MTV.com: 'Fahrenheit 9/11': Overheated, Overstated ... And Great

MTV.com - Movies - News - Articles - 1488658 - 06242004: "In 'Fahrenheit 9/11', there are no millionaires throwing pies at homeless people. Crackers the Corporate-Crime-Fighting Chicken is nowhere to be found. In fact, the gleefully absurd send-ups in Michael Moore's earlier work - 'TV Nation,' 'The Big One' - are kept to a minimum in his new movie. There is a lot in 'Fahrenheit 9/11' that can even be called restrained, like Moore's decision to replay the attacks of September 11 using only sound. So, apart from an errant attempt to draft Congressional offspring and a public reading of the Patriot Act, if you're looking for Michael Moore's same old shtick, expect to be disappointed.

What you will get from 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is Moore's take on the ascendancy of the Bush White House and its march to war in Iraq. It is funny, sad, outrageous and great. Despite depressingly recent conventional wisdom, the Cannes Film Festival does not hand out its top prize, the Palme d'Or, simply because France hates America. They still recognize good craftsmanship, and Moore is a wizard at taking stock footage and teaching it how to act. But his true talent is as an editor: What he presents and what he omits in his telling of the last four years will make this movie the most contentious bit of pop culture this year.

This week, news came that "Fahrenheit 9/11" would indeed be slapped with an R-rating, making it a decidedly non-family movie and tough to get into if you're under 17. But go see it if you can — then decide for yourself what all the fuss is about."

by Gideon Yago
MTV