Customer Reviews

Is It True What They Say About Ann?

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Just reading the reviews here illustrates just how provocative, one way or another, Ann Coulter can be and how controversial she has become. I'm going to review this DVD product without reviewing Ann's politics.

This short -- to short in my opinion -- documentary did an acceptable if awkward job of showing just who Ann Coulter is. I wish it had been a more polished production. It looks like it was shot on a high quality cam corder and subjected to less than stellar quality editing. Basically, if I spent a couple thousand bucks on a camera and some computer video editing software, I could do the same thing myself.

Part of the "awkward" stuff was:

Camera jerking around during interviews.

One-way Ann-only conversation. Someone off camera is talking, but they don't have a microphone, so you know someone is talking to Ann and you can hear Ann but you can't hear the other side of the conversation.

Too-long awkward fade-in and fade outs.

Little drab fonts used on big screen for transitions.

Waiting too long to fade in or out during a transition.

Anyway, I don't know if I'm using the right video terminology but it all comes across as an amateurish production. People who've watched some of the recent liberal documentaries like "Outfoxed" should at least feel at home with the production values.

In this case however, quanitity does have a quality all its own, and you do get about three hours of content. My favorite segment wasn't the documentary itself but an over 30 minutes long "special feature" that showed Ann giving a speech with a question and answer session. I felt like I got to know her a lot more during that segment than perhaps during the documentary itself.

So, once you've watched the whole thing you'll likely know whether or not it's really true what they say about Ann, whether you actually like her or not.

I bought this film and was seriously dissapointed, not by Ann but by the shmuck she allowed to film it. The editing is terrible, some of the camera angles are really unflattering and many scenes unecessary. Do I really need to watch 10 minutes of Anne getting her makeup done? And if we are going to watch that, how about some running commentary behind it? or music at least?

The editing was so bad I was shocked that Ann allowed it to go to distribution. Ann, next time, I volunteer my services (though I have no background in film or editing) I know I could have done a better job.

I think there should have been more of Ann's speeches, more run ins with protestors...it was too short, not in depth...it was like a surface view. I did enjoy the interview with Bill Maher.

Ann Coulter is a cultural icon and this movie just doesn't do her justice.

`Is It True What They Say About Ann?' is a low budget, but entertaining documentary film offering both the fans and foes of Ann Coulter an insightful look into the private person and public persona of one of the most controversial conservative political figures in America today.

As many other reviews have already pointed out this is definitely not one of the most professionally made documentaries on the market. However Ann shines through the mediocre production values as only Ann could. Her razor sharp wit, biting comebacks and fearless rhetoric is on full display. Whether you agree with her viewpoint or not you have to admire her for being willing to face her most vehement critics head on with a smile and flair that has established her as an American icon. You either love her or hate her, but you certainly can't ignore her.

Recommended viewing for those of all political persuasions.

I just got the DVD yesterday, four books after the movie was released. The speech subjects, therefore, are a bit dated, but still enjoyable. I loved the "Special Features," especially the clip of Ann's Q & A at the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute. The lighting for that wasn't the best (too harsh), and we didn't get to hear most of the questions, but Ann's responses more than made up for the technical shortcomings.
I didn't mind the documentary showing Ann getting makeup. There wasn't that much time devoted to it, and most of that showed her answering more questions from people offscreen. Agreed, we could have done without the couple of book quote readings.
All the features gave me information that I haven't been able to get anywhere else. That's the whole purpose of a documentary, isn't it?
Because the DVD is no longer in production, I had to get a used copy. If it only consisted of the documentary itself -which really IS way too short-, I might have objected to paying full price for a new copy. As it is, the extra material made it worth every dime.

There is no individual in contemporary America who is as derided and despised by the left than Ann Coulter. She is the object of constant ridicule which is a direct result of her efforts to combat them. So hated is she that when one attempts to defend her, many of her enemies will be tranferred over to you. I recall a time that I reviewed Slander and received hate mail that mostly attacked Ann. One memorable piece of mail accused me of being gay because I loved Coulter who was obviously a transsexual (in this person's sick opinion).

There is no question though that conservatives need people like Coulter as much as she needs The New York Times. The bombshell pundit exerts pressure that widens the boundaries of what is acceptable to discuss and what is not in our society. In this film, she even defends the undefendable such as "wars for oil" beging legitimate. She is the true Queen of Political Incorrectness and her rants, speeches, writing, and argumentation provides considerable benefit to the rest of us as she extends the ground in which we can maneuver. Coulter loves to bait her enemies and there's no better example of this than in her "convert them to Christianity" line after 9/11. No one, including me, would agree with her, but I bet that she doesn't believe in a US sponsored crusade herself. The only reason that she said it was to provoke and anger her opponents. She suceeded in this endeavor admirably.

What is so interesting about this documentary is the way in which her enemies are filmed and their arguments are included in the body of the narrative. My favorite moment came when a kid approached her wanting his t-shirt signed. It read "Traitor" so Coulter penned the words "Have Fun in Guantanamo" onto it. Divine wit. Without all of the Mein Kampf carrying leftists, this film wouldn't have been half as good. My only reservation about Is it True... concerns its length. A subject like this one deserves more than 37 minutes.

I find it amusing that Raging liberals who would never buy or watch 5 mins of Ann Coulters video write these reviews in hope of bringing down her ratings. So so Sad.

It was very good, however it was too short. I loved the lecture shots - very good stuff. It helps to "know" Ann a bit more. Also very surprising, were the interviews with known and big Democrats - praising her on several levels.... But most of you who created fake reviews merely to attack Ann would not know that. By the way, you fake reviewers - you are only making yourselves look like you have the mentality of a 10 year old child having a temper tantrum with those silly posts!

I guess some people can't imagine that a review might be based on a theater screening. This movie was showing at several film festivals and I thought it was quite good. It wasn't a sick and sad freak show - that kind of review is the sign of a weak mind. Unthinking, emotional "it makes me sooo sick to my tummy" responses carry no weight for anyone who can grasp the issues. I would suggest ignoring the idiots who wrote the negative reviews here (the equivalent of third graders complaining about the taste of spinach) and get the DVD. Watch it yourself and start from the position that Ann is an intelligent and well educated woman and evaluate her stand on the issues rationally. Her style seems a little harsh at times, but when pressed, she's able to back her views with real arguments. Posner, who put Coulter on his top 100 public intellectuals list, is one of the greatest living legal thinkers. Sorry idiots, it's true. I wouldn't say that this is a great movie, but I think it deserves a "B" - well organized, good movie craft and certainly thought provoking.

This documentary about Ann Coulter is only forty minutes long, and there's still a lot of filler -- quotes that take twenty seconds to read, dead time such as when Ann's makeup is being done, camera switching...the bulk of the documentary itself may be only thirty-two or thirty-three minutes. It's almost like a TV special, not a full-length documentary. It's unashamedly pro-Ann Coulter, but that's alright, since this is marketed toward her fans.

There are some *excellent* pieces of footage of Ann: an obviously naive college liberal guy walks up to her with a poorly made shirt that says "TRAITOR" -- a jab at Ann's phase in 2003, calling liberals traitors all the time to irk them -- and Ann signs "have fun in Guantanamo." That's savage wit! There are also plenty of jokes to spare in the documentary, such as when Coulter says "Dean, Kerry, and Edwards have emerged from the Iowa caucus in a three-way race, to which Bill Clinton said 'Oh, I remember my first three-way in Iowa!'" The documentary is chock-full of that sort of 'thing,' and ends with a montage of clips of Bill Maher, Susan Estrich, and Pat Caddell talking about Ann.

The real highlight of this DVD, though, is all of the footage of Ann. There's got to be over 2 hours of extras of Ann talking about everything from Phyllis Schlafly to Iraq to the New York Times.

This is a must-own for any Ann Coulter fan, or anyone else interested in hearing what she has to say.

I have yet to hear a liberal say a single positive word about Ann Coulter.

While she does, on occassion, go a bit far, I love to see the reactions of liberals to her. So, you go Ann. With the entire moonbat army out there, keep up the good fight!