Blue Vinyl

Bet you thought dumping that groovy vinyl couch in front of your college apartment was harmless. And you probably never wondered about the side effects of mass-produced polyninyl chloride. Neither have we, and that’s the problem with this HBO fare. Blue Vinyl takes a long and winding journey—starting at director Judith Helfand’s parents’ house in Long Island, New York, and hitting up California and Venice, Italy, along the way—all to prove the harmful side effects of the producing and disposing of vinyl and its main component, polyvinyl chloride. The immense amount of work put into this documentary is apparant in its depth, but the fact remains that it is about vinyl, and vinyl is not interesting. The research is tireless and many doubts are raised, but the final product has the seriousness of a FOX News exposé and the comedic flavor of a PBS documentary.