The Age of Commercialism

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Reversal of Fortune (2005) **** (out of 4) This here's a pretty amazing documentary that I'd probably put on my ten best of the decade so far. The film tells the story of a man named Ted who has been homeless for the past twenty-five years. His family pretty much wants nothing from him, his only friend is an 18-year-old who works at a recycling plant where Ted earns some small cash and he's got a bad drinking problem. The documentary then takes Ted's life into a new direction when the producer's give him $100,000 and then we see what the man decides to do with the money. The idea of giving a homeless man $100,000 is a great little gimmick and it leads to some truly beautiful, funny and heartbreaking scenes as we see Ted for the next six months of his life. I've always said the most beautiful scene in film history was the blind hermit/monster scene from The Bride of Frankenstein but there are a few moments in this film that really challenge that. The reaction of Ted when he learns about the money is priceless as is the scene where he helps out his only friend by buying him his first car. Of course, the story isn't all happy and hopefully we'll get a bigger follow up at some point.

Fascinating to watch, cringe worthy at times, deeply hurtful at others. Makes me wonder, as I'm sure many of you do as well, what finally became of Ted? I was sorry to see that things didn't work out as well as one would hope. Personally, I felt the substance abuse problems, for Ted, made proper decision making impossible, when it came to the the $$$$ and the responsibility of it!I felt that, while the the film makers did make clear that Ted had a problem with alcohol and pot, they only used it to sensationalize the tale. Putrid, if you as me. But hey, they went lower and I do mean scrapping the bottom low, by including footage where Ted told private details of this mothers life and at one point called her a "bar whore." Now, if this were serialized, then yes, I can see how that would be included in the same series as the part where they go and ultimately do the bulk of their filming in and around the home of Ted's mother.They befriended her, his family, sisters, etc. Then, turned around and used that footage which was shot while Ted was still estranged from his them. How could they do that? There were certainly other ways for the point to be made about Ted's moms struggles with alcohol!!! This stuff was all edited together for one feature documentary so those scenes and voice clips could have just as easily hit the cutting room floor. Maybe the creator's, producers, the whoever's involved in this, were disappointed that Ted's family was very nice to him and didn't start to immediately hit him up for cash and while they tried to give him sensible advice, there were no outrageous blow-ups when squandered the money on expensive cars (he bought 3 total and gave 2 away), drinking, wining and dining women.So maybe that's it ... they were expecting the Jerry Springer show and got a nice middle-class family instead! Maybe they're hoping after the family sees the documentary and hears these hateful comments, the family will call up and offer to give them a show "Jerry Springer" style! Naw, that won't happen, but what is certain, is that there is an entire family out there hurt because they participated in this! I wish the family the best and hope the the person who decided to include that footage is now sleeping under a bridge in LA and his Mama is not accepting his collect phone calls! Yes, Ted blew the money, lack of personal responsibility, but he's not the only one lacking in this crowd!

This documentary posed a lot of questions about the situation of the homeless. This might sound strange but the documentary showed how the money didn't matter. The 100,000 did not help this man. He had addiction problems with alcohol and cigarettes. And major problems with authority or any type of organization. He changed when he finally realized he had $100,000. But it was not a change for the better. The problems he carried only became greater than ever with the money.I thought it was helpful the man was given the opportunity to meet with professionals in regards to his money. They gave him great advice but he did not want it. He felt like everyone was telling him what to do. Pushing more experts at him would not have helped. If he didn't want to listen, he wasn't going to. He would not even listen to his own family! This isn't a bad documentary. He comes across the money like a chance encounter. This isn't too far from experiencing good luck. However, it is staged. That's where ethics come into play.As far as ethics, I am on the fence. It was a riveting documentary, an experiment, and train wreck in progress. It appealed to our curiosity. On the other hand, the filmmakers were sneaky with their approach. You can see how he thinks its just a documentary on his life, then everything changes when he receives the money, and from there--its all downhill. I don't know if its ethical because reality TV does the same thing. We watch shows that exploit peoples' abilities (American Idol), lifestyles (The Real World), and emotions (Survivor). They exploit people, it's cheaper than paying writers and building set, and we depend on contestants to fill in story lines. We watch people sign up to put themselves out there for all to see. They may sign bad contracts, get their 15 minutes of stardom, and when its over, we move on to the next season. Only if they are lucky and smart, do they survive and land roles on other shows---none of which are bigger than the show they went on first.Overall, I find this documentary interesting. I think you can get a lot out of it. I would like to know if the man returned to his old lifestyle. I think it was a gutsy film and I liked it.

this was a really good documentary. this was reality TV. I hate how Ted went through that 6 months, wasting that money. To me it was a blessing and he should of done something more constructive. At the end I wish I could know what happened to Ted. I hope he is well I suspect probably back to being homeless again. I felt for him because the way his mother and sisters wanted nothing to do with him at first. Then when he got the money, and he got in touched with them and he told them about the money they wanted him to be a part of his life again. Its sad that people would use others like that. I am sure for the most part his sisters just wanted to help him out somehow. At least I'd like to think that. It was painful after a bit to see how he'd spend through so much cash in a week, all that drinking, smoking, trying to get laid. Shoot if he wanted to get laid so bad he could of gotten himself a prostitute for lot less than what he spent on the two girlfriends. It was great what he did for that kid Michael. I wish I could know how Michael is now that he has that car. 68 minutes for this documentary is too short. This film project is something that should be a regular thing, like a series. this show was way better than most of the fluff on TV. It showed real people in real life. And I still wish I knew what happened to Ted. Oh well, I guess I can just hope.