brilliant actors, brilliant editing

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Political commentator and former Clinton associate Robert Reich provides an overview of the widening economic gap in America in this humorously titled documentary. All too happy to make fun of his own short stature and often joking in his lecturers, Reich comes off as a likable personality, which in turn renders the film watchable throughout. Not everything that Reich has to say is particularly insightful (especially his notion that higher taxes for the rich would help), but he throws a few genuinely interesting ideas in the mix, such as that "the rich aren't generating enough economic activity" since their basic needs are the same as the average person and therefore they do not generally spend the majority of what they earn (everyone needs just one pillow is the example given). Reich includes some fascinating computer generated images too, though the film tends to rely heavily on these graphics. Likewise, the film spends too much time on Reich lecturing students at his university. All the reaction shots of his students' doting faces add nothing to his arguments, whereas more archive footage may have helped. In short, the film feels like a one-sided lecture rather than a persuasive documentary too often. The choice to end on an uplifting note comes across as odd too. As mentioned though, Reich is a charismatic enough character that the film still essentially works. The dire economic situation in America is certainly rather fascinating and even as a non-US citizen, it is interesting to see just how problematically this gigantic economic superpower actually works.

This documentary is very well conceived and shot. It explains very simply how the middle class just impoverished all of a sudden and how dangerous this is for an economy. The author also explains the impact of Reaganism, Thatcherism and, generally, the Chicago boys' theories on contemporary societies. This movie is also for all of those who think that we are just experiencing a temporary crisis. This is not a crisis and we have already understood that:the economy has been gradually shifting from a manufacturing one to a service economy with lower hourly wages, less benefits, part-time hours and more importantly even less chance to organize unions than before. Please watch it, you will not regret it at all!

This film is filled lot of emotional nonsense and naive liberal talking points, but it still has some actual facts sprinkled throughout.There are two major problems with this film: no mention of the Federal Reserve and the idea that taxes fix problems The more important of the two is the Federal Reserve (central bank which is privately owned) and the incredible role it plays in American's economy. It is the sole reason, along with nearly infinite fractional reserve banking, that allows the financiers to become as exorbitantly rich as they are.Second point is that taxes don't fix anything. All of the growth we've seen comes from the heart of the economy and the market's wishes, not government officials (who are already beholden to special interests like Reich explained) waving magic wands. More taxes don't fix anything, they just lead to more governmental waste and more lobbyists vying for that money.Although many others are present, these two alone make this documentary a joke. If you have any knowledge of economics at all, you'll realize how oblivious Reich is.

Of course Robert Reich is mostly preaching to the choir but he also informs and entertains the viewer. Reich is not isolated theory or ivory tower. He served in the administrations of Ford and Carter and was Labor Secretary under Clinton from 1993 to 1997. For me what gives Reich credence is the economic expansion of the 90's- the sustained growth, stronger middle class, low unemployment, low inflation, lower poverty rate and budget surpluses (to name a few) of which Reich was a key driver in economic policy.This is not a movie for dogmatic right-wingers who will find the facts, um, inconvenient to say the least. They can skip the movie but still write reviews just by calling Reich a bunch of names. For the rest of us, well most of us can see what's happening to the economy but Reich breaks it down in an easy entertaining manner. His story about the first time he met Bubba on a boat to England is pretty funny as well as his jokes about his height. (4'8")Director Jacob Kornbluth utilizes a cross section of the economy to make his point. Rich investor, middle class upper and lower, and those living day to day and fighting off poverty. Can be a tad dry because this is all pretty much right in front of our collective noses if we care to look. But he needs to make the examples to make the documentary work.Robert Reich yes might be diminutive in stature, but the knowledge, the energy, the passion, and the inspiration are all sky high.A very interesting man who lives and fights for his convictions. For me made the documentary worthwhile.