How Are Critics Liking the Hot New Sarah Palin Documentary?
The documentary about herself that Sarah Palin secretly commissioned, The Undefeated — a.k.a. Triumph of the Grift — will debut in Iowa at some point later this month. And some lucky film connoisseurs, mostly all for conservative publications, have already viewed advance copies! So does it give Errol Morris a run for his money, or is it undiluted shite? Critics are torn.
Writing in the Daily Caller, Jedediah Bila, a "conservative columnist, television commentator and author of the new book Outnumbered: Chronicles of a Manhattan Conservative," struggles to find words in the English language that appropriately convey how brilliant this exercise in filmmaking is:
[Director Stephen K.] Bannon has done more than simply document the policies and vision of Sarah Palin. He has highlighted a woman who has consistently and reliably stood for something from her first days as a city council member, a woman who took on everything from establishment candidates to oil companies to unethical behavior in the GOP. Sure, she talks bipartisanship, transparency, and fiscal responsibility, but unlike so many others, her policies have reflected those concepts from the start.
"The Undefeated" is a compelling, thought-provoking journey through the accomplishments of a competent, ambitious, principled woman who entered the political arena for the right reasons and has consistently cut through the nonsense to get things done. Perhaps most importantly, it is the story of a woman who has never been afraid to ruffle establishment feathers in order to do what's right for her city, her state, or her country.
Conservative blogger Ed Morrissey of Hot Air, however, has a fundamental problem with the film: The soundtrack is kinda loud, and "the music itself is simply unpleasant," distracting viewers from the awesome and factual representation of Sarah Palin:
Unfortunately, much about the film distracts from Bannon's argument. It's a terribly flawed film, especially in its sound editing. The soundtrack music frequently battles the narration and interviews, much too loud throughout almost all of the film. Most of the music itself is simply unpleasant, a cacophonous blend of bad orchestration in some areas, annoying techno in others, and operatic arias mixing with military music towards the end. It's almost impossible to get focused on the substance when the music repeatedly intrudes on interviews and narration to the point where the viewer has to consciously try to ignore it. At some points, the person talking in the film can't be heard.
Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, another supposed conservative sanctuary for Sarah Palin, also received a screener. Did critic Kyle Smith give it the rave review that Palinland was expecting? Ha, no:
This would-be "Fairbanks 9/11" certainly blazes with passion - hosannas of awe for Palin, brimstone of scorn for her detractors (especially Matt Damon, standup comics and anonymous commenters who say mean things on blogs).
But its tone is an excruciating combination of bombast and whining, it's so outlandishly partisan that it makes Richard Nixon look like Abraham Lincoln and its febrile rush of images - not excluding earthquakes, car wrecks, volcanic eruption and attacking Rottweilers - reminded me of the brainwash movie Alex is forced to sit through in "A Clockwork Orange." Except no one came along to refresh my pupils with eyedrops.
I'd sooner have watched a Michael Moore movie.
Any Michael Moore movie.
Even "Canadian Bacon."
We should expect to see Kyle Smith included in the final cut, playing the arch villain who drinks baby blood.
[Image via AP]