America Unchained

I wish they had cut all the scenes where Dave Gorman is on camera or talking, and made it about the people he met instead. They seem much more interesting.

Comedian Dave Gorman was recently in America on a tour of his stand-up show and on this trip was struck by the homogeneity of the places he slept and ate. Feeling that he had not seen anything that was in the real spirit of America, he returns to California with a mission – to drive from the west coast to the east coast without giving any money to The Man™. Avoiding the chain motels and restaurants, Dave and his director set out on their journey in a car purchased second hand from "a man", not The Man™ but the biggest challenge is to make it from one independent gas station to another without running out of petrol.

Dave Gorman is nothing if not creative in his projects. Some of them work and some of them don't but it is hard to accuse him of not being original. This film grabbed my attention and some headlines with its idea because what it appeared to be was a Supersize Me type documentary looking at the way the independents in business are being squeezed out by the chains – the journey being the "nothing but McDonalds" gimmick that offers the wider look. Unfortunately the film doesn't totally succeed in making the most of the gimmick to actually look at the subject. Ironically the strength and weaknesses in the film both seem to be related to the journey, or more specifically, the car.

The car breaking down does, as Gorman notes, brings the film into contact with warm, helpful characters at independent garages and it is here that we see the pleasure of dealing with individuals who are flexible and, more importantly, "care" because they are the business rather than just working for the business. It is all a bit idealised but certainly the family diner closing is touching while the weirdly individual rooms in one motel are cool. In terms of balance it would have been nice to have had the downside of independents at least mentioned but instead it keeps this very Norman Rockwell view of it without any discussion.

The car also hurts the film because the vast majority of the running time is spent looking for petrol and in this regard the gimmick takes over from the subject. So instead of learning about the rise of chains and being given stats that convince the viewer why they are "bad" we are actually bombarded with lots of numbers and graphics as Gorman tries to work out how far he can get on the petrol he has in his tank. This put on top of the characters it meets does provide interest in the film but only in regards the gimmick, it doesn't help the substance as a documentary and I found it nearly impossible to shake off the disappointment that such a clever idea didn't manage to educate or inform the viewer.

The novel idea and the fulfilment of the gimmick still makes for an entertaining comic film but sadly it spends far too much time telling me how far the car can go on the petrol it has left and almost no time talking about why chains are bad or what the loss of independents means beyond the idealised viewed of them as being better.

Realising that Morgan Spurlock and others are stealing his act, 'stunt comedian' Dave Gorman attempts to break into the lucrative documentary market by travelling coast-to-coast USA without utilising corporate amenities and services, euphemised as 'The Man'. Frankly, whoever commissioned or bought this project didn't think through the fact that petrol (gas), amongst other things, can only be refined and distributed by 'The Man', it's relatively inconsequential that it is sold to you by an independent outlet. In fact, at one point, whilst engrossed in his rose-tinted homage to 'Mom and Pop', Gorman's wreck breaks down and is saved by a garage run by 'The Man'. Game over.

Acknowledging that the whole concept is a more than just a little dull and deeply flawed, Gorman decides to spice things up by trying to visit places whose names embody the American spirit, such a towns named err…'Spirit' and 'Independence', therefore conveniently elongating the entire journey in a bid to add some drama. In fact, even his producer/camera-person, Stef Wagstaffe, awakened to the fact that she was engaged in career suicide, leaves the movie half way through, never to return. This leaves Dave to indulge in a fast food binge in a town called Moab, courtesy of (guess who?) 'The Man'. Combined with the stark realisation, that along with his drive thru dinner, this venture was heading down the toilet (in true Spurlock style), Gorman still continues his pointless and failed quest, with only the occasional hint of the slowly disappearing human story that lines the modern day U.S highway.

There are simply too many anguished in-car shots of Gorman driving around the U.S heartlands in search of fuel to make this remotely interesting. The last quarter of the film whimpers to a conclusion leaving you, like Gorman's unused spare fuel tanks, feeling empty and only mildly diverted.

Gorman is neither big enough stateside or American for any nostalgic observation to be meaningful nor is the subject matter that close to the hearts of his other audience in the U.K. Therefore, you have to ask the question; What was the point?

America Unchained is a really good documentary from the mind of Dave Gorman (occasional statistical analyst for the Daily Show. He had a segment called "Poll Smoking, with Dave Gorman).

Basically Dave wants to see if it's possible to drive across America from the west coast to the east coast without giving any money to "The Man". That is to not buy gas at, eat food at, or sleep at any big chain gas stations, restaurants and hotels, instead only doing the previously mentioned at 'Mom & Pop' places that are family run or independently run.

It's an interesting look at how small town America is being swallowed up by big time corporations, and a big part of unique American culture is dying off as the public accepts becoming homogenised in greater and greater aspects of their lives.

What makes this documentary good is it isn't political. No corporate names are brought up in criticism to serve an agenda, but only brought up as an example of a place Dave doesn't want to give money to because it's not a 'Mom & Pop' business, and because it is often devoid of charm and character due to the uniformity of the chains. Waking up in a generic room at a Best Western Hotel tells you nothing of where you actually are in the world as a room in New York and a room in Istanbul could be completely interchangeable.

Dave's style is always personal and honest, and you get to see all kinds of emotion from a man who often ends up in very difficult circumstances (sometimes through his own fault) and you feel for him when he gets angry or even starts to break down sometimes. But none of it feels contrived, as someone watching it you're just along for the ride.

It's also only 75 minutes, so it's not too long to become laborious like some documentaries can be.

Highly recommended.