The Greatest Movie Ever Sold 2011

Stephen Holden, New York Times: What would "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" be with a different narrator-guide? It is hard to imagine. Mr. Spurlock has the gift of gab along with an undeniable star quality. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: Spurlock's folksy affability creates the sensation that he's truly going on a journey, that he doesn't necessarily know all the answers to the questions he's posing, and he'd like nothing more for us than to go along for the ride. Read more

Eric Hynes, Time Out: Rather than an argument or expose, the movie is a condescendingly narrated demonstration of how money makes the movie world go round. (Stop the presses.) Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's surprising that The Greatest Movie Ever Sold plays so entertainingly, given that Spurlock's quest is essentially beside the point. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: An exuberant documentary that demonstrates the all-pervasive influence of modern advertising by satiric example, and with great ingenuity... Read more

John Hartl, Seattle Times: Forget about "greatest." But this could be the most self-referential movie ever: literally a 90-minute narrative about its own creation. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Spurlock isn't out to change the advertising world -- he's just poking around a discussion topic. The results are scattershot but entertaining, and occasionally eye-opening. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" is ultimately more entertaining than enlightening, but there's nothing wrong with that. Read more

Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe: Much like reality TV, nothing much of consequence happens. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Reader: Funny, informative, and at times outrageously cheeky. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Spurlock's film is mainly out to entertain, and it does. But leaving "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" I wasn't sure what Spurlock really thought about any of this beyond: Get this. Isn't this wild? Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The nonstop onslaught of product placements in our lives is, alas, a given. The only novelty here is that Spurlock has hauled the corporate marketeers into an indie movie arena supposedly too pure for such temptations. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Morgan Spurlock has sold his soul to help save yours. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Always the smooth showman, Spurlock avoids answering his own question: Is he selling out or buying in? Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: Don't tell Spurlock he can't have his cake and eat it too. In Greatest Movie, he gleefully accepts his sponsorships on camera just to show you how wrong this all is. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: With "The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" Spurlock creates a good time along with some surprisingly salient observations as he tries to keep his balance on this very slippery slope. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Leaves you wishing there had been more journalistic exploration of the subject and less self-promotion. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Engaging as Spurlock can be, too much of the movie is just scene after scene of him meeting with high-priced consultants to talk about "brand identity" and other euphemisms for shallow sloganeering. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Only the extremely naive will be shocked, shocked by director Morgan Spurlock's dissection of product placement in movies. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Like "Super Size Me," the new "documentary" is heavy on Spurlock-centric humor and very light on actual information. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: [Uncovers] the marketing machinations that drive Hollywood and the advertising industry, and impact all of us, whether we like it or not. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: There's nothing surprising in what Spurlock uncovers, but it illustrates that everything we knew - or at least suspected - about the marriage between advertising and cinema is accurate. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: I can't exactly recommend the film, but I do recommend drinking POM Wonderful. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Spurlock says he's not selling out, he's buying in. I'm buying into Spurlock. As ever, he makes you laugh till it hurts. Read more

Matt Zoller Seitz, Salon.com: "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" is the movie Morgan Spurlock was put on earth to make. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: [Spurlock's] affable, regular-guy shtick works well here, and he scatters the movie with such gleeful ads for his sponsors' products that, if his documentary work ever dries up, his next career choice is obvious. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Pom Wonderful Presents the Greatest Movie Ever Sold" sounds like an ingenious ploy, using the sponsors' own rope to hang them. Alas, the film never gets its lasso knotted. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Spurlock, the affable activist behind "Super Size Me," aims a not particularly harsh spotlight on product placement in his new documentary. Read more

Guy Dixon, Globe and Mail: The problem is that the film, despite an attempt to examine the intellectual pollution of pervasive marketing, can't help coming off as one big smirk. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: A robust and amusing reminder of how Hollywood's tills are topped up by third-party brands and what they get - and we lose - in return. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Few could pull off this fan dance as well as Spurlock, who manages to be both the laughing and crying clowns at the same time. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Spurlock's clever, good-natured style clinches the deal. It's hard to imagine anyone else wooing sponsors to finance a savaging of their practices. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: As agreeable as it is insidious, Morgan Spurlock's latest expose of corporate control via immersive humiliation is his best, most formally inventive project yet. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Like the best ad man, he makes his point by making us laugh. Read more