I Am
Bottom Line: Oh, boy. A filmmaker has an epiphany. “As if we care” barely starts a summary.
Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Insipid documentary is (supposedly) a telling of the three-year epiphany of Tom Shadyac, director of well-known comedies such as LIAR LIAR and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. Through excerpts of these films as well as other films, personal narration, and interviews ranging in familiarity from his friends to Desmond Tutu.
Though the film is, at times, a clear presentation of utter tragedy, there is one aspect of the film that truly stands out as tragic itself: the comedy, whether unintentional or intentional, almost constantly seems to undermine the poignant, mature concept of viewing the world differently. We could easily get the intended effect in only three short minutes from listening to Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. Next to that is all the unrelated material thrown in for an entire hour, made to look inspiring and uplifting. With all the irrelevant mentions of quantum physics, Darwinism, and biology, I lost count of how many times I yelled, “What!?”, as if Shadyac himself could hear me, in just a period of 76 minutes. My mistake–Shadyac unbelievably manages to tie all this nonsense into the plot within the last forty-five seconds of the film.
I have seen three or four of Tom Shadyac’s films, and I can’t exactly say I cared for many of them or even found them all that funny. I did not expect I AM to be funny, but I did expect it, with a theme of such strong, emotional quality, to be somewhat decent. Needless to say, I feel cheated. This film runs for just over an hour and fifteen minutes, but with the number of yawns it is sure to elicit, it feels more like at least twice that. You’ll have a better bet with both humor and inspiration by YouTubing Homer’s epiphany scene from THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. You’ll also save about 70 significant minutes of your life.
Seems boring. I’ll skip it. Thanks
If it seems boring, then I have succeeded at making my point. If you’re in search of a good docu (not saying you are), watch Super Size Me. At least Spurlock knows how to document something that we actually care about and are affected by.
Next Reviews: Contagion, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Sleeper, Young Frankenstein, and possibly Sherlock Holmes.
I’ve already watched Super Size Me; it’s really good. There’s a great Mexican doc that came out last year called “Presunto Culpable”. You should watch that. Here’s my review: http://fernandorafael.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/presunto-culpable-2009/
Other docs I’ve really liked are Jesus Camp (http://fernandorafael.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/jesus-camp-2006/), Waking Sleeping Beauty (http://fernandorafael.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/waking-sleeping-beauty/) and Catfish(http://fernandorafael.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/catfish-2010/).
I’ll look forward to your reviews. Next for me are: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, La Piel Que Habito, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Drive.
I figured you’d seen that one (who hasn’t?). I really badly want to see Catfish (though it’s been accused of being a “mockumentary”) but I have not heard of any of those others. Nice reviews. I also want to see Roger & Me, Michael Moore’s first docu, and Fahrenheit 9/11. I’ll anticipate your reviews.
Thanks. I’ll anticipate yours too.
I’ve also heard of ‘Catfish’ being fake and all, but it’s so damn entertaining. Totally grabbed me.
I have watched Fahrenheit 9/11 and I didn’t like it. It was very informative but also incredibly manipulative.
Thanks, maybe I won’t watch Fahrenheit 9/11. Even though docus always go beyond what I know, I think I know enough about something as shocking as the 9/11 attack.
Damn, I forgot one again: Sicko. I NEED to see that.