Susan Granger’s review of “Bowling for Columbine” (Alliance Atlantis)
Michael Moore’s latest documentary is definitely a potential Oscar-nominee. It’s a satiric insight into America’s gun-culture, and its release couldn’t be more timely with the terrifying news about the sniper in the Washington, D.C. area. Yet, as Moore asserts, “Eight children under the age of 18 are killed by guns in America every day.” The film, which grew from the April, 1999, killings at Columbine High School, takes its title from reports that students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went bowling the morning before they went on their killing spree in Littleton, Colorado. Using the same wry, confrontational, if slovenly, style that was so effective in “Roger and Me,” Moore wonders why we suffer from an epidemic of murder. To this end, he corners Dick Clark to ask him about an employee at one of his restaurants whose six year-old son was involved in a fatal shooting and grimly questions the brother of bomber Terry Nichols. While his interviews with shock rocker Marilyn Manson and “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone, a Littleton native, are revelatory, Moore never comes up with concrete answers. Violent entertainment isn’t to blame because the French and Japanese devour our movies yet their murder rate is low. And it’s not the proliferation of gun ownership because Canadians own more guns than Americans but they don’t shoot each other. While Charlton Heston of the National Rifle Association dismisses Moore’s allegations as “politically irrelevant,” decide for yourself. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bowling for Columbine” is an edgy, infuriatingly funny 9. Whether or not you agree with his politics, it’s obvious that Michael Moore’s propaganda evokes a remarkable emotional effect. “Documentaries are about passions,” he explains, “and isn’t that what great movies are about?”
