Those of you who can’t stand Michael Moore’s documentaries may appreciate the news that the filmmaker is looking to take a break from non-fiction. I know, you haters would argue that he’s always been on a break from non-fiction. Officially he’s made only one fiction film, “Canadian Bacon,” and he’s now looking to return to the more made-up brand of storytelling.
While attending Michigan’s Traverse City Film Festival, which he co-founded, Moore stated during a panel discussion that his latest doc, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which opens in theaters in October, may be his last, at least for a while. He added that he’s been working on two screenplays, a comedy and a mystery, and that he really wants to turn them into movies.
Whether or not either screenplay is as opinionated and controversial as his documentary films is unknown If they are anything like “Canadian Bacon,” we have good reason to think he’s making a mistake. “Bacon” was a political comedy with a great premise -- the U.S. goes to war with Canada in order to raise the approval rating of the President -- but it wasn’t nearly as sharp or funny as it should have been. David Mamet and Barry Levinson later gave us a much better version of the premise with “Wag the Dog,” thereby rendering Moore’s movie obsolete.
Of the two projects he mentioned, I’m more worried about this mystery script he’s been working on. Even though he’s primarily a documentarian, Moore is thought of as being a joker, and he seems more suited for comedy than drama. I’m guessing that a Moore mystery film would be some kind of political conspiracy thriller, a genre that has become so cliché that it’s difficult to imagine the controversial filmmaker doing anything exciting with it. He’d possibly be more direct in pointing fingers at conservative villains, though there’s also a chance that the story will be as insignificant and soft hitting as the one in “Bacon.” I’d recommend that Moore at least bring on a co-writer (Mamet, maybe?) in order to tighten up the dialogue and plot, two things Moore hasn’t shown a strong proclivity for.
In other Moore news from the film festival, the filmmaker announced that he and Jeff Garlin are planning a comedy festival to also be held in Traverse City. A more formal statement is forthcoming, but the duo mentioned the new event would be a weekend-long fest for film, stand-up and sketch comedy.
Are you sad to see Michael Moore departing from important exposes to return to “Canadian Bacon” territory? Or, are you glad he’s going to stop giving documentary a bad name with his manipulative movies? And is there anyone out there who actually likes Moore’s “Canadian Bacon”?
Editor's note: *I* like "Canadian Bacon" quite a bit, and I'll fight to defend it. I'm coming for you, Campbell.
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