Review: Bowling for Columbine — Original Edition

Bucket Rating:

NOTE: In reality, I find Michael Moore to be a conceited bastard. He has no right to verbally assault President Bush on every occasion possible. The film Bowling for Columbine is a well made documentary. It is entertaining. But, I would just like to note, that I do not support Michael Moore in any way.

Michael Moore might not be the most intelligent person in the world, and I will admit that some of the ideas that he poses are improbably ridiculous; but Bowling for Columbine is a shockingly entertaining and informative film. I wouldn’t exactly call it a documentary, because of its opinionated views, but whatever the genre may be; it’s a wonderful and enriching experience. Moore is fabulous in writing, directing, and producing the entire piece, and brings a comically ironic jolt to the otherwise serious material.

It opens up to Moore, after finding an ad in the newspaper. The ad states that if you open up an account at a local bank, you will receive a free gun along with it. He travels to the bank and asks to open “the account where you get a free gun.” They give him some forms, and he fills them out while the bank employees show him a catalog full of various kinds of rifles, pistols, and handguns. They perform a background check on Moore, after the written work has been finished. This is when he proceeds to make most of his jokes. They complete this process in a matter of minutes, and Moore is handed a gun. He plays around with it and pretends to shoot, then asks an employee standing next to him: “Don’t you think it’s a little dangerous handing out guns in a bank?” Despite what society may think, the bank sees no problem with being a licensed firearm dealer. One bank, a half an hour of spare time, and some money to open up an account will get you a gun. This is a devastating look at the fearful truth.

Bowling for Columbine is full of other shocking, and sometimes unintentionally funny scenes; but there is a lot more to it. Mr. Moore uses a lot of footage of the violence that guns cause. This primarily features videos, taken by security cameras, at Columbine High School. They are very graphic, and show students being killed. They also earn the film an “R” rating, but contribute to its effectiveness. Moore has the valuable ability to mix serious material with comedy, and still retains an entertaining, though thought-provoking result. We also get to see NRA rallies, led by Charlton Heston. In a later interview, which acts as the flicks finale, Moore questions Heston about these. Moore informs Mr. Heston that before two of the rallies that he led, school shootings had taken place within blocks of them. One in Littleton, Colorado; Columbine, and another in Flint, Michigan; where a boy in first grade shot one of his classmates with his uncles gun.

Mr. Moore is a qualified maker of documentaries, with a hint of opinionated drama in them. He cleverly hides all of the clichéd material in Bowling for Columbine with fresh, new insight to back it up. The thing that boosts Moore’s ability to please audiences is his wacky and interesting way of presenting ideas. He might not be an individual who intends on solving the problems that confront our country, but he makes a big deal out of them, and it’s a very entertaining thing to watch. He does make very good points about the television, history, and the reasons that crimes are committed, though. Bowling for Columbine is better than almost every movie in release at this time, it is a groundbreaking and mind blowing achievement for Moore and his co-workers.

-Danny, Bucket Reviews