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The first documentary screened at Cannes in over four decades (the festival screenings went over so well, the jury had to create a special prize for the film - the only unanimous decision they made), Bowling is already garnering controversy because some brain trusts think it preaches very un-American views (why else would the French love it so much?). The film has been banned by the entire Regal Cinema chain, which is this country's largest exhibitor. The truth is that Moore is simply holding a giant mirror up to the US, and those offended by the film are really taking issue with themselves, which is pretty damn funny.
As I mentioned, Moore's aim in Bowling is to explore the reasons behind America's love affair with guns, and, more importantly, why we insist on firing them at each other. When the film opens with a scene in which Moore visits a Michigan bank that is giving away rifles to its new customers, you might think you're in for a one-sided romp which will include poking fun at gun nuts and the NRA - preaching to the choir, or shooting fish in a barrel, if you will. But it isn't as biased as you might think (or as the aforementioned gun nuts, who haven't even seen the film yet, will tell you). Moore still uses satire via mockery, but also listens to arguments from people on both sides of the issue, including Terry Nichols' brother John and a couple of Columbine survivors.
Moore draws numerous comparisons between the US and Canada (Bowling was the runner-up for Toronto's People's Choice Award, even with a scene where Moore informs viewers [and later proves] that most Canadians don't ever lock their front doors), and he certainly makes his point. Canada has a higher guns-per-household ratio than the US, but their gun-related deaths clock in at 300 per year, while the US buries over 11,000 during the same 365 days. When something like Columbine happens, people are quick to blame music and video games, but those things are available virtually anywhere in the world at this point. Bowling's title is aimed at the finger-pointers - the Columbine shooters were both avid bowlers, yet the game was never once mentioned as a potential cause for their bullet bender.
In addition to the film's many interviews, which often pit Moore against people who must still be distracted by his slovenly appearance (since they never see the hammer coming down until it's too late), there is a very funny Harold-Moss-animated history of the US, which depicts Americans in constant fear of something, thus explaining its relentless need to arm itself. The segment causing most of the uproar, I think, follows Moore's interview with a bigwig at Lockheed Martin, who insists the weapons his company creates are for defense purposes only. Moore jumps from the interview to a montage of US offensive attacks over the last 50 years, concluding with a chilling look at 9/11. The Lockheed Martin connection is interesting, if not a bit of a stretch - the company is Columbine's biggest employer (so, like, no wonder their kids are so damn violent), and the day of the school shooting just happened to coincide with the US's biggest one-day bombing of Kosovo, using, presumably, bombs manufactured right there in Colorado.
Bowling's ambiguity might put some people off, as Moore never really gets a chance to answer his one big question. Sometimes his point is unclear, or perhaps ineffective (like the weak Work-For-Welfare segment), and his biggest staged stunt is upstaged by a shocking revelation. But nothing can top the film's big finale - Moore vs. Charlton Heston. Moses has vague-sounding answers for Moore's questions about holding NRA rallies in Denver just days after Columbine (and again in Flint immediately after the youngest school shooting on record), but fumbles when asked why he thinks America is so violent when compared to the rest of the civilized world. Heston's startling answer is enough of a surprise to make me wonder if he's faking the whole Alzheimer's thing just to avoid the backlash that should certainly follow him once Bowling is released.
1:58 - R for some violent images and language
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