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122 comments in total

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30 out of 50 people found the following comment useful :-
Corporate America Attacked ( and deservedly so ), 10 January 2001

Author: Mike-764 (michaelnella@yahoo.com) from Flushing, NY

Roger & Me tells the story of Flint, Michigan after General Motors chairman Roger Smith, shut down the GM plant leaving the entire town in financial ruin. It also tells the story of director Michael Moore's quest to find Smith and bring him to Flint to see the town's devastation. The documentary tells the idiocy, cowardice, heartlessness, and kissing up of the rich while a town tries anything, and I do mean anything, to get back on their feet. I saw this in my high school economics class and after watching parts of Moore's TV Nation ( also highly recommended ) I felt compelled to watch this again. Contains grisly scenes of a rabbit being slaughtered, which I find painful since I have a pet rabbit, and Smith delivering a Christmas speech about the warmth the holiday season provides, while superimposed over a family being evicted on Christmas Eve. Smith later resigned as chairman and will later on meet a man in a red suit, and he ain't Santa Claus. 9 out of 10.

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13 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Very deep, very true., 23 October 1999
Author: Brian Blueskye (brianblu23@aol.com) from Mentor, OH

This movie really showed me what America's free enterprise system is about. Make your millions in producing automobiles in an American town, then run to Mexico where labor is cheap, and not offer any jobs to Americans. I loved it, very true, very deep.

I loved how Roger Smith dodged the film crews everytime they showed up. It was very good to show the effects of the plant closing shop. I never expected a true look into what happends to American workers.

I give this one 5 stars, and I realize now that our Free Enterprise System just keeps the poor, poor. And the wealthy get even more wealth. Our free enterprise system is a joke.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Some people just don't like to celebrate human tragedy while on vacation, 4 December 2006

Author: fidomax from Poland

Flint is small town that was for many years a extension to General Motors factory. One morning boss of Genergal Motor – Roger Smith woke up and discover the fact that closing the factory and fire of 30,000 people can make better business than carry on with production, despite the fact that factory didn't bring any losses.

"Roger and Me" is document where Michael Moore report the slow but systematic fall of his hometown because of Roger Smith decision. Moore just want one thing – bring Roger Smith to the town, so he can see with his own eyes the fallout. I wont spoiler, let me just say the one of last scene of this movie is very eerie and surreal.

This is very interesting document, when every reported thing is scary, curious and funny. My favorite moment is interview with women breeding rabbits (for pets, and for meat), but all of this encounters with Flint's peasants are at least informative. Yeah, it's a manipulation by Moore like always (I hate his Fahrenheit because of that), but here he selected and arranged the moment in very powerful way. The situation is real, and the horror of it its more then real, when we see this hopeless, not very bright people who where just because of one man decision put on the highway to hell.

And of course this movie is all about Moore. He is everywhere, non stop commenting, but the god-crusader from last scene of "Bowling for columbine" (Heston) is no where near here, and that's a good thing. This movie is just a well aimed shot, a punk-rock scream for a social injustice. This is art for document with power to stir up emotion and show people ugly things just the way they are: evictions, parades, idiotic city decision – ignorance, foolishness, powerlessness – its all powerful evil, and the last scene with very sad Christmas Carol its surreal.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Roger Smith was (is?) a buffoon, but..., 7 July 2004
Author: Gary Bohr from Milford, Michigan, USA

...Michael Moore should have stuck to the facts. I lived in the Detroit area (Milford, the home of the GM Proving Grounds) from the early 70's until 2002. The 80's were a rough decade for the auto industry.

Roger Smith became Chairman and CEO of GM in January, 1981. The man was an unmitigated disaster. Among some of the things he proposed was the elimination of GM's engineering division (pink slipping everyone). He didn't think that the world's largest automaker needed an in-house engineering capability. Absolutely moronic!

There were several other examples of Roger Smith's buffoonery. The viewing audience would have been better served had Mr. Moore stuck to the facts. There were several items in this film that were either staged or flat-out false (people who never worked for GM getting evicted, Pres. Reagan being quoted out of context, etc.). This is the typical tactic Mr. Moore uses in all his films.

The upshot? Mr. Moore is a gifted filmmaker and able storyteller. Unfortunately, he doesn't let the facts get in the way of the point he's trying to make. There was no shortage of material on what a moron Roger Smith was (is?). Had Mr. Moore kept with the facts, Roger & Me would not just be entertaining, it would have the added benefit of being factual.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
a good movie with strong points, but not sure how much to believe, 1 February 2005

Author: hms4-1 from United States

I like the movie, and I found it to be very interesting. I did not like so much how Moore felt he had to make the documentary more humorous by making fun of the people he was defending. However, I felt Moore did a good job of showing the devastating effects of General Motors leaving the small town of Flint, Michigan. Although you can't be too certain on how accurate some points in the movie are, the general idea that the town suffered because Roger Smith invested in factories in Mexico with cheap labor was expressed. This documentary laid some valid points down to what was beginning to happen in America with jobs being outsourced. The effects on this small town are so severe, and as this all happened about 15 years ago, it seems much more of America is experiencing their problems. This documentary touched on outsourcing and its effects, which today is still becoming a problem. Overall, it makes a strong impression and is an important movie to watch.

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12 out of 21 people found the following comment useful :-
Moore: First Blood., 9 November 2004
Author: Sky_Captain_Joe_Sullivan

I'm a fan of Michael Moore and his works. His first feature, Roger & Me, is a fascinating look at corporate downsizing and all the effects that follow. When GM closed a factory in Flint, Michigan, the economic results are ugly. Moore, unknown at the time, tries to snag an interview with Roger Smith, General Motors CEO. Flint is mentioned in Moore's later films, but here it's the main point of focus. Through footage and interviews, Moore shows the attempts at trying to boost Flint's reputation and economy. There are some pretty funny moments and some pretty sad (being evicted from your home is not a pleasant experience.) Bob Eubanks (yes, the host of The Newlywed Game) tells a joke and comes off as an Anti-Semite. For irony, Moore uses "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys during the closing credits.

Rating: *** (out of ****)

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17 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Great film, despite some of Moore's liberties, 9 May 2002

Author: Agent10 from Tucson, AZ

Easily the funniest documentary of all time, this film takes a hard look at the common working man. So many elements in this film are excellent, and one gets to see the tough life these factory workers experience. From the cross action between Roger Smith and the workers getting evicted is one of the most surreal moments in a film full of them. While Michael Moore fiddled with the timeline egregiously, the tongue-in-cheek attitude most of the people exhibit is shocking. A movie for anyone who feels frustrated with the daily rat race.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny, smart, and too close to home., 24 July 2004
Author: grendelkhan from Xanadu

I grew up near Decatur, Il, a city that was devastated in the late 70's and 80's by downsizing in the auto industry, the migration of jobs south of the border, and corruption in the giants of agribusiness. The city's economy has never really recovered and has been on the frontlines of the labor battles of this country, while the national media has ignored it. It bears a close parallel to Flint, Michigan, as depicted in "Roger & Me.

Moore goes back to his hometown and sees the effects of massive job loss, created by a company that cared more about executive stock options and bonuses, than the community it lived in. We meet people who have lost their jobs, benefits, and homes as a result of short-sighted decisions. With few alternatives that pay a living wage, the community spirals into decline. We see the arrogance of wealth, via lavish parties, while the poor are evicted from their homes. We watch as city leaders concoct one bizarre cosmetic scheme after another, without ever addressing the real roots of the economic problems of the city.

The film makes many valid points which still hold true and still occur. You can find fault with Moore's "ambush" approach and mockery of celebrities; but, Moore has usually made civil efforts to talk with these individuals, only to be ignored or driven off. So, he resorts to grandstanding tactics which brings attention to the issues he is pursuing. Also, the celebrities are so generally caught up in their own self importance, that they deserve the skewering they receive.

You can fault Moore's tactics and selective portrayal of an issue, but he does provoke discussion, which is usually his aim. In this, he is following the great tradition of the muckrakers, like Upton Sinclair, who were able to stimulate argument on vital topics and effect positive change. Moore is a great filmmaker and thought-provoking figure. Love him or hate him, he makes you focus on issues. Too bad politicians and executives don't.

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Get a Grip!, 30 June 2004
Author: missnaughton from Toronto

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

*SPOILER OF SORTS*

The bunny lady did NOT skin the rabbit alive, nor did she club it with a steel bar. She cut its head off with an axe (though it took a couple of tries), and skinned it immediately. No brain = no pain. Not pleasant to watch, but not half as offensive as most of Hollywood's gratuitous on-screen violence.

At least there was a purpose to it. Unlike Bob Eubanks' tasteless jokes. I would have more respect for Moore if he didn't spend so much time trying to make celebs look like a**holes. Did anybody really expect Miss Michigan to contribute something pithy? The absolute best line in the movie was when Anita Bryant quoted Margaret Thatcher..."Buck up, old chums", or words to that effect. Priceless!

As for the film itself, it was a little too much about Michael Moore, "auteur". I found it curious that he never once mentioned the population of Flint. In fact, I don't remember much of substance in the film, more a series of heavy-handed juxtapositions, especially the Christmas-eve eviction set to white bread choir music.

I got a chuckle out of the aspiration to be like Toronto. Isn't Chicago closer?

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Good documentary; but don't watch past 1/2 way if you don't like animal cruelty., 26 June 2004

Author: lojack_ii from Windsor, Ontario

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The movie was well made and entertaining. It gave a detailed description of the situation in Flint back when the city was torn apart by GM plant closings. There was history and humour combining to make for a nice film.

However, there is a disturbing scene...*SPOILER*...in which an odd woman clumsily beats a bunny to death right in front of the camera, then proceeds to hang it on a tree, skin it, and cut it up. This had absolutely nothing to do with the topic or events of the film, was very disturbing to watch, and to me, was what demoted this otherwise above average film to a 5/10.

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