Film: Stupidity opens tonight

Stupidity opens tonight at the Roxie, plays all week.

SF Chronicle Review calls Stupidity "hilarious, stylish and perfectly timed"


Review below:


Stupidity’


Documentary. Directed by Albert Nerenberg. (Not rated. 70 minutes. At the Roxie.)
Perfect timing: A funny documentary about dumb behavior that features a theory about President Bush. "Stupidity" isn't just about politics (it covers everything from entertainment to education), but the film is especially relevant in this campaign year when Bush's decision-making acumen is under intense scrutiny.

Bush, "Stupidity" suggests, is not as cranially challenged as his opponents like to think. This movie posits the idea (also posited by many academics) that society prefers people who hide their acumen. In this way, Bush is no different from Adam Sandler, who plays dumb in the movies despite his apparent real-life intelligence, or Marilyn Monroe, who also pretended to be a ditz for the sake of her career. Dumb, "Stupidity" argues, sells in the marketplace -- whether it's movies or presidential politics.

It's a depressing thought, really, but filmmaker Albert Nerenberg makes it easier to take with a movie that's clever, hilarious and -- in its own stylish way -- ironic. "Stupidity" is also balanced, even though it's pretty obvious that Nerenberg (who's a former newspaper reporter) has liberal views. For example, he interviews David Frum, the former Bush speechwriter who originated the term "axis of evil," and lets Frum defend his former boss' reputation. "He had a kind of depth of language," Frum says. But Nerenberg also interviews Michael Moore (who savages Bush, saying he was elected by "ignorant people" who could identify with him), Noam Chomsky (who ridicules the American education system) and others with differing opinions.

Nerenberg appears throughout the film in a kind of master-of-ceremonies role. We see him asking questions of people in the street, appearing on the Fox TV channel as a guest, poking fun of his own film (as he tries buying film clips that show people barfing), and wearing a dunce cap and false teeth that make him look like the saddest of sad sacks. "Stupidity" is never mean, which is to its credit. It straddles the line between being a serious documentary and an all-out spoof. There are parts that some people will find offensive (including scenes of defecation and barfing), but it all works in the context of its subject matter.

Fans of Michael Moore's films will love "Stupidity," a small movie (reportedly made for little money) about an important but little-discussed subject -- why there's so much stupidity in our culture. Like Moore, Nerenberg points to the media's role in our dumbed-down culture. And like Moore, Nerenberg pokes fun at the very people he interviews. A Canadian, Nerenberg isn't very well known in the United States, but "Stupidity" should establish him as someone to watch for years to come.

-- Advisory: This film feature scenes of vomiting, defecation, hitting and other violence.

-- Jonathan Curiel