Review: Boasting a cast that would make any filmmaker jealous and a topic that can inflame or entertain nearly anyone, in theory there’s potentially a lot this documentary could have accomplished. Unfortunately, it seems to have no direction or purpose outside of shocking the viewers at times into agreeing that the use of the "f word" isn’t all that bad, regardless of how it makes some of the film’s subjects (or viewers) feel. On the plus side, the film has plenty of great interviews and many of the subjects make valid points as opposed to being grouped in a embarrassing cluster of famous people.  The interviews are nice snippets of opinions but the problem is there’s nothing stringing it all together.  The cheerful music, random animated sequences, and movie clips try to make it seem like there’s something bigger going but there isn’t. A few main points are brought up briefly by interview subjects who suggest it is important to be able to express one’s self personally and also to fight for one’s First Amendment right of freedom of speech, but the points are so muddled in not so quirky sequences that the argument is almost lost entirely. The film’s tirade against the FCC, the Parent’s Television Council, and its prominent use of Alan Keyes (who before the film’s release had recently very publically lost a Senate campaign Illinois, a state in which he did not even live) almost suggested a air of immaturity on the part of the filmmakers.  Their artistic decisions in these cases didn’t quite match up to the courageous statements of those who say the “f word” is central in the debate over free speech. My biggest problem with this documentary was how the creative team was trying to steer not just their film, but also in some cases, the words of their interviewees. I'm a firm believer in the idea that if someone has an outrageous enough viewpoint, sooner or later, they will say something that sounds stupid without even being prompted.  Thanks to this view, I take particular offense when directors use gimmicky tactics to make certain interviewees look silly or less sophisticated as their counterparts who agree with the director's thesis.  These techniques, which include poorly crosscutting interviews that promote different views, created problems for me throughout the film. In conclusion, the film had a few notable moments, but overall its attempts to make the viewer believe something are so sloppy that I will sooner watch a 180 minute documentary made by a second grader about why fish stick day in the cafeteria is awful before I willingly watch this again.  Sorry, I would have led with that, but I wanted you to make up your own opinion about any bias in this review before you were (possibly) shocked by any blunt thoughts of the film. Review by Ryan Pollyea Informative: 2.5- The movie makes no well-conceived or really intuitive original point on its own Entertainment: 2- Many of the interviews were enjoyable but overall the movie clouded their message Technical: 1.5- The doc’s biggest technical achievement was making some people look stupid and they didn’t even do it that well Overall: 2- Sections about Lenny Bruce and George Carlin helped keep it out of the gutter, but the rest of the film lacked a lot of substance
 
Format: DVD Year: 2005 Running Time: 93 minutes Distributor: THINKFilm Producer: Steve Anderson Director: Steve Anderson Date Reviewed: 7/20/09 Story: “Steve Anderson explores the F word in this provocative documentary, which delves into the expletive’s history, taboo and power, and includes interviews with everyone from Pat Boone to Ice-T. Scholars trace the word's origin and evolution, and news commentators, politicians, comedians and others weigh in on issues such as free speech. Along with Bill Plympton’s animations, the film features Kevin Smith, Sam Donaldson, Lenny Bruce and many others.” (Netflix)