The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Perhaps ever since Reese's Pieces were so prominently featured in E.T., the idea of product placement in movies has seemed out of hand, unintentionally funny, corporately evil and just good business sense.  All at the same time.  We, the consumers, are always being sold to, and it's always been that way, perhaps the pop ups on our internet browers and favorite television shows just come across more desperate than in the relatively more tasteful pasts when cigarette companies sponsored television game shows.  Morgan Spurlock, the puckish, gimmicky-driven documentary filmmaker decided to make the first film entirely funded, sponsored by corporations.  The winking full title is POM Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.  And just like his past gimmicks, the McDonalds diet from hell he put himself through in Super Size Me, Where in the World is Osama bin Laden, and his television reality show 30 Days, it's not a bad gimmick.  This one just happens to be flimsiest-- the world of advertising is a welcome target (why else would Mad Men be so popular), and in truth, most studio films would never have quite the glossy sheen without the ever present sports cars, or preferred soda brand.  And to be fair, there's some giddy little pleasures in store as Spurlock quests to shill for every company, big and small, in order to make his little gimmick work.  Unfortunately, it lacks the emotional subtext of something like Super Size Me, which again took aim an easy target, but used it as a platform for a more thoughtful discussion of a large American problem, and while detailing the rapid deterioration of his Everyman body, Spurlock was able to entertain, but also repulse, like a gentler Michael Moore.  Here, there's barely a blip of any sort of commentary or discussion, just lots of round-table discussions with (justly) suspicious ad men, and likely contractually obligated name-dropping.  Spurlock is clearly having a ball, and there's some nice invention with his gamemanship and sales aesthetic, but there's very little actual material here.  There's a sampling of interesting topics, like advertising in schools, and a brief trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil, a city where advertising is outlawed, but both are almost arbitrarily mentioned and quickly forgotten.  He gets some smart people to join him on his fun, notably Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader, but again, it feels both parties are just trying to sell something.  C+