unarob

Separating politics from the show is a critical first step to deciding whether this show is watchable or not. Whether you want to slaughter every living thing on the planet and eat it, or whether you don't think humans should kill anything and absorb our nutrition out of the air is irrelevant to the quality...

That being said...

Does the show entertain: yes. God knows each time those guys and gals do something you are just waiting for one of them to screw up. These people are not professionals and their lack of training is beyond apparent. Also you have the disconnection between the captain and reality. Everything that happens (including every misstep) is spun into a positive happy message... and the show allows the knife of the camera to cut right through the bull. At the same time you also get to see the world from THEIR perspective.

The show is NOT about whaling... the show is about these guys and gals behavior in an very strange situation. THAT is what documentaries are about... and this show is done well....

First... do not expect a neat and clean package. There are a few plot problems that obviously come from cuts being made. Don't expect every question to be resolved neatly. You have to (gasp) use your brain to fill in the blanks in places.. if you can live with that... move to Second... do NOT expect this film to come out of the gates quickly. It doesn't. In fact the first 15 minutes are lackluster, dry, and pretty unremarkable. You get the feeling of Uncle Joe building up to a great story by telling you about the eggs he had for breakfast. Its an integral part of the story but for the love of god get on with the tale. If you can patiently sit through the first 15-20 minutes then move to Third... if you are looking for religious outrage, or a great movie about the wonders of a secular society... sorry forget it... this movie is NOT about religion... yes the books are... this is not a book. This is a movie, and its harmless to your eternal soul. If you can live with not feeling spiritual vindication (on either side)... move to Fourth... suspension of disbelief... without it your doomed and should go see something else. Not only are there holes in the plot, some of the problems deal with world consistencies. In that I mean there are obviously rules that govern the world the movie takes place in... don't expect those rules to be consistently held.. if you have to have all your ducks in a line and the fantasy totally conform to the fantasy world... pick up Discworld... if you can live with obvious inconsistency go to ...

Fifth... Decent CGI... at times amazing, but ....

OK long story short... lots of buts and qualifiers. Some obvious unresolvable issues....but in the end I was entertained... at times engrossed. I became invested in the movie and for a short while... the troubled world ceased to exist... not bad for a few bucks.

Proof that nudity, sexual misidentity, and pranks are not the formula for a decent film. Somewhere in the film I think dialogue, plot, and a basic ability to use a camera should come into play. In short anytime the extras are overacting its time to go back to the drawing board. Redeeming features... hmmmm... well the emma gibbs band and the something stew ... can't remember the name of that one... had a few decent songs mixed in. Overall my problem with the movie can be summed up by the fact that this film was meant to be made for the lesbian and gay community and to promote understanding ... HOWEVER when I viewed it I was thinking of the obviously over the top black face performances of the twenties. This film highlighted and expanded upon the very stereotypes that it should have been fighting against.