ELKHART -- Local film patrons showed their love for Michael Moore Thursday night.
Several hundred people attended a free screening of Moore's new film "Capitalism: A Love Story" at Carmike Encore Park. Marketing and theatre officials were ready for the capacity crowd, which arrived well in advance to see Moore's two-hour take on America's economic woes.
Janis and Don Jones, along with their son, Chad Axe, were in line more than an hour before the film's 7 p.m. show time. While the screening was free, tickets had to be obtained online, and a disclaimer noted that not everyone was guaranteed a seat.
Janis was determined not only to get seats for her family but to get good ones.
All three are fans of Moore's films. Don appreciates Moore's method of trying to catch lawmakers and executives off guard. And Axe is anxious about the potential impact the film could have.
"Hopefully it exposes our economic system as being unjust and unfair," he said.
Behind the Joneses were Theresa MacDonold and Doug Rogers. MacDonold didn't think twice about arriving early for the show.
"I'll wait in line an hour to see a Michael Moore movie," she said. "I think he's a genius."
Rogers was slightly less enthusiastic.
"She made me come this early," he said.
Until Thursday Rogers had never seen one of Moore's films, but he said he was anxious to hear what Moore had to say.
By 6:30 p.m. the line for the film had stretched from the concession stand to the theatre door. Some at the back of the line worried about whether they would get a seat.
The 150 tickets, each of which admitted two to the film, had all been claimed by Wednesday afternoon, said Twana Burns of Allied Integrated Marketing. But to ensure everyone was able to see the movie, Burns arranged for Carmike to open a second overflow theatre to accommodate an especially large crowd. By show time the primary theatre was crowded, but not filled to capacity.
The subject matter of the film hit close to home for the Joneses, MacDonold and Rogers. The film, which implies that capitalism can have dire consequences for middle America, chronicles people who are having their homes foreclosed and are out of work.
The Joneses lost their home to foreclosure last year after Don's hours were cut in 2006. And MacDonold, who has an accounting degree, and Rogers, who's been a tool and die worker for 25 years, have both been out of work for roughly a year.
After about two hours the lights came up and the film was met with applause. The crowd emptied out, picking up complementary yard signs and pitchforks as they passed the exit.
And as far as Rogers is concerned, it was two hours well spent.
"I think it's a very informative movie," he said. "You learn a lot that, unless you're sitting in front of the TV constantly, you don't know."
REVIEWS
Here's what the critics are saying about the film:
* David Denby of the New Yorker: "Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story' is something else -- not a good movie or a coherent exposition of the meltdown but an emotional attack on capitalism as a system, an attempt, literally, to de-moralize capitalism."
* Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times: "The film is most effective when it explains or reveals these outrages. It is less effective, but perhaps more entertaining, when it shows Michael being Michael. He likes to grandstand. On Wall Street, he uses a bullhorn to demand our money back. He uses bright yellow police crime scene tape to block off the Stock Exchange. He's a classic rabble rouser. Love him or hate him, you gotta give him credit. He centers our attention as no other documentarian ever has."
* Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: "Moore sees our abusive relationship with capitalism as a growing plague. His movie, a genuine and welcome rabble-rouser, lays out the history of how democracy got corrupted."