Roger & Me

"The story of a rebel & his mike."

1989 1h 31m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 326

DocumentaryHistoryComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.

“The story of a rebel & his mike.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael Moore
Self
Rhonda Britton
Self
Fred Ross
Self
Roger B. Smith
Self
Bob Eubanks
Self
James Blanchard
Self
Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson
Self
Pat Boone
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Moore
Writers: Michael Moore, Michael Moore
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $7M — a 41.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

37 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Roger & Me Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Moore, shot by Kevin Rafferty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jennifer Beman White shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Moore and Rhonda Britton and Fred Ross carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The story of a rebel & his mike.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Moore directs. Kevin Rafferty behind the camera. Jennifer Beman White cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $7M — a 41.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
337 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Roger & Me Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Michael Moore, shot by Kevin Rafferty. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Jennifer Beman White shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Michael Moore and Rhonda Britton and Fred Ross carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The story of a rebel & his mike.".
9IMDB entry: tt0098213 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kevin Rafferty
Editing: Jennifer Beman White
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Budget: $160,000
Box office: $6,706,368
Return: 4191% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Roger & Me (1989)

Part of

Roger & Me Collection

A duology of films including the documentary feature film Roger & Me and short film Pets or Meat, both by Michael Moore.

Also by

Michael Moore

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 6/10
I guess if you watch this post 2016... it is going to be very, very confusing. After all, this is a movie about protecting the working class, about saving factories, about the devastation that outsourcing does to communities... and, as of writing this in 2019, Moore is siding with the party that wants to outsource jobs, that refuses to protect labor, and that calls any protecting of domestic labor evil and nationalist. And all of this while Moore himself just called the working class dangerous and implied that they are all evil racists for not supporting the party that is currently against protecting labor. What the heck happened to Michael Moore? He kind of turned his back on the people that made him famous. Regardless, once upon a time, as far back as Roger & Me and as recently as Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore supported the working class. He made documentaries about their plight. He championed them. This started it all. Before Michael Moore traded people for party he made movies like this that showed the devastation that NAFTA economic policies did to the rust belt. He was a friend of the people. Now he calls the Rust Belt "Trumpland" and the people he once championed "racists." But back in the day, he was able to make films like this that advocated for the people. He was able to make films like this that fought for the working class. Once upon a time, he was fighting for us, he was giving us hope. It's amazing how much one person can change. Now the message still resonates, it's still as true and honest as it was back in 89, but it stands for what happens when wealth and fame and partisan politics hit a formerly compassionate human being.

Production companies