Director: Morgan Spurlock
Writers: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock
Cinematographer: Daniel Marracino
Starring: Morgan Spurlock
Studio/Run Time: The Weinstein Company, 93 mins.
“It’s not like me to pretend
But I’ll get you, I’ll get you in the end
Yes I will, I’ll get you in the end
Oh yeah, Oh yeah.”
-The Beatles “I’ll Get You”
Give filmmaker Morgan Spurlock credit. For seven years, politicians, comedians and the average man on the street have complained about the United States’ inability to find Worldwide Enemy Number One, Osama Bin Laden. It usually ends with a retort such as, “Heck, give me some time and I’ll find Osama myself. How hard can it be?” But Spurlock is the first civilian to actually make an effort—albeit, perhaps an ill-attempted and naïve one in the name of entertainment—to find the mastermind behind the attacks of 9/11.
Spurlock gained attention in 2004 with his creative, hard hitting critique of the fast food industry, Super Size Me. In that film, he had the means and resources to competently document his adventure. But it quickly becomes obvious in Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? that his task is as difficult as asking a six-year-old to navigate the New York City subways with only a MetroCard. Spurlock gamely travels to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel and Saudi Arabia while gathering opinions and clues as to where Osama may be hiding. But it’s all been done before through countless nightly news stories and documentaries surrounding the current crisis in the Middle East.
The film’s loose identity allows some inconsistent jumps from the comedy of animated transitions and sarcastic commentary to life-endangering investigation and serious analysis, leaving behind a jagged compilation of stories. At its best, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? offers a simplistic look at a complicated problem. At its worst, it provides the same.