Customer Reviews

The Awful Truth - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"The Awful Truth" is Michael Moore's unofficial follow-up to the groundbreaking "TV Nation" show that ran in 1995 and 1996. Available only on Bravo for Yankees and on Channel 4 in Merry Olde England, this DVD set will satisfy any fan wanting more of Moore.

This first season was 12-30 minute shows, with Michael taking on people like Humana Insurance, who "decided it was cheaper to kill people than to heal them," the Swiss Banks (he dressed a guy up as Hitler to withdraw the Nazi gold taken from the teeth of Jews), the "Teenaged Sniper School," where he teaches kids how to kill better in school-shooting situations, and more. A progressive television show is refreshing enough, but when you put a satirist like Moore at the controls, who knows what is going to happen - except that it is funny, depressing, maddening, and educational all at the same time.

His techniques are about as subtle as a brick through the window, but let's face it, Americans need more bricks, because there are too damn many "awful truths" out there right now. There are too many companies that think they can get away with murder, too many politicians that think they can play us like harps. Without people like Michael Moore and shows like "The Awful Truth," they just might get away clean.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the first season of "The Awful Truth" to anyone who wants to learn about what is really going on in the US today.

I laughed so hard at "The Awful Truth" that I seriously thought I might hurt myself! It is THAT funny!

Descriptions of lying politicians being chased by Puritans screaming "Repent! Repent!" and a choir of Christmas carolers (who have lost their vocal cords due to cigarette smoking) serenading workers at tobacco company headquarters don't quite do this video justice. You have to see it to believe it. And then you will want to show it to EVERYONE you know.

The "Sodomobile" portion of this tape may well be the funniest and most wonderful thing ever put on film or videotape. Bravo to Michael Moore - if he never made another film in his life he would deserve Sainthood for this one. He is a comic genius with a heart and a clear head for political satire.

I've been a Michael Moore fan for awhile now. I've watched The Big One and TV Nation repeatedly during times when corporate media begins to bore me and I need a dose of reality. As others have said, The Awful Truth is more of the same. Its definitely not for those who have a Disney-esque, G-Rated view of the world we live in. Honestly, though, I found The Awful Truth to be more difficult to watch than his earlier works. Moore is still sarcastic, funny and extremely unapologetic for revealing what he believes to be true. This is what I admire about him. Yet, there are many situations he addresses where even humor can't disguise the injustice and outright inhumanity our society is blind to. I was excited to see the scenes about the Christmas carolers who went to Phillip Morris and about the funeral rehearsal staged in front of an HMO after reading the editorial reviews listed on this site. I was in for a shock when instead of laughing as I usually do at Moore's antics, I was crying for its victims: the man who needed a pancreas transplant and his 4 year old daughter and cancer striken, voice box dependent carolers. I think the Awful Truth reveals a Moore who is angry and more biting than I've seen him before, but who wouldn't be when the truth is exposed? There are happy endings to these episodes...I can't wait to see what the next season holds in store.

I don't get the Bravo network. I don't get cable TV. I own a VCR monitor connected to nothing, so in essence, I don't own a television. But Michael Moore is one of my heroes.

After a typical frazzling Friday of high-school English teaching, I arrived home to find the three-videocassette box of THE AWFUL TRUTH's first series finally had arrived. I binged, and I watched all five hours in a single sitting.

I loved every minute of the series. Moore speaks truth to power, and let's get off this left/right political stuff: there are people for the little guys and people for the giants (I call them "Goliathans"). Moore consistently is on the side of the little guy, of the downtrodden, of the oppressed. Ever hear of the fellow called Jesus? (Lived a few years ago.) He was pretty much in the same ballpark, and he liked to speak truth to power, too.

We all know what happens next: Jesus gets crucified, and the corporation co-opts the radicals.

Every generation has its Good Guy Little Guyists: you know, dudes like Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, folks like that.

Michael Moore is one of OUR generations Good Guy Little Guyists. Read the other reviews here for specifics; buy this set and laugh and cry and be empowered!

Many thanks to the "reviewer" who, like all of the flag-waving, jingoistic fascists demands that we supress any dissent and has the audacity to decide what's "right" or "wrong" or "correct" expression. I count myself among those who love the America our founding fathers envisioned, not the America of McCarthy and Nixon. The McNixons want us all to shut up and tell us what to do, or say, or buy if we "love America". Well, I love America so much I'm buying Michael Moore's work; and I'm STAYING in America and fighting for America and it's flag, despite what the counter-revolutionary Stalinistas want - a silent, compliant, slave-state.

I have never watched anything as full of truth and guts as Michael Moore's work. This show is hilarious and sad at the same time, and perhaps one of the most honest commentaries on the US I've ever seen that shows you what the average person really understands of the world. The result is quite funny!

All of Michael Moore's work (TV Nation, The Big One, Canadian Bacon, Roger & Me, and his book, Downsize This) are amazing works by today's premiere comedic cynic. Moore cuts through to the truth on big business and THE AWFUL TRUTH, his new show on BRAVO is a continuation on this standard. I've seen the entire first season of THE AWFUL TRUTH (I taped them all), but I'm also buying this DVD, because this stuff is hilarious. However, I would have to rate THE AWFUL TRUTH below TV NATION, as that show was longer, had higher production values, and was a little more biting in some of its satire. I really hope they put that show on DVD! But, for any Michael Moore fan, you must buy this DVD! The Awful Truth is a great show, and it just finished its 2nd season, which hopefully will also make it to DVD. For now, just buy this one. If you haven't seen the show, but know Michael Moore's work (especially if you like TV NATION), you will definitely enjoy this. For [the money], the whole season (almost 300 minutes) is worth it.

Michael more is a brilliant crusader. This is an amazing hyperbole to make a point about the Awful Truths that make up many of the issues that are pressing in the United States today. This man takes no prisoners; he never gives up. He will attack any corporation that he feels has wronged its consumers, the environment, or the work force they exploit.

In the first episode, he takes down an HMO by staging a funeral of someone who was dying as a result of a claim denial. He attacks people who are against gay rights. He attacks the Disney for the treatment of employees around the world and in the Magic Kingdom itself. There is no stopping him. He uses so many incredibly over the top methods to make his points (hence the hyperbole). Christmas carolers with voice boxes from smoking related illness, storm Phillip Morris and a few other tobacco giants. What a trip.

Have no misconception of this man; He is a bleeding heart liberal. If you do not like that sort of politics, do not buy this. It is not for you. This is defiantly something that should be known before you even consider looking at it.

For any bleeding heart liberals out there, this is great. It makes you feel good that the little man can take something back for once. If you like this, you would like Michael Moores other works. They are nice because they are more focused and can spend more time on an issue. That is my only real issue with the show. It is too quick. A lot has to be said in a little time. But, it is to the point, therefore, it is pretty good. It is well worth the money. I am happy with it.

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Michael Moore is a rogue journalist who unapologetically states what many people are thinking, but don't have the guts to verbalize. He's like Penn and Teller, the magic comedy duo that deconstruct magic tricks and expose how they're done; only instead of showing you how the rabbit gets in the hat, he exposes the hypocrisies of major industries, companies, and people who desperately want to save face while hiding their true motives. These people want you to either stay ignorant of their doings, or simply remain apathetic to them. Moore isn't afraid to hold a mirror up to their faces and show them the "warts" they so desperately try to hide, while making you laugh in the process.

Moore reminds me a little of a smarter but less charismatic Abbie Hoffman, without the baggage or controversy. The difference is that in the 60's, most people had a grasp of the hypocrisies and controversies Hoffman highlighted. Nowadays, it's a struggle to get people to even care what those controversies are. Thus, Moore's goals aren't as lofty as Hoffman's, but he uses similar guerilla theatre tactics. Hoffman demonstrated the Greed of the 60's by throwing money onto the New York Stock Exchange floor and watching the traders scramble on top of each other to grab it. Moore shows the greed of our time by getting a group of cancer stricken former smokers to sing Christmas carols to Tobacco companies through their mechanical voice boxes. Moore uses the same style of shock theatre to bring out into the open modern travesties, and exposes the recipient's hypocrisies. Moore uses guerilla tactics because he knows that if he does so, the perpetrator can't hide behind spin and his PR people. In this compilation, he is almost always successful, and the result is almost always humorous.

Moore is chubby and frumpy (sorry, Mike if you ever read this- do you think if you looked like Brad Pitt it would help your cause?), but this allows the focus to be his message instead of his pecks and sexy smile. This lets him appeal to the common man, who is his target audience anyway! Since this is guerilla theatre in documentary form made for a T.V. show, you can't expect the quality to be the best. The production isn't the slickest- it was made for the Bravo network, and if you're familiar with this network, it isn't exactly in the upper echelon of cable channel cash cows! That the show had a shoestring budget might be an understatement. But as above, the quality is not the point- it's the message, and on that point, Moore hits home runs on almost every account.

I think that many of Michael Moore's critics misinterpret the concept of "nonpartisan". That doesn't mean it's free of politics or opinions. The definition of nonpartisan that is being used is that of political party affiliations. He is definitely not a spokesman for the Democratic Party or its agenda (in present form anyway). Where many people get confused is how he chooses his "victims". He chooses to pick on the hypocrisies of Corporations and the rich- the fact that those groups are usually "Republican" or "conservative" is not his fault. In fact, it's secondary to his purpose; the fact that they are abusing their power is what Moore is concerned with. Besides, as shown by Enron, when it comes to politics, corporate ties are more often in the right than the left (if you go by campaign contributions, 3/4ths more!) Admittedly, Moore is a self-avowed left leaner. But if you familiarize yourself with some of his other work, he's definitely not a Democrat- he criticizes them just as much, albeit for different reasons. In fact, he supported Nader during the election, even though Nader fired him a decade ago!

Despite what his critics desire to portray him as, Moore is simply an equal opportunity offender, exposing hypocrisies wherever he sees them. For instance, Disney can hardly be considered a radical right wing organization (note their track record on gays and demonizing by conservative Christian groups), and yet the Big Mouse is the butt of one of his stunts. He simply wants to show the world how corporations and people in power simultaneously abuse their power while desperately trying to convince the common guy, you and me, that he has our best interests at hand. Moore simply wants to show us what's really going on, and does a bang up job in this compilation of the Awful Truth, as well as the rest of his work. Keep it up, Mikey!

If you're a Michael Moore fan, this is essential for you. Roger & Me should probably be the first thing you see, but after that the best thing I think would be the first season of the Awful Truth. Moore goes after all the targets you thought needed to be attacked, and a few you wouldn't have thought of. (Who outside of Ohio had heard of that chicken coop with 11 million birds?) If you're liberal at all, you'll have a ton of fun seeing Moore heading into corporate headquarters and demanding a change (his specialty) and, surprisingly, getting his way a lot of times, going after those pesky Clinton impeachment folk, and otherwise trying to give the working man his fair share. You'll be a better person having seen it.