Michael Moore Hates Capitalism, the Concept not the Movie

Michael Moore's new movie, Capitalism: A Love Story, got its premiere today at the Venice Film Festival. A roundup of early reaction:

Says Reuters:

"Capitalism is an evil, and you cannot regulate evil," the two-hour movie concludes.

"You have to eliminate it and replace it with something that is good for all people, and that something is democracy."

The bad guys in Moore's mind are big banks and hedge funds which "gambled" investors' money in complex derivatives that few, if any, really understood and which belonged in the casino.

Meanwhile, large companies have been prepared to lay off thousands of staff despite boasting record profits.

Here's Bloomberg:

Moore spoke at a Venice news conference hours before his movie screened.

“There’s culpability amongst all groups,” he said, “whether it’s the U.S., corporations, government, and the American people buying into a rigged system.”

“I hope that people will start to wake up a bit and see that they are participating in something that’s causing them a lot of harm,” added Moore, wearing a buttoned red polo shirt.

So Moore hates American business. We get that. But how's the movie itself? Variety has this review:

By returning to his roots, professional gadfly Michael Moore turns in one of his best films with Capitalism: A Love Story. Pic’s target is less capitalism qua capitalism than the banking industry, which Moore skewers ruthlessly, explaining last year’s economic meltdown in terms a sixth-grader could understand. That said, there’s still plenty here to annoy right-wingers, as well as those who, however much they agree with Moore’s politics, just can’t stomach his oversimplification, on-the-nose sentimentality, and goofball japery. Whether Capitalism matches Fahrenheit 9/11 or underperforms like Sicko will depend on how much workers of the world are ready to unite behind the message.

Find out for yourself, if you care to, when Capitalism: A Love Story opens in limited release September 23 and expands nationally October 2.