An Inconvenient Truth Review
By David Kempler
Is it a little warm in here or is it my imagination?
Turn up the lights, not the heat.
"An Inconvenient Truth" stars Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Pam Anderson, and Ben Stiller. Well, actually the only person in this movie is Al Gore. That's right. That Al Gore. The former wooden-like character who ran for President a while ago.
He's here to tell us of the coming perils of global warming. This is a slide show presentation presented as movie. It's hard to imagine someone sitting down and conceiving of the idea that we must produce a film with Al Gore lecturing us on a subject that a good deal of the population just doesn't want to hear about. Yet, it has indeed come to pass. It manages to hold our interest the whole way through and even sometimes elevates to a compelling level. I wouldn't have believed it possible.
By presenting us with an overwhelming amount of supporting data, tossing in some nice graphics and visuals, including some purposefully poor animation, Al manages to make a pretty good case for his argument. Whether it will convince those that aren't already convinced he's right remains to be seen. It's a current bone of contention between the left and the right in politics but Al stresses that it is not a political issue.
The only problem with "An Inconvenient Truth" is that it tries to remain above the political fray but can't. It's not Al's fault or the filmmaker Davis Guggenheim's fault. It's unavoidable. By giving us the background of what brought Mr. Gore to this place in time it is necessary to mention his failed presidential run. That would be fine. Guggenheim shouldn't have detoured the film into goofing on the absurdities of his loss to Bush and the hanging chads etc. It makes it feel like a political ad and makes one wonder if it's somehow all about getting Gore elected in 2008. If Guggenheim had just lightly glossed over the 2000 election the whole effort and intentions would seem far more pure.
"An Inconvenient Truth" is worth seeing. It's far more entertaining than 90% of what's available in the movie houses across the land. So go inside and check it out and make your own decision. If nothing else it's a good way to avoid the summer heat and relax in air-conditioned comfort. If Al Gore is right you don't have much time left where you will even have the option of cooling off.
