Word: flints
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...lucky to land a night manager's job at a 7-Eleven. Moore might even pass for what he is: the novice director of a documentary film about blue- collar unemployment. So why did 2,000 folks stand in line for hours last week in Flint, Mich., to ask him questions, throw verbal brickbats or cheer him on? Why has his movie Roger & Me stoked debate that has spilled from the entertainment pages into the news columns? And why is General Motors -- still the world's largest industrial corporation -- so darned annoyed by a gadfly like Moore...
Roger & Me, Moore's puckish chronicle of the impact of GM plant closings on the people of Flint, has provoked raves and outrages at film festivals, in movie theaters and especially in the city where it was filmed. Last week, when Moore was the guest on Phil Donahue's talk show, Whiting Auditorium was packed with every species of Flint citizen except GM executives; they were busy warning their ad agencies against placing spots on those Donahue episodes. Slouched in a center-stage chair, Moore got an earful from the audience. Some came to pick nits and fights. Said...
...what's so bad -- or good -- about Roger & Me? The film traces Moore's attempts to meet Roger Smith, the chairman of General Motors. Moore's idea is to show Smith the sagging economy and spirit of Flint, a company town ailing from thousands of GM pink slips. Between fruitless visits to Smith's offices, Moore chats with Flint's elite (seen spending a fun, fund-raising night at the city jail) and homegrown celebrities (like game-show host Bob Eubanks, who tells a joke that manages to be anti-gay and anti-Jewish). He follows the rounds...
...Roger of the title is Roger Smith, GM's chairman, and the central conceit of the film is Moore's desire to take Smith on a tour of Flint to show him the havoc he has wrought. To this end, Moore and his film crew stalk Smith, showing up and asking to see him at GM headquarters, at the Detroit Athletic Club and at another club, where Smith is not even a member. This leads to a number of funny-edgy encounters with puzzled receptionists and security personnel. At one point Moore flashes a Chuck E. Cheese card as identification...
...scenes of life in Flint constitute the best part of the movie. Pat Boone and Anita Bryant come through, singing inspirational songs and uttering fatuities for Moore's camera. Game-show host (and Flint native) Bob Eubanks does his weary routine and very possibly kills what is left of a fringe career by telling two disgusting jokes to the inquiring reporter. Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, a Miss Michigan who is soon to be Miss America, flashes false smiles and desperately changes the subject when Moore asks her to comment on local conditions. Meantime, the more substantial citizenry gets behind...