Where do I even start? This movie is not good. It is 100 times the worst doc I have seen so far and probably the worst film I have reviewed. I'm not going to blog about the nature of documentary's. I have done that already. I am not going to blog about attempting to impose your opinions through a visual medium like film because I have already covered this ground. So instead I will just complain about all the things that I hated about this movie.
It relies too heavily on found footage. There are hundreds of clips of local new broadcasts reporting on Wal-Mart. It comes off as lazy. The film tries to argue both sides of an issue. For example: It starts by complaining that Wal-Mart moves into town and pushes small "mom and pop" stores out because they can't compete with the cut rate prices. It then states that Wal-Mart receives tax breaks and incentives. Both are true and both make this megalith a villain in the movie. But then the films complains that the small shop owners don't get the tax breaks. So what is the problem? If the tax breaks are the issue, then why argue that the little shops should receive and split that money?
The film complains that many workers don't work full time and therefore are not provided benefits. Then it complains that those who do work full time pay too much for lousy benefits. The question you have to ask then is "why would you want to work there"? Then it goes further to say that there are people that work far too many hours. So they complain about not enough hours, and too many hours. Also if Wal-Mart wasn't in town, do you think the little "mom and pop" stores would be providing a better health plan? Do you think the corner hardware store has dental?
The films claims that Walmart takes jobs away from communities. Then it goes on to talk about how many hundreds of thousands of workers are miss-treated. That is hundreds of thousands of workers. How many of them would be employed by small town boutiques?
Then it marches out some Chinese people to complain about the working conditions in China. I can't prove it, but I think the film makers just found some stock footage of Chinese workers talking and imposed a poorly written American translation over it. I have connections to China, and she told me that the working conditions everywhere there are as bad if not worse that what was presented in the film. Again, the film makers want to complain about the cheap labor, but if Americans made these products, and sold them in small shops, I would expect you could pay upwards of 6-7 times what you do now for these goods.
Towards the end it makes note of all the crime in Wal-Mart parking lots. It blames Wal-Mart for this. They complained that they didn't have cameras so Wal-Mart added cameras. Then they complained that there is no one watching them 24/7. Tell me one company that does scan their security cameras around the clock. Then it goes as far as to suggest that a rent-a-cop in a golf cart would drop the crime rate in Wal-Mart parking lots to ZERO PERCENT. No crime. It is absurd. Wouldn't that just put the rent-a-cop in danger. It is not like Sam Walton is hiding out in his parking lot waiting to beat and kidnap you.
The movie is soaked with Christian and American imagery as well as flat out propaganda. The big bad wolf coming to town to LITERALLY rape your daughters in their parking lots. I can't decide which side of the political fence this film is on. At times it seems extremely Right wing. Ingrained with a bible toting, flag waving, conservative vibe that would make Sarah Palin proud to be a real American. But then when it is faced with the ugly underbelly of Capitalism that conservatism promotes, it turns into a Marxist, commie, "share the wealth" love fest that would make Al Gore cry.
One part I liked is when it highlight two communities that rallied to keep Wal-Mart out of their towns. One of them was Ingelwood, CA. The woman who lead the protest takes the camera crew out to an abandon lot wrapped in chain link fence. She is very proud that this litter filled, drug dealer heaven didn't get a Wal-Mart. Thank God. Because we all know that the last thing Inglewood needs is another 200 decent paying jobs for people with a GED or worse.
The film has no focus. There is no true north. It doesn't say "this is right and this is wrong and Wal-Mart is wrong". When it tries to it never backs it up with any proof. It turns to local access TV report shows to do the heavy lifting. I guess that is the real problem with the movie. It comes off as if it were directed by someone with an axe to grind. You can make a documentary intended to get your beliefs, opinions and prejudices broadcast to the masses. But if you just want to bitch about something stick to blogging.
I went in to this movie on the side of anti-Wal-Mart. This was so poorly constructed, and it attempted to be so manipulative that it actually made me change my mind. I am pro Wal-Mart now. I give this movie a .5/5 stars. My lowest rating ever. Check out the link below for the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiSmlmXp-aU
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