Bowling for Columbine

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Working from the hypothesis that anyone who owns a gun is a gawking, slavering yokel, hell bent on arming our nation’s toddlers with anti-tank missiles through a Guns for Huggies program, Bowling for Columbine is Michael Moore’s look at our gun-crazy nation. But to trivialize his movie’s motives would be to treat them the way he treats certain gun owners so, just for the record, the film makes plenty of valid points and is plenty entertaining. However, if you like the man’s ideas but can’t stand the man, stay away from the DVD. It’s full of extras that further pound home the point of Bowling, but never without first closing in on Moore’s rotund, bearded, nonstop yammering mug. Listen to him stutter through his Oscar memories (he wasn’t allowed footage, so he has to verbalize them), hear him give speech after speech after interview after speech, and catch an older clip from his TV show The Awful Truth. We give him credit for encouraging viewers to participate with his “Teacher’s Guide” and “Action Guide.” We don’t give him credit for making Marilyn Manson’s “Fight Song” our only reprieve from his up-close political posturing.