--- title: "Roger & Me: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/roger-and-me/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/roger-and-me" critics_score: 72 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Roger & Me (1989): what the critics said Critics' score 72 from 9 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Roger & Me, praising the humour and anger of Moore’s account of Flint after General Motors’ plant closures. The praise centres on his personal connection to the town, his pursuit of chairman Roger Smith and the ironic juxtapositions that expose corporate indifference. The reviews find that black comedy makes the hardship more pointed rather than less serious. Several also value the attention to residents facing eviction or finding desperate ways to survive. The disagreement concerns how Moore gets his laughs and arranges his evidence, producing a wide spread despite the positive majority. Even a favourable assessment finds the treatment sketchy and simplistic. The New York Times discusses criticisms of factual manipulation and compressed chronology. The New Yorker is the sharp dissent, arguing that Moore distorts history and makes ordinary people targets of ridicule while presenting himself as their political ally. ## Empire — Mat Snow Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic praises Moore's debut documentary for charting the decline of his hometown Flint after GM factory closures and his persistent attempts to confront chairman Roger Smith. It highlights the film's effective use of ironic juxtapositions and light touch in balancing humor with harsh realities. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/roger-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Peter Rainer Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 1989. The critic finds the film a terrific, entertaining piece of cockeyed outrage whose black comedy arises naturally from its serious subject, though it remains too sketchy and simple-minded to be great. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-20-ca-483-story.html) ## The AV Club — Zack Handlen Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 October 2009. Roger & Me is the better of the two films reviewed, focusing tightly on the collapse of Flint, Michigan after GM plant closures. The critic singles out the film's strong sequences following evictions and desperate local survival measures like rabbit farming for praise, calling it excellent overall. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/roger-me-and-fahrenheit-9-11-1798217878) ## Time Out — CM Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 April 2012. Moore's hilarious, scathing film traces the decline of his home town of Flint, Michigan, after General Motors systematically closed down plants and laid off thousands of workers. The critic praises the way it tellingly and ruthlessly presents the cumulative effects of industrial ruthlessness. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/roger-me) ## The New York Times — Richard Bernstein Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 February 1990. The piece examines the film's massive popularity as a David-vs-Goliath satire while noting recent criticisms of its factual manipulations and chronological compression for dramatic effect. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/01/movies/roger-and-me-documentary-satire-or-both.html) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 1990. The review calls the film shallow, facetious gonzo demagoguery that compresses and distorts history for laughs and uses ordinary people as targets while posing as left-wing critique. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1990/01/08/melodramacartoonmess) ## Paste — Michael Snydel Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 February 2016. The piece ranks Roger & Me as Moore's best and most influential film, praising its focused anger at GM's layoffs and its sharp observation of Flint residents' struggles without wasted footage. It notes the poetic irony in Moore's failed pursuit of the CEO amid broader economic absurdity. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/michael-moore/fight-the-power-rankings-a-michael-moore-restrospe) ## The Ringer Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 2018. The article describes Roger & Me as announcing Moore as a documentary disruptor through his personal, first-person style and quest to confront GM's chairman. It praises the film's energetic showmanship and its deeper portrayal of Flint beyond a simple capsule description. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2018/09/21/movies/michael-moore-fahrenheit-11-9-documentaries-donald-trump-roger-and-me-bowling-for-columbine) ## Collider — Samuel Bridie Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 2022. The critic positions Roger & Me as Moore's debut that put him on the map as a major documentarian. It highlights the film's personal focus on the impact of corporate decisions in Flint and its role in establishing Moore's signature style of confronting power. [Read the review](https://collider.com/every-michael-moore-movie-ranked-from-worst-to-best/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/roger-and-me.md