Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

American Made Movie depicts the stories of workers and companies caught in the plight of the disappearing manufacturing industry in America. It also profiles the hope and dedication of a few businesses who overcome all odds to stay American made. The director of photography should definitely be commended for his work, especially the beautiful cinematography of Detroit and baseball.In the last decade we have lost 5.5 million or one third of our manufacturing jobs and since 1979 the income gap has tripled in size. The tales and facts are interesting and educational but the movie is definitely in need of editing to make the storyline more cohesive and engaging. The movie came across mostly as a patriotic forum composed of a series of never ending interviews. Some of these interviews were boring and gave all too obvious insights. I felt like I was watching an infomercial instead of a well thought out documentary. Unfortunately this film could not keep my attention. The slideshow of politicians endorsing U.S. manufacturing was amateurish and irrelevant. The editors needed to add more narration and cut some time from the film.If the movie outlined a more detailed plan to bring back American made, and specified what "Made in America" means in a technical sense as well as its potential pitfalls, the film would have been worth watching. I think it is noble that the movie takes up the fight for the American worker and encourages us all to buy American made. The movies makes mention about places like Gwinnett County GA attracting foreign investors who invigorate our manufacturing base and entrepreneurs like Mark Andol who successfully specialize in selling US manufactured products. The writers could have elaborated better on solutions including better government leadership who provide incentives to businesses and better marketing of US made goods. The movie should have mentioned some other businesses like American Apparel who have been successful in selling US made goods. The movie should have touched on the advantages and disadvantages of overseas manufacturing. Overseas manufacturing is cheaper and more efficient especially if raw materials are nearby but some overseas goods are made in sweatshops, for instance.I give this movie six out of ten stars. With the proper editing and trimming, this movie would be perfect for history and economics classes across the country and garner more stars (and stripes).

Documentary lovers, this is a must see! All others, this is a great film to foray into the genre. Unlike Michael Moore, who on the plus side has brought a lot of new viewers to the documentary format and opened the field to documentary filmmakers, there is no overriding voice of God telling you how, what and who to believe in. The opening clipettes depict the relationship of filmmaker and subject through their form: an interview with the entire shot focused on the subject. And thankfully, unlike Moore projects, this film's star is the message, not the maker.American Made Movie does a brilliant job of building a concrete relationship between a single product and the consumer; the connection between which has changed drastically over the last few decades due to outsourcing and globalization. By showing the journey beginning with a living tree (and the loggers that mine them, their certifications and training), and ending with a Louisville Slugger (and those that market, retailers and all) as well as all the steps in between (truckers, mill workers, factory workers, and so forth), the viewer sees just how American a bat can be. This trajectory also points out just how non- American most things in today's society actually are. Did you know that New Balance was the only athletic shoe company to have an American factory?Although the film offers five venues to improve our country's overly- global trade and relatively non-existent manufacturing industry, thusly enlarging the middle class and lessening the divide between haves and have-nots, a fix feels too far away. The cinematography of Detroit in ruins is stunning, the score adding just the right weight and unburdened by voice-over. I could have watched an hour and a half of this alone, however, this portion filmed as beautifully as it was, weighs heavy on one's feelings of efficacy. While my next pair of running shoes will certainly be New Balance, I am left asking: What can I do? Seriously, please tell me because I have never felt such national pride as I do since watching American Made Movie.

Every American patriot needs to know the real story why we can't see the old good sign "made in the USA" anymore .The story how investing in overseas countries made us lose more than 10 million manufacturing jobs. The collapsing of Detroit which was biggest car manufacturing city on the entire planet .The cause of these problems are mentioned in the documentary with amazing stories of manufactures that still produce their things here. The patriots that open stores that sell only made in USA products .And the most important thing of all is how we can solve that big problem that we are facing . Americans we need to wake up and start buying things that are made 100% in USA so we can fight back for our old economy and start living the American dream once again .Everybody need to watch this movie regardless he is American or not . It will inspire you love your country and start buying products made in your country so you can have a better life ...

When I watch a movie about a topic I usually have an idea about the topic walking into it. I find it sometimes hard to block out those original thoughts. This movie had me even more worried about it, based on the title alone. I would consider myself moderately placed on the political spectrum and can argue with the bests on both sides of the isle and this movie played to no side and engaged me as a consumer which I enjoyed. I really thought I understood the reason why everything is made in China and after watching the movie felt more depressed after seeing areas like Detroit and learning about people that were impacted on this.The visuals for the movie were very nice and the characters featured complimented the cinematography. I liked the graphics except was not impressed with how the treated some of the found footage in the movie. It seemed liked the threw it together and had me wondering what the purpose was of some of the areas they placed historic footage. The problems in my eyes were the most notably the lack of diversity in the movie. America is not just white and they did not offer anything to give a fair representation of stories that showed that. I personally know of many companies or stories that could have given them the flair to stand more balanced through this, but in their defense I was happy to see one of the stories was that of a women. This was my biggest problem with the movie and, outside of this, I felt as if it was a superb ride and got me thinking more about way I spend my money and the relationship I have to some of the things in my area. It's not often that a documentary about manufacturing can make you feel something but I really identified with the stories that were told and the struggles they went through. This made it easier for me to understand the affect that manufacturing actually has on all of us instead of just numbers on paper.