Name: Believe
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2007-04-20
Duration: 1 h 20 min
Rating: 5.8
Cast: Larry Bagby, Lincoln Hoppe, Vanessa DeHart

An awkward caricature misses an easy target

Yes, it was high time someone did a movie skewering MLMs. This movie does it, though not as artfully or poignantly as we would have hoped. Mulholland touches upon all the aspects of MLM life and techniques. But in general, it feels like an amateurish production in all of its aspects. Acting, directing, cinematography, editing, they all feel amateur. Though Hoppe was certainly the right man for his role, he tried a little too hard to come across as a heel. Indeed, all the characters feel like exaggerations of the people you'll find in MLMs. But only slight exaggerations. These characters aren't rare loony flukes who stumbled into an MLM. They really are typical of the people you'll find in the field, though as I said, slightly exaggerated. And the exaggeration makes it not work as a mocumentary.

There's another huge problem with the movie's form. Real life MLMers would never allow an outside camera crew to film their exploits. There are far too many secrets given away here. That and the exaggerations make this an ineffective mocumentary. Too many intimate moments are filmed as if the camera crew wasn't there. That destroys its documentary feel. A skillful mocumentary would have fantastic comedic timing to make a point of the topic's absurdity (a la "Spinal Tap"). This movie's timing is way off, due to its amateur production. Though I must compliment the women who played the MLMers' wives, as they displayed their subconscious resistance to what their husbands were doing. Well done there.

As sheer comedic entertainment, this movie won't elicit any interest. I can understand why no major distribution company picked it up. But it might be acceptable to show a friend or relative who has approached you with an MLM opportunity, or if you'd like to know about MLMs yourself. Believe me, these things really do happen in MLMs, and people like this really are in the field, though they're not quite so ridiculous. This ultimately humorless movie serves as little more than a cautionary tale. It's very hard to make a hilarious comedy about a subject that has cost so many millions of people so much money and heartache.

The parody subgenre imitates, exaggerates, and satirizes the style, themes, characters, or conventions of another work, genre, or cultural phenomenon. Parodies often involve taking well-known elements from the original source and presenting them in a humorous and exaggerated manner to create a comedic effect.

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Believe

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