Last year that film was street artist Banksy’s unforgettably enigmatic Exit Through the Gift Shop. This year it is my firm belief that that film is Morgan Spurlock’s hilarious documentary POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold…
Each year the folk at the New Zealand International Film Festival manage to pull a magic rabbit out of their hat; a film which satisfies just about every discerning customer.
Last year that film was street artist Banksy’s unforgettably enigmatic Exit Through the Gift Shop. This year it is my firm belief that that film is Morgan Spurlock’s hilarious documentary POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.
A documentary about product placement in cinema itself entirely sponsored through product placement, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold takes the viewer on a semi-transparent journey through the process of accessing and integrating product placement in Hollywood cinema while getting a handful of industry insiders and experts to weigh in on the current arguments surrounding the practice.
Much like Spurlock’s ever popular Super Size Me, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold does not take a hard line approach to its subject matter and is played more for laughs than as serious inquest into the relative merits or lack thereof of having product placement in films, but this is par for the course with any of Spurlock’s work.
As described in the film, Morgan’s “brand personality” is simultaneously playful and mindful, so while you might not learn too much you didn’t already know about how the industry works, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold just might make you think a little harder about a practice so common it usually flies well below the radar.
What it lacks in serious investigation, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold more than makes up for in laughs. From incompetent company reps to the somewhat uncomfortable idea of human hygiene products that have crossed over from equine use (Mane ‘n Tail), Spurlock sends up every aspect of an industry so crass it more than deserves this light hearted roasting.
See it if you enjoy a good time, a good laugh, and a little food for thought.
By Haley Beatson, 2 August 2011.
For ticketing information and session times visit: www.nzff.co.nz
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