Please Remove Your Shoes

Anyone who flies commercially is well aware of the additional security precautions instituted since 9/11, but according to the commentators, travelers, politicians, and former employees interviewed in filmmaker Rob DelGaudio's documentary, airport security today is no more effective than it was before 2001. Please Remove Your Shoes argues that the Transportation Security Administration, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, is as inefficient and mistake-prone as the Federal Aviation Administration, citing specific procedural problems and instances in which TSA employees either failed to do their job or exceeded their statutory authority. While the film serves up a persuasive diatribe against incompetence and arrogance within the present system, it's less successful in suggesting remedies, offering no more than a list of general principles straight from a management seminar (hire the right people, encourage initiative), coupled with some measures that would entail profiling. Travelers already inconvenienced by the numerous hoops they have to jump through to get on a plane today are likely to take little comfort from this somewhat uneven but unquestionably disturbing report. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)