confronts N.R.A. president Charlton Heston, and in some ways it is a disappointment that Heston’s responses are (predictably) dim-witted and ignorant. Moore easily succeeds in making him look like a jackass, but was that really his goal here? Heston isn’t the villain in this movie in the same sense that Roger Smith of G.M. was the bad guy in Roger & Me. I think Moore himself wanted a logical explanation from an opposing point of view, and Heston does not present us with any answers at all. The thing that really struck me about the interview is that there can be no reasoning with gun enthusiasts. They just babble on about having “the right to bear arms” until they’re blue in the face, but they never stop to ask why they want or need to bear arms in the first place. If there is a bottom line to the movie, it would seem to be that there is no valid excuse for guns (even hunting is questionable in my book) and their widespread use is simply due to fear: an anonymous, inexplicable fear that runs rampant throughout America, fuelled by the media and masking the real important issues that the nation should be concerned with.

I have a feeling that Canadians may enjoy watching this movie just because it is a chance for us to feel smug and proud of our lifestyle. We must realize, however, that American problems have a way of eventually becoming our own problems as well. (After seeing this movie, for example, a lot of Americans might be persuaded to simply pick up and move north of the border!)

Ultimately, I think Bowling For Columbine may not affect as much change as some might hope. For the most part, Moore will be preaching to the converted, that is, people who are fans of his work or people who are against guns, and the fact that the movie does not have a single clear cut stance makes it ineffective as a form of persuasion. The gun nuts are not likely to be swayed by a film like this, even if they do happen to watch it. On the other hand, Moore’s humble yet humourous approach should turn a few heads, and I certainly hope that it does reach out to some of the opposition. I just wish that the movie had a wider release so that it could at least have a chance to open more eyes.

If my review means anything at all, I urge you to seek out the nearest movie theatre and see Bowling For Columbine today! If not today, then tomorrow! It’s absolutely worth the drive to Oakville (or New York, as the case may be). Michael Moore may not have all the answers, but he poses some evocative questions, and he presents it all in a way that is fun to watch. Rumour also has it that Michael Moore will be putting the profits from this movie towards his next project, a documentary on 9/11. And that, my friends, would be the icing on the cake. — Sean