Thanks for checking out our review of I.O.U.S.A.
The General Idea
Plot Synopsis From IMDB: I.O.U.S.A. explores the country’s shocking current fiscal condition and ways to avoid a national economic disaster.
The Good
This film’s greatest strength lies in the experts it assembled to discuss the issue at hand. People who are knowledgeable about a subject are usually passionate about it, and when discussing math for 85 minutes – this is invaluable. Because no debate about the financial crisis exists, the documentary is free to fully focus on the problem; that no one disputes the crisis is also one of the more sobering realizations of the film.
Because this film discusses all things money, it’s easy to get lost in all the numbers. In order to keep our attention and aid our understanding, many graphs, charts and animations are used to give us visual aids in order to better understand the problem at hand. Those in charge of these animations did an excellent job and were actually able to pull them off in a way that wasn’t dreadfully boring.
This film does bludgeon you down with reality, and by the end you feel the invisible weight of the issue upon you. As the film comes to a conclusion however, it offers solutions to the problem both on a national and personal level. I thought this was a great way to end the film and an appropriate call to action in exchange for the knowledge given.
The Bad
In this film a number of people are interviewed and polled on the street. As the film journeys from one problem to the next, these people are questioned for their knowledge on the issue. They, like most people – do not know the answers and the film soon goes on to answer the question anyway. I really didn’t see the need to have these interviewees in the film, I think the movie would have been tighter in their absence, and the story unchanged.
Overall
This film is a tutorial on the financial state of the U.S.A. For those that call this country home, it’s a must watch and a wake up call for action. The harbingers of doom in this film are all Americans that love their country and simply want to see a return to financial responsibility. This film did an excellent job in what it set out to do, and managed to keep the audience engrossed in a very dry, dreary topic. Out of 10, I would give this film a 8.
