FILM - Tribeca 2006: Day 6

--- Al Franken: God Spoke
Here is a mildly amusing documentary that need never have been made. Al Franken should be on tour, doing political stand-up, not mired in the factual depiction of his Bush-induced misery. The amusing moments come from learning more about Franken's past, replete with the obligatory SNL skits, and the mild portions are the rest of the film, which depict (in passing) the creation of Air America (the liberal talk radio), Fox News's abortive lawsuit against Franken's "Liars and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," and the 2004 campaign trail. But really: when is enough enough? The problem with politics today is that rather than actively doing something, we continue to wallow in the past, and while it's swell that people like Franken point out the constant stream of lies currently passing as news (from both television and the government), this documentary accomplishes nothing new itself. Those who already thought Ann Coulter was a narrow-minded bigot will continue to do so, those who already knew Bill O'Reilly was a bully can feast on their affirmation. For the rest of the world, Al Franken: God Spoke will accomplish absolutely nothing.

Compared to Fahrenheit 9/11, this documentary captures very few gaffes from the hard right, and the mockery of them is quite limited. Not that a political documentary has to (or should be) funny, but it's actually quite dull and dry without the humor, and it's very surprising that a film starring Al Franken, and including jokes, skits, and biased commentary isn't. Al Franken: God Spoke is stuck between being a hands-on biased investigation of how the conservatives have bullied the media and being a passive observation of the same. This failure to be judgmental or unbiased makes the film ineffectual and, as stated earlier, unnecessary.

--- First Snow
Here's a rule: don't ever go to a fortune-teller. You don't want to know what's going to happen. In Jimmy Munson's case (as is often the case in psychological thrillers), he finds out that he's going to die. And not of old age. At some point after the titular "first snow," according to the requisitely bucolic psychic Vacaro (played perfectly by J.K. Simmons), Munson is going to die. As an actor, you'd think Guy Pearce, who plays Munson, would do better confronting his own death. After all, doesn't he almost always play someone who is in perpetual fear of death? In this case, he's sort of bogged down by destiny (i.e., the script), and no matter how he enunciates his lines, he can't get away from the by-the-numbers progression of scenes. Mark Fergus, to his credit, makes the whole thing look pretty good, but the suspense isn't edge-of-the-seat, let alone seat-of-the-seat, as most audience members will probably stand up and walk out of the theater midway through the film upon realizing that nothing is happening.

Perhaps it takes too long for Munson to start fighting his fate, i.e., to seek out the person who might wish him harm (his former best friend, Vincent), and perhaps he's too chummy with his girlfriend and new best friend. Maybe all of that fooling around belies (and negates) any hope of dramatic tension. Or maybe the whole "fighting fate" theme needs a new spin. Whatever the reason, you don't need your fortune told to avoid First Snow: just save your money (twice), and skip it.