Richard Crouse

This is an extremely effective, if not rambling film that asks the question “Are we (America) a nation of gun nuts, or are we just nuts?” Director Michael Moore uses the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado as a jumping off point, then takes us on a journey that includes stops in Michigan, where it seems everyone owns a gun, a sit-in at K-Mart’s corporate headquarters and an amusing side trip to Moore’s idealized Canada. This movie is all over the place, and offers very few answers to the difficult questions it asks, but I think it was Moore’s strategy to present the facts and figures and get people thinking for themselves. Moore’s everyman appearance is put to good use in the film’s most effective scene. He talks his way into gun-nut Charlton Heston’s house for an interview, claiming to be a member of the NRA. Once inside he gradually warms Heston up before asking the hard questions about the consequences of living in a heavily armed society. Heston stiffens, ending the interview and walking away. Moore’s camera follows Heston as he shuffles down a long hall. The Grand Wizard of the NRA is revealed to for what he is, an old man, and not the Moses of the gun movement. It’s impressive footage that caps a film full of powerful images and ideas.