An incovenient movie

I’ve never been a big fan of Al Gore. I saw him speak in person when he came to Albany in 1996 during the presidential campaign and he did nothing for me.

That said, I was willing to watch his documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” Kris—the most non-partisan person I know—had wanted to see the film. I said that, in the interest of being open minded and willing to listen to all sides, I would watch it too if she ever brought home the DVD.

Kris got it at the library yesterday. After watching it last night, I can honestly say that I was completely…underwhelmed!

Gore preaches that global warming is not a political issue, but a moral one. Yet this movie was incredibly politically charged. It was filled with shots at the current administration, not to mention former President Bush and even Ronald Reagan. Then there was a little retrospective of the 2000 Florida recount that cost Gore the presidential election. I’m still not sure what that has to do with global warming.

It wasn’t so much a movie about global warming as it was about Al Gore. How many shots do we need in one film of Al staring out a window? Scrolling through photos on his laptop? Old footage of him as a handsome young member of Congress (Look at me! I’ve been fighting the good fight for years! Aren’t I great?)

This isn’t just coming from me. Kris, who as I said doesn’t have a politically biased bone in her body, made many of the same observations.

The movie was big on listing problems and short on listing solutions. It ran 96 minutes. Within the first 30 minutes we were both thinking, “Okay, so we’re faced with a big problem. What should we do about it?” We had to wait until the last five minutes of the movie for that. And then there were few details about his suggestions and why they would work. I guess we just have to take Al’s word for it.

I had other nits to pick with the movie, but you get the idea. My problem isn’t so much with the message as it is with the messenger (that includes the filmmaker—not just Gore). This could have been a good issue-oriented film. It just needed to keep its focus on the issue, and not on Al Gore.

As it turns out, I started a good book while on my trip Minneapolis. I wish I had spent the evening reading that instead. Talk about an inconvenience.