I Am (D+)

I feel like a heartless cynic for disliking Tom Shadyac's new documentary I Am so much. From watching the film, you can tell that he honestly wants to get his optimistic message out about how we can change the world. You can also tell that this film was designed to be his "Swan Song" from the world of cinema. Oh, I wish I could have loved this movie. Its morals are very insightful, and I'll always have a spot in my heart for Tom Shadyac's previous comedies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar Liar. Unfortunately, I Am is for the most part a manipulative, unintentionally hilarious, incredibly tedious, hypocritical trainwreck of a documentary.

I Am feels like a terrible song written to raise money for a natural disaster: While the song itself may be terrible, you admire what the band is trying to do to help the cause. I admire Tom Shadyac for having the courage to sell his mansion along with his status of being one of the Hollywood elite in order to become a better human being, but it probably deserved to be a story on Oprah, rather than the focus of a documentary.

This entire documentary can be summed up from one piece of dialogue taken from the film:

While Shadyac is having his mind read by an electrolyte filled clump of yogurt (don't ask), he turns over to the scientist who designed this bizarre experiment and asks "Do you know why this is happening"? The scientist then shrugs and replies "Not exactly."

Well put Mr. Scientist, well put.

Grade: D+