By Kendra Hibbert
October 31, 2003
Though this column appears on Halloween day, the scariest day of the year and by all rights the day I should most likely be reviewing new books in the horror genre like Stephen King’s WOLVES OF CALLA or BLOOD CANTICLE by Anne Rice, due to very poor planning on my part I choose to instead review books in the genre of political satire, the type of book that is as far removed from horror as you can get. So instead of completely ignoring my mistake and pretending that it’s perfectly natural to focus on political satire on Halloween instead of ghouls and ghosts I will instead attempt to forcefully inject the horror into my reviews of Michael Moore’s DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY and Al Franken’s LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM a la Joe Flaherty’s Count Floyd character from SCTV. To help everyone out I’ve bolded the scary words to make sure no one misses anything.
On the blood red-colored back of Michael Moore’s new book there’s a review of the author (note not the book) by Frank Rich of The New York Times saying ‘[He] is more funny than angry, more everyman than showbiz”. A year ago I would have agreed with him. But what becomes
frighteningly clear from the very first chapter of this book is that since the publication and popularity of STUPID WHITE MEN and his Oscarwinning BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE the Michael Moore we all know and love from ROGER AND ME has gone through a grisly transformation. He’s like the “Nutty Professor” who got tired of the lovable public persona he created and is using his newfound popularity as a potion to turn into the Buddy Love of political satire.
Granted, in the two years which have passed since he wrote STUPID WHITE MEN there’s been a lot of activity in Moore’s favourite topics of conversation – American politics, economy, violence and war. But since there’s been a lot of discussion about these things in the media with books like Molly Ivins BUSHWACKED and Jim Hightower’s THEIVES IN HIGH PLACES creating a stir in the publishing world over the last year it seems like Moore thinks he has to work overtime to get his voice heard over the cacophony (a word not necessarily scary in its meaning but it’s multi-syllabic nature). Unfortunately this means he’s not focusing on saying anything new or funny, only saying it louder than everyone else. Like BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY mentions the irrational fear that has been (as he puts it) holding the American public hostage. The irony is that by writing such an angry book Moore himself mongers the same fear he’s accusing the fear mongerers of mongering(perhaps the scariest sentence I’ve ever written in this column).
I like Michael Moore. I’ve liked him since ROGER AND ME all through his TV NATION days, his various books like DOWNSIZE THIS and even his less popular films like THE BIG ONE or even CANADIAN BACON (which stars other SCTV alumni John Candy – two SCTV references in the same column…ohh scary). But I like him because despite dealing with depressing topics like the ruin of his hometown or teenage violence he’s always managed to keep his humor. In DUDE, WHERE’S MY COUNTRY however, he’s dropped the funnyman act and has chosen instead to appear like the raving lunatic on the street corner madly ranting about the end of the world. This kind of ranting doesn’t get more people to listen to him, just makes it easier to tune him out. His constant rage gets rather tiresome after a few chapters making this his most boring book yet. That, perhaps is the scariest thing about it.
Al Franken’s LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM deals with similar issues to Moore’s new book (and also has a cover colored red – the color of blood…chilling) but unlike Moore, Franken is first and foremost a comedian.
That’s what he gets paid for. That’s what his fans want to read when they pick up his book. The decades of working at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (even through the frighteningly unfunny years) and as a political satirist has made him an expert at telling jokes. What’s present in this book that’s so mysteriously missing from Moore’s is the focus on being entertaining while still getting the same point across. In fact the most entertaining moments in this book are when Franken tells his anecdotes about the encounters he has with the right wing media (a scary group of individuals). This is an effective way of illustrating a point of view, and a method Moore used very successfully in his previous books, including my favourite ADVENTURES IN A TV NATION.
Franken continues his tradition made famous in his last book RUSH LIMBAUGH IS A BIG FAT IDIOT of being blatantly obvious about the people he doesn’t like. That’s why he gives his chapters titles like “You Know Who I Don’t Like? Ann Coulter”. Obviously if you’re a fan of Ann Coulter such chapter headings should be a huge indication that perhaps this book isn’t for you. In fact if your political dangly parts hang a little to the right I suggest you stay away from these two books altogether. If however you consider yourself a lefty, do yourself a favour and pick up Franken’s book and stray away from Moore’s current literary offspring. Compared to DUDE WHERE’S MY COUNTRY, LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM is more funny, more entertaining, more cohesive and a little less frightening.
Next Column: ROBOTA by Orson Scott Card with illustrations by Doug Chiang. Be here in two weeks to see why this just may be the coolest book to come out in the last 10 years.
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