AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH(PG)
* (out of 5)
May 24, 2006
STARRING
Al Gore as HIMSELF
Studio: Paramount Classics
Directed by: Davis Guggenheim
BY KEVIN CARR
Listen to Kevin’s radio review…
There was a time when I thought that no other filmmaker in the history of America would be considered more partisan than Michael Moore. All that changed when I heard that Al Gore was coming out with his own film.
“An Inconvenient Truth” is Al Gore’s 100-minute campaign commercial, testing the waters for him to take another stab at the Presidency in 2008. (Oh, sure, he says he won’t do it, but when was the last time you heard a politician tell the truth?)
Apparently, Gore has been traveling the world for the past decade and a half, giving a PowerPoint presentation about global warming to anyone who would listen. And who hasn’t said to themselves, “Hey, why don’t we make a movie of this PowerPoint presentation.” After all, we know how compelling PowerPoint can be.
“An Inconvenient Truth” straddles between footage of Gore presenting his global warming PowerPoint and footage that puts this chubby former veep as the savior of the world. The message is clear: If we don’t get Al Gore in the White House soon, the polar ice caps are going to melt, global air and water currents will change and the world will literally start to fall apart.
Is there anyone out there that believes “An Inconvenient Truth” isn’t a political movie? Gore tries to say it’s not, but we know it is, especially when the ending credits call for viewers to encourage everyone they know to see this movie and vote for environmentally friendly candidates.
Look, if you think Al Gore is a lunk head, and what he has to say about global warming is utter hogwash, then you’re gonna hate this movie. But if you like the man and agree with him politically, then you’ll love it. The film makes him out to be a bigger martyr and a better savior than Jesus Christ, himself.
Most of the footage of Gore shows him in quiet contemplation, or it has him fiddling with his PowerPoint presentation – which is almost as thrilling as watching the actual presentation.
Even if I liked Al Gore, I’d have trouble stomaching this movie, which is completely biased, partisan and loaded with bait-and-switch arguments. I could have stood for more real science and less Al Gore.
Gore shoots himself in the foot by oversimplifying everything. He never gives any real science behind his theories. Rather, he says it’s too complicated and then throws a graph on screen and calls it gospel truth. The reality behind global warming is that (contrary to what Gore says), there is debate about it in the scientific world, particularly with people in the meteorology field.
He declares as fact that carbon dioxide levels are the cause, when they may just be an indicator. The massive assumptions and generalizations he makes about global climatology are staggering.
Gore also uses association of events to imply a connection when there really isn’t any. For example, as he talks about the high number of hurricanes in 2005, he shows devastating footage of New Orleans after Katrina hit. Ultimately, though, the travesty in New Orleans had nothing to do with global warming and everything to do with levees breaking around a coastal city built below sea level.
Don’t be fooled by the word “Truth” in the title. Gore’s presentation is speculation at best, using innuendo, association and supposition, along with conveniently chosen and highly crunched science data to make a new bid for his own career.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download