By Hal Brown, MSW
Watch the trailer here:
Disclaimer: Dr. John Gartner is comfortable with my calling myself an associate of his even though we’ve never met in person. I was one of the first members of his Duty to Warn group.
Update: Read 22 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
By now I hope you’ve heard of the documentary Gartner and Hollywood producers Dan Partland and Art Horan took well over two years to make is now getting rave reviews. The movie received very positive reviews by two well known film critics, Owen Gleiberman in the show biz bible, Variety, and Richard Roeper (who once partnered with Roger Ebert) in the Chicago Sun-Times. If you a a cinephile the names Gleiberman and Roeper will be familiar to you.
The Washington Post recommended it as one of two films to stream this weekend (below).
You can read a selection of the reviews here.
I wrote a diary about it on August 29th and explained why the one bad review it got was wrong and also included links to reviews.
Since then there have been more reviews including one in Gartner’s hometown paper, The Baltimore Sun. The reviewer compared it to a Michael Moore film:
Its title, “#UNFIT: The Psychology of Donald Trump,” suggests a polemic, and there were many moments when I thought Michael Moore had directed the film. (He didn’t; Dan Partland did.) But, generally, the tone is clinical and explanatory, with arguments presented by experts in psychology, sociology, history, national security and cheating at golf. Trump’s own words in video clips serve as corroboration.Don’t expect a dry documentary… and don’t think that because you’ve read numerous articles about Trump being a dangerous malignant narcissist you won’t learn anything now.
One of the problems with doing a documentary like this is that there had to be a drop-dead cutoff time when new segments couldn't be added showing more of Trump’s psychopathological behavior. The breaking news about what was revealed in The Atlantic article about what Trump thinks about those who have sacrificed their lives or limbs in military service could be in #UNFIT: THE SEQUEL if it was ever made.
Just yesterday there was an article about sportswriter Rick Reilly about Trump and Arnold Palmer. Reilly is featured in the film. Here’s a clip from #UNFIT with him. The link to the article is below.
Trump hyped his relationship with golf great Arnold Palmer — who thought he was disgusting, RawStory
The movie is on all streaming services. If you have XFinity with a voice remote all you have to do is press the microphone button and say “unfit” and chose it. The cost is $5.99 for standard definition.
To STREAM the film, go to the streaming service you prefer from the list below. Fandango NOW, VUDU, and Microsoft are LIVE. More platforms (Amazon, Apple, Google Play) are coming LIVE soon.
To watch on CABLE and SATELLITE, look for ON DEMAND. You should be able to click ON DEMAND from your remote, or click the Home button, and you'll see it from there. DirecTV, Comcast, Cox, xfinity, and Spectrum are LIVE. More platforms (Optimum, U-verse, dish, Fios) are coming LIVE soon. TIP: When you go to On Demand, some platforms will let you search by title; if so, click the letter "U" and you should see #UNFIT.
Rental cost is approx. $5.99. If you watch on CABLE or SATELLITE, you will not incur a charge now; it will be added to your next bill.
In this era of Covid it is now or soon will be available on so many streaming services it is akin to it playing in every theater in the country.
I’m always amazed watching the credits at the end of movies of how many people it took to make them even if they aren’t big budget blockbusters. This documentary is no exception. As you sit hoping against all hope that #UNFIT shakes some Trump supporters out of their denial about how dangerous he is just watch how many professionals it took to make this important movie. It reminds you that making what is a comparative small movie is a major team effort.
This movie wasn’t meant to entertain. There’s nothing funny about watching a cartoon about Trump bragging about his golf prowess. It wasn’t just meant to inform although it certainly does this. It was meant to sound a clarion call about how dangerous Donald Trump is.
John Gartner, and Dr. Lance Dodes who is featured in the film, have both been interviewed by Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC and hopefully will be again now that the film is out.
I will close by quoting the conclusion of the #UNFIT review from Maryanne Johanson who founded FlickFilosopher.com in1997 making it one of the oldest film sites on the Web. She is a Rotten Tomatoes approve critic.
I know it’s a pipe dream, but I wish that every American would see this movie before Election Day. Anti-Trumpers might not need any more convincing to vote against him, but it’s still absolutely worth getting an in-depth understanding of precisely why Trump is such a threat to the entire world, not just the United States. (It’s not merely that we feel he is dangerous. There is solid scientific and medical evidence that he is.) And pro-Trumpers desperately need to appreciate that he does not give the tiniest shit about his voters, because he is incapable of caring about them. Trump supporters need to understand that he will never do anything that will benefit them, that he is using them for his own ends.
None of this is pleasant to hear, but if Trump goes down in flames, he will be taking all of us — including those who voted for him, those who turn out at rallies for him, those who buy and wear his red hats — with him. It will be the only reaction he is capable of. The prospect is beyond terrifying, and I wonder if it is even avoidable, as by voting him out. In this respect, #Unfit is the most important movie of the year, and the scariest. FlickPhilospoher
I revised the poll questions. You can take it again.
