The Emperor’s New Clothes

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, The Emperor’s New Clothes follows Russell Brand as he explores the tremendous disparity between the fabled 1% and everyone else – with the movie detailing the comedian’s efforts at explaining just how this came to be and the possible solutions for making the financial landscape a little more fair. Filmmaker Winterbottom has crafted an informative yet persistently erratic documentary that benefits from an ongoing emphasis on personal stories (ie the folks that have been adversely affected by the economic issues being covered), as the movie, which runs a decidedly overlong 101 minutes, contains far too many sequences explaining how things have come to be this way – with such interludes, though kind of interesting, boasting all the flair and style of a garden-variety nightly news piece. It is, as such, not surprising to note that The Emperor’s New Clothes is able to hold one’s interest on a decidedly sporadic basis, with the movie at its best when focused on the aforementioned personal stories and Brand’s entertaining back-and-forth banter with his subjects. Brand’s affable demeanor certainly plays a key role in cementing the picture’s extremely mild success, although there’s little doubt that the choice to have the actor confront certain people, Michael Moore style, just doesn’t work at all (especially given that he’s accosting gatekeeper-type folks that are presumably earning very little money). The end result is a hit-and-miss documentary that stands as a decent primer on contemporary financial issues, with the movie’s finale, in which Brand offers a whole host of quick (and not-so-quick) fixes, ensuring that The Emperor’s New Clothes ends on a positive, empowering note.

**1/2 out of ****