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The Rice Thresher
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Robert Reichle As the New York Times put it, self-proclaimed "guerilla filmmaker" Michael Moore, the man behind the critically acclaimed 1989 documentary Roger & Me, is the closest thing America has to a modern-day Mark Twain. In "The Awful Truth," his current television series on the Bravo cable network that's something of an update to his 1994 show "TV Nation," Moore puts camera and creativity together to satirize the absurdities of our country. Often, his subjects' actions are so outlandish that they speak for themselves; at other times, Moore cranks up his cynical sense of humor, rolls tape and fires away. In a new two-disc set, the complete first season of "The Awful Truth" is now available on DVD. While not everyone will be a fan of Moore's far-left political views, I can't imagine 12 more entertaining (and brutally honest) episodes of any television show. Each episode of "The Awful Truth" contains two or three segments in which Moore and his crew confront big business, corporate crime and both sides of American politics. Neither Republicans nor Democrats are safe from Moore, an outspoken Green Party supporter. Some of the more hilarious segments include "The Sodomobile," in which Moore drives a big pink bus full of gay men through all states with anti-sodomy laws, and "William S. Cohen is a Wimp," where Moore hunts down the former defense secretary to investigate why a sensitive, poetry-writing guy was in charge of national security. Of course, sometimes Moore's awful truth borders on depressing. When he takes a "voice-box choir" made up of tracheotomy patients to sing Christmas carols to big tobacco companies, both the corporate bigwigs and the audience are forced to look the evils of corporate crime right in the face. The Awful Truth DVD lacks extra features, but it does give a solid presentation of Moore's material. All 300 minutes of the series' first season are there, and the digital conversion is excellent. The selection menus are acceptable, and thankfully, you can jump to specific segments of each show instead of being restricted to selecting individual episodes. Unfortunately, the DVD's sound mix is uneven, and I found myself raising and lowering my television's volume from segment to segment. The Awful Truth is essential viewing for those who care about the ills and evils of our society and for those looking for a good laugh. The lunacy Moore exposes is often disturbing, always uncomfortable, and most of all, extremely funny in a twisted way. Despite the lack of DVD extras, this set's content makes it worth a look. - Robert Reichle
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