No.23 :Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? at the IMDb

Porn moustached and burger eating documentary maker Morgan Spurlock returns to find the titular bad guy and explore the motivations of those who are happy to lay down their lives for his cause.

The film opens with Morgan’s somewhat spurious reasons for going on an Osama hunt. His partner is pregnant and he wants to see what kind of world he’s bringing a child into. The more likely motivations of needing the cash and escaping a pregnant partner are not touched upon.


As in his previous documentary a potentially dry subject is dressed up with fancy graphics and sound bites lifted from TV shows. We see Morgan as a stop motion animation running around and then as a video game character, taking on Osama ‘Tekken’ style. I felt these bits were a touch self aggrandising, almost as if we should be chortling along as our good pal Morgan indulges himself. I wasn’t laughing and had more of a ‘what a self important prick’ kind of reaction.

The first part of the five part mission was the best as Morgan undergoes training to help in his mission. We learn how to deal with being kidnapped and how to survive a grenade attack. These sequences lead me into a false sense of security - I thought this would be a dangerous and exciting journey into the heart of darkness. But it wasn’t.

The next four sections are essentially the same as Morgan visits Egypt, Morocco, Afghanistan and Pakistan to ask the same questions and get the same shoulder shrugs in reply. To add a supposed element of humour Morgan dons full Arab dress and point blankedly asks scared locals of Osama’s whereabouts. Obviously they don’t know but we get a cheap laugh at intimidated foreigners, so that’s OK.

As the film draws to a close Morgan approaches the point of no return - will he enter Pakistan’s notorious tribal region to seek his quarry or will he scarper off home, having learned nothing?

It’s the second one.

This was a wasted 90 minutes for the viewer and a wasted opportunity. Morgan had cracking access to the military and the higher echelons of middle eastern government but delivered a puff piece that may serve well as a home movie for the Spurlock clan but no one else. His conclusion that we should win the “hearts and minds” of the people rather than pointlessly pursue terrorists was a real revelation - in 2004 when the US military appropriated the term.

Obviously he was never going to find Bin Laden, but so half hearted was this attempt that he’d of had as much success looking for him in his fridge and save us all some bother in the process.

Best Bit :Tough guy training school

‘W’ Rating : 9/23

No.16 : What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)

What Would Jesus Buy? at the IMDb

‘What Would Jesus Buy?’ is a documentary ‘presented by‘, but not featuring, burger muncher Morgan Spurlock. It’s basically a 90 minute one sided argument about the commercialisation of Christmas. We follow the crusade of a deluded self publicist, Rev. Billy, who travels across America to berate people who have the audacity to spend their cash on Christmas presents. Obviously paedophile priests and serial killers are too soft a target for this coiffured crusader.



It starts off in OK fashion as statistic are bandied about showing how much crap people spend in lieu of spending time with each other. Obviously statistics can be found to suit any argument - 75% of people know that. We also learn that Christmas almost died out in post revolutionary America but was brought back due the commercial element - is that what Santa died for?

Things fall away fast when the arguments for a more family orientated Christmas give way to Wal-Mart and Disney bashing. The Rev shows his colours by buying an ugly jumper in a small shop rather than get it for half the money at the local mega-mart. Ideas like supply and demand and capitalism aren’t addressed at all, as these are clearly contrary to his blinkered vision of what the world should be. Another point missed, is where the cash to buy all the more expensive stuff will come from when all the major employers such as Wal-Mart are run out of business.

Clearly our the Rev is a man of principle but you have to wonder how he finances his tour bus, hair spray and cell phones if he avoids all the evils of commercialism. Well you can buy his DVD on Amazon and no doubt Wal-Mart so maybe that’s a clue. He does have a strong platform though as everyone knows religion has only ever been a tool for good and not lots of murders, sodomies and grand larcenies.

Some of the ideas in the film were interesting, and the shots of sweat shop workers making the West’s toys were sobering, but one man’s point was hammered home so relentlessly that any idea of a balanced argument was lost after ten minutes. Stating the bleeding obvious may be a decent career but don’t go dressing it up as entertainment unless you want a disappointed audience.

Best Bit : I like the ‘get that wacko’ expressions on our singers faces as another protester made his own thoughts known. Physician heal thy self!

‘W’ Score 10/23