Fahrenheit 9/11

Michael Moore's controversial anti-Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, opens tomorrow in 868 theaters in all 50 states. Using controversy and the resulting TV and print interviews to spur a wave of cheap publicity (just as The Passion of The Christ, Supersize Me, and The Day After Tomorrow before it), Michael Moore and Fahrenheit 9/11 are set to break a number of major records this weekend.

It will be the widest release ever for a documentary, at 868 theaters. It is a shoe-in for largest weekend opening ever for a documentary, ahead of Tupac: Resurrection's $4.6 million. It is also set to score with the biggest single-day record for a documentary. And, it will certainly end with the largest gross ever for a documentary, ahead of Moore's own Bowling for Columbine.

Another possibility is that it will be the highest-grossing opener of the weekend, which would be another first for a documentary. It will have to work hard to get there, though. The detestable White Chicks opens in 3 times as many theaters as Fahrenheit 9/11, and has wider appeal simply for not being a documentary. However, if any film is set to flop, it's White Chicks. Only 19% of critics at Rottentomatoes.com gave it a 'fresh' rating, while Fahrenheit 9/11 has a 79% fresh rating. Unmovable Bush advocates will likely avoid Fahrenheit like an abortion clinic, but many who wouldn't normally see a documentary will be drawn by curiosity spawned from the very effective TV ads and controversy publicity.

Believe it or not, this is only the second film I will have gone to the theaters to see this year (friends dragging me to Along Came Polly doesn't count), after March 19's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (living on a budget, folks). And just as I did with Sunshine, I'm waking up 'early' tomorrow to drive 15 miles to an 11:50 AM showing of Fahrenheit. Why am I so excited?

Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine is the most engrossing documentary I have ever seen. Whatever you feel about him personally, the man 'makes a good flick.' And while I'm fully aware I'll be lied to several times during the movie, I have no doubt I will be entertained, intrigued, and in many cases, enlightened. Fahrenheit 9/11 will end up being one of the most important movies of the year, and by far the most successful documentary of all time.

I encourage everyone reading this (perhaps as many as THREE people!!!!) to see Fahrenheit 9/11, but be sure to bring a saltshaker.