Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream

According to the press notes accompanying this documentary feature, filmmaker Patrick Lovell “set out to discover why the American Dream failed him and millions of others”—but Lovell clearly is far more interested in himself than in those “others.” Unsuccessfully attempting to usurp Michael Moore's shtick as a camera-toting champion for the beleaguered Everyman, Lovell has produced what feels like a shameless vanity video—in fact, early scenes serve up a seemingly endless skein of footage and photographs of him skateboarding, skiing, and scuba diving in various locations. Lovell's personal woes are centered on the foreclosure of his home, which he blames on his mortgage servicers (the fact that he took out an expensive loan without having a secured income stream to guarantee steady payments is casually overlooked). Nonetheless, he quickly raises funds for a cross-country motor trip, during which he interviews members of the Occupy Wall Street protests, and a variety of talking-head experts. Everyone whom Lovell meets repeats the now-tiresome observation that the “system” is broken, and with nearly every exchange, the filmmaker hogs the camera. Ultimately, Forward 13 offers no solutions, aside from Lovell's decision to start a political action committee. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)