6.17.2004

Fahrenheit 911 Rates Positive Review from Fox TV Reviewer

Thud!

Bill O'Reilly may have walked out of the premiere in self-righteous disgust and Bill's ego double and "spiritual" impersonator, Joe Scarbrough on MSNBC, may be threatening to sue producer Michael Moore, while GOP operatives are trying to encourage theaters not to show the film.

Yet Roger Friedman of Fox News actually gave the movie (which debuts a week from today, June 25th) a very good review:

It turns out to be a really brilliant piece of work, and a film that members of all political parties should see without fail.

As much as some might try to marginalize this film as a screed against President George Bush, "F9/11" — as we saw last night — is a tribute to patriotism, to the American sense of duty — and at the same time a indictment of stupidity and avarice.

...But, really, in the end, not seeing "F9/11" would be like allowing your First Amendment rights to be abrogated, no matter whether you're a Republican or a Democrat.

...The most indelible is Bush's reaction to hearing on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, that the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.

Bush was reading to a grade-school class in Florida at that moment. Instead of jumping up and leaving, he instead sat in front of the class, with an unfortunate look of confusion, for nearly 11 minutes.

Moore obtained the footage from a teacher at the school who videotaped the morning program. There Bush sits, with no access to his advisers, while New York is being viciously attacked. I guarantee you that no one who sees this film forgets this episode.

More than even "The Passion of the Christ," "F9/11" is going to be a "see it for yourself" movie when it hits theaters on June 25. It simply cannot be missed, and I predict it will be a huge moneymaker.