Watched this film last night at Fabio's request, he had heard of it and I have to say I hadn't and know why. Although the title makes it sound like it will be interesting and it is directed and written by Morgan Spurlock from Super Size Me which was a very engaging, original film, Where in the World is neither of those.
It follows Morgan as he travels to the Middle East in search of- you guessed it- Osama Bin Laden. The movie takes you through many interviews with locals in Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and more. He asks them about their feelings towards America, and of course whether they know where OBL (as he calls him) is. None of these interviews yield any substantial, insightful or noteworthy remarks. The movie simply drags on and Morgan's mock quest seems pointless even for us to watch.
The movie is overly gimmicky and my impression was that it tried much too hard to do something that had already been done before. Certain parts reminded me of Bill Maher's Religulous which I thorougly enjoyed and actually saw 3 times. Similarly, Spurlock inserts some comedic elements into his scenes, a few of which I have to admit are funny. For instance he shows a page in Osama's diary which reads: 1. Clean Cave (this one is crossed out and done), 2. Kill all Infidels etc.; and on another page "I hate America", "I am bored today". This was the only moment where I actually laughed.
The big difference is that Religulous posed real questions and was much more historical, analytical and instructive. If you're looking for a film where the director already has his answers before he sets upon his search, Fahrenheit 9/11 or Capitalism: A Love Story (which I will be reviewing soon) are much stronger candidates. Fabio said "it is like a bad Michael Moore" and that pretty much sums it up.
My rating: 3/10
Fabio's: 5/10
Total: 8/20
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