Those of us that became fans of Michael Moore’s irreverent humor and political tendencies a long time ago (since 1989’s "Roger & Me" in the case of yours truly) went to see "Bowling for Columbine" sight unseen when it was theatrically released late last year. We didn’t need the hype about the film winning a Special Award at the Cannes Film Festival or the pull quotes from reputable reviewers to know that Moore’s guerrilla-style filmmaking and his quest to understand why America is obsessed with guns and violence were a volatile-enough mix to guarantee cathartic laughs. Not ‘HA HA’ laughs, mind you, but the type of laughs mixed with anger, emotion and pathos that we have seldom seen since the tragedy of September 11th, 2001 put a choke hold in our ability to criticize and/or laugh at ourselves. Not only did "Bowling for Columbine" restore my faith in the independent filmmaking scene. It also proved that, deep inside its often-impenetrable labyrinth of motivations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can actually choose the right photoplay when bestowing a Best Documentary Oscar.

I personally think that "Roger & Me" is a better and more focused documentary than "Bowling for Columbine." Michael Moore’s lack of experience being the know-it-all asshole that he’s become as of late, combined with the simplicity of Moore’s quest for a face-to-face with General Motors Chairman Roger Smith, make for a delightful, funny and sad time capsule of the America that George Bush Sr. inherited from Ronald Reagan in the late 1980’s. "Bowling for Columbine," on the other hand, goes all over the map in a never-ending quest by Moore to seek an answer to America’s obsession with guns and the high mortality rate that comes with it. The obvious answers (a Constitutional Amendment to the 2nd Amendment, more gun control, etc.) are skimped over for a series of skits (including an animated segment featuring a "South Park"-caliber take on the American family’s fear of liberated African American slaves), confrontational situations (a trip to K-Mart by school shooting survivors to return the bullets sold by the store chain) and parallel juxtapositions. While there are serious moments in which the hilarious hijinks take a backseat to drama (most memorably security cam footage of the Columbine High shooters and students) there isn’t a moment in "Bowling for Columbine" that’s as powerful as the eviction of the poor Flint family on Christmas eve intercut with Roger Smith’s Christmas salute in the next-to-last chapter of "Roger & Me."

Like "Roger & Me," "The Awful Truth" and "TV Nation" before it though, "Bowling for Columbine" takes no prisoners and isn’t afraid to take stands on politically charged issues. Satire is Michael Moore’s weapon, and he wields it here more effectively than in any of his previous documentaries/TV shows. The photoplay has been accused by its critics of playing fast and loose with the timelines of the events it depicts in order to make it seem like events are happening around the same time other incidents (most notably the massacre of Columbine High from which the documentary gets its name). While I will admit to being troubled by the manipulative way Chuck Heston (then National Rifle Association president) is made to appear defiant at an NRA convention in the wake of the Columbine massacre, all my compassion for the man disappeared the moment he let it slip that he might hold racially prejudicial views about minorities living in America. I will also admit to not being happy with Michael Moore leaving a picture of a murdered little girl in Heston’s back porch after the latter runs (walks?) away from Moore after realizing he’s worked himself into a corner. Most of "Bowling for Columbine" is above this Oprah-type displays of sentimentality, and are also beneath a man (Moore) with the balls to show a hijacked airplane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers to make a point about the current Republican administration.

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