Morgan Spurlock (director) Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Sarah’s Backstage Pass Presents: The “Greatest Movie” Review

“Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” is the brainchild of documentary filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock. He made a name for himself among moviegoers with the documentary, “Super Size Me” (2004), which earned him an Academy Award nomination. In his new documentary, Spurlock once again taps into his humorous side as he explores product placement and sponsorships in the film industry. It will come as no surprise that Pom Wonderful signed on as the largest sponsor of his documentary, thus, earning them their spot in the title.

The commercial laden film is just as saturated with humor as it is with information, making it much easier to watch than many documentaries. The product placements are so shameless and cheeky, that you laugh at them, rather than become annoyed by them. You even get to witness Spurlock explain the merits of a pair of Merrell shoes to consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

After screening the film, followed by a question and answer session with Spurlock, I learned that the idea came to him after seeing an extremely blatant ‘commercial’ within one of his favorite TV programs. While discussing it with Jerry Chilnick, producing partner and co-writer, they began to wonder whether a small film or documentary could become a blockbuster, if a similar type of marketing was used. They penned the term ‘doc-buster’ (a documentary blockbuster) and went to work. Two years later, the result is “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.”

The following morning, when I interviewed Spurlock, he said between 500 and 600 companies were called and asked to be a sponsor for the documentary. Of those, 15 agreed. After viewing the film at Sundance Film Festival, 8 more signed on, including Old Navy − they will soon be selling “The Greatest T-shirt Ever Worn”.

Two questions beg to be asked. First, “Did Spurlock call McDonald’s?” He assured the audience at the Q&A that he did, but they declined the offer. Second, “Is it a series of commercials within a documentary, or a documentary within a series of commercials?” This is a difficult question to answer, but one thing is certain − whatever it is, it is entertaining. While opening our eyes to a prominent business aspect of filmmaking, it is also chock-full of humor. The film features a diverse ‘cast’ of people who weigh in on the subject, including producer JJ Abrams, director Quentin Tarantino, public relations expert Michael Levine and OK Go band members Damian Kulash and Tim Norwind. (OK Go wrote the very catchy, “The Greatest Song I Ever Heard” for the movie.)

Although the movie is full of one product placement after the other, none of the sponsors were allowed to see the film prior to its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. This assured Spurlock that he would not sacrifice creative control, and it helps us to believe him when he says that he is ‘buying in’ and not selling out. It is hard to imagine why these companies agreed to this, having no idea how they would be represented in the film.

Somehow, this strange idea of a documentary works. Though the sponsorships and product placements are extremely obvious, it is done in such an entertaining and humorous way that it is forgivable. After seeing the movie, you will want to support the sponsors and their products for being such good sports, but you will also want to resist this urge, knowing that you are falling into their trap.

“Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” may be the greatest eye-opener audiences have ever viewed, regarding the truth behind the purse strings of blockbusters.

Tyna S. Cline © April 19, 2011