Moore opens the film by claiming he’d been summoned to the Pentagon by the joint chiefs of staff so he could advise them. From this point you realise that we are in the realms of fantasy and you may need to order in a truckload of salt to accept what follows. The military ask for Moore’s advice as they haven’t won a war since WW2. Where are they going wrong and what can they do to improve matters?
Moore agrees to ‘invade’ various countries and to take bits from them to improve America. This is clearly a flimsy premise, but it does help Moore showcase some good socio-economic policies that could benefit the United States.
He starts in Italy and is agog at the holiday entitlement of the workers. One couple share their holiday snaps which includes the knockout wife in a variety of skimpy bikinis. Italians get 35 days of paid holidays a year whereas Americans are guaranteed zero. Moore, who presumably had done his research before he set off, stands open mouthed at the revelation. He’s also amazed by the two hour lunches and numerous other worker benefits. He says Italians are as productive as Americans but doesn’t show his working. He also skips over the fact that the Italians are an economic basket case who are constantly needing bailouts. He qualifies this by saying he’s there to pick the flowers and not the weeds. This, to me, is a bit of a cop out. It’s like saying Auschwitz has excellent parking facilities and forgetting everything else that went on there.
Each segment ends with Moore planting an American flag and saying he’s claiming whatever good stuff he finds for America.
I enjoyed the fun and breezy outlook and, if you can overlook the agenda, there was a lot to like and to learn. The French, for example, have four course, free school meals including a cheese offering. It was fun seeing the French kids laugh at the sloppy Joes and fish sticks consumed by their American cousins. Again Moore came up with slightly questionable data when he said the French meal cost the same as the American. I’m guessing that’s because the American has a corporate mark up, but no details were given.
The tour included German health care - with a rather gratuitous nude couple in a spa - Finnish education and liberal Portuguese drug laws. In isolation each of these policies were a good idea, but they were all shown out of context. Free college education for all is great but what is the health service like? Are they kind to wildlife? Are they mortgaging their children’s futures for benefits now?
This was of course an entertainment and not designed as official economic policy. It was a shame the UK didn’t rate a visit and to be honest we’re probably more aligned with the Americans than the Europeans these days. Of course he did praise the NHS in ‘Sicko’ so maybe we had our turn then.
Moore looked a lot older than his 60 odd years and was pretty infirm on his feet at times. He did however retain his sharp wit and talent for showing the absurd. I could see Americans reacting badly to this, as he basically says that every aspect of their society and culture is done better elsewhere. A lot of the points would be hard to argue, although I think I’d have the fish sticks ahead of that fennel and aubergine number any day!
Best Bit : Spa Day! 'W' Rating 20/23
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