Film Review: ‘POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold’ & Q&A with Morgan Spurlock!

Morgan Spurlock is back again, this time shedding light on brand placement in movies. In fact, in the new documentary, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, we follow him going through the process of finding brands that will sponsor this very documentary. It’s a cool and interesting concept. Spurlock knows how to bring the humor out in every situation. It’s definitely a documentary you’ll have a fun time watching.

Morgan Spurlock launched into the scene with his hit documentary, Super Size Me, where he ate all his meals at McDonalds for 30 days. After making a movie that pretty much made a big brand look bad, you can understand right off the bat how hard it would be for Spurlock to gain sponsors for his movie. He was rejected by practically every big brand we know. But he got through to some sort-of big brands, which were willing to take a chance on his project.

Much of the movie’s information is laced with humor, which is something that always makes Spurlock’s documentaries entertaining to watch. Some of the funniest moments are when he is blatantly showing product placement. Either sipping on POM Wonderful while talking to someone, placing BAN deodorant on the table when talking to Quentin Tarantino, or giving Ralph Nader a pair of Merrill shoes, it’s all funny but ironically – somehow -effective marketing.

Spurlock really delivers a great film about product placement, teaching audiences to be aware when they are being advertised to. I usually feel like I’m good at pointing out product placement in movies. But I know many people who will miss the biggest ones, the kind that are right in their face. It’s almost deceiving how insidious marketing can become. It’s also a little worrying, especially in today’s economy, where we both being told to spend and save. The documentary really opens the door to bigger issues.

I went to see this movie skeptical, especially when I saw that in each theater seat cup holder was a bottle of POM Wonderful. But hey, the movie ended up being great, and the POM Wonderful wasn’t that bad… (Oops, am I trying to advertise POM to you? Nope, not really. Only drink it if you like pomegranates. Uh… obviously.) Also, after the screening, there was a Q&A with Morgan Spurlock! Listen to the video below to hear some snippets of what he had to say about the film! Sorry about the quality of the visuals (the lighting in the theater was horrible!).

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold will release in select theaters tomorrow, April 22nd.

Check out photos from the Q&A on our Facebook Page!

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