The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011)

"Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" is an unusual film in the sense that while you're watching it, the film feels like a behind the scenes feature. It's a movie about branding, marketing and advertising in which our hero, Morgan Spurlock of "Supersize Me" fame tries to gather sponsorship for the film that you are watching. The film often takes a break to explain to you how a process is going to work or how wonderful this product or brand is in a gleefully self-aware manner. The fact that it feels like a behind-the-scenes feature is not a bad thing then, but the entire point of the movie. It's an experience that's quite unique. Morgan Spurlock's enthusiasm and charisma are more than enough to keep you interested as he struggles against all of the problems related to branding, marketing and advertising while his movie is being put together before our eyes. It also has some interesting information to divulge on the subject to balances out the personal hardships that make up most of the film. It isn't terribly insightful about how branding, marketing and advertising affect people on a day to day basis but the film isn't really about that. There are more insightful movies about the subject out there somewhere I'm sure, so if that's what you're looking for you may be disappointed. If you're a fan of his or if you're curious about the subject, or even documentary making, there's a lot to like here. (Dvd, September 30, 2012)

One would need to be a fan of Spulock's to appreciate anything in this movie. Appropos to the theme, he once again demonstrates his remarkable grasp of the obvious. One would need to be living under a rock to not know that most all movies and TV shows have corporate sponsors, and associated product placement. Morgan would like to think that this bothers the public more than it likely does. Not an original thought/concept in this trite and boring film. Spurlock would like to believe that he is a champion for corporate greed, and instead comes off as a rebel without a clue. HE insults the public in a series of "man on the street" interviews, and trots out mostly b-list individuals working in marketing in a series of carefully and heavily edited interviews. Unless you literally can't get enough of this same-old tired Spurlock pablum, pass on this one!!

At the 2011 Hot Docs opening and Canadian premiere screening of Morgan Spurlock's POM Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold the peppy logo-clad filmmaker told the audience his film will have the effect of changing the way we look at advertising, TV, and films. Maybe Spurlock has been hanging out with a different crowd recently, because his grasp of audience intelligence—especially a doc audience—is certainly off the mark in terms of advertising savvy. While his film, as hilarious and entertaining as it is, won't be affecting the way I look at advertising, it definitely changes the way I now look at Morgan Spurlock.Spurlock is a master story-teller to be sure, and this was readily apparent in one of the funniest, rollicking Q&As I've had the pleasure to sit through. Story after story rolled off his lips in all manner of imitation and animation – and had pretty much all in attendance slapping knees and grabbing sides in fits of laughter. His 2004 doc-buster hit Super Size Me told the story of one man's experiment to eat only McDonald's food while suffering the consequences. His 30 Days television series was a masterpiece jewel in the cheap tin crown of reality television fare. With all these storytelling accomplishments and talent under his belt his most recent work, a 90 minute celebration of advertising, marketing and commercialization bereft of any engaging narrative, comes as a whopping disappointment.Don't get me wrong – if you want funny, entertaining, inquisitive Spurlock you'll get your dose in this documentary about sponsorship in film. But if you're looking for critical analysis or an investigative lens you'll be very disappointed. Spurlock's film is the ultimate postmodern documentary – a film paid for by corporate sponsors about the business of financing films through corporate sponsorship. On the surface it's a great idea, but Spurlock doesn't scratch that surface to reveal the real "inner workings" of the business or the consequences of a social reality dominated by advertising and marketing. As one audience member said to him, the film is all joy – where are the questions? Spurlock, predictably upbeat responded that if the audience is uneasy about these things after watching The Greatest Movie Ever Sold than the film has done its job. Right.As a postmodern self-reflexive work there is surprisingly little self-reflection in PWPTGMES. Spurlock is in almost every frame of the film – flogging his film idea to ad execs, flogging products, and making light of critical voices like Ralph Nader. Between getting free stuff, zipping around the country meeting rich people (why Donald Trump's opinion was sought in this film remains a mystery), and drinking litres and litres of POM juice, Spurlock apparently has little time to really critically explore the nature of what he's doing and what the whole thing is about. Sure he has his moments of wondering aloud if he's going too far down the rabbit hole, but they feel as forced and staged as his meetings with CEOs and marketing gurus (all shot with atrocious camera work it has to be said). One senses that he went into this much like he went into Super Size Me: as a personal challenge and experiment, just to see if he could do it. And, lo and behold, of course he can – he's Morgan Spurlock after all.The first half of the film had me in stitches as he set up the gag. But by mid-way I was bored of watching Spurlock in predictable scenarios flogging everything from shoes to under-arm deodorant to airlines. I kept waiting for him to go deeper, to really provoke some critical thought on the issue of advertising and marketing. By the end of the film, this craving went unabated, much like my new craving to drink POM juice – thanks to what has to be the best marketing coup for a juice company since Dole colonized Carmen Miranda.So if you're looking for a funny, intelligent, provocative and critical documentary on advertising and marketing I highly recommend seeking out the wonderful 2004 Czech film Czech Dream. If you want to laugh with and at Morgan Spurlock as he makes a mint from celebrating crass commercialism, check out POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, that is, if you have the stomach for it.

Morgan sets out to make a docu reality* funded entirely by PRODUCT PLACEMENT- branding whatever you would like to call it.AS a film maker the question is do you give up your creativity so that you get the money to do your creativity? Is your creativity less so if you have to shift a couple of things that your funders don't like in the Script. That is the basic plot of this docu reality.At the beginning of the movie i didn't think he would make it, i thought half way through he would say something like he had had to re-mortgage his house , sell his grandma, cat, dog and goldfish to complete it....YEP they coughed up money , hard cash, more hard cash, and more hard cash...but did he compromise to get it done though?....* docureality - because it was happening as he filmed and lets face it that is the reality for filmmakers.Watched at the BFI(London) on an unseasonally sunny autumn day.... Anyone for POM? LOL you had to be there!