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"30 Days" (2005)

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24 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
Hosed down with political correctness and best taken with a grain of salt, but Spurlock makes "30 Days" a fun trip over the reality fence, 24 September 2005
Author: howTVshouldbe from star range: 1 - 4, expanded to 5 for classics

Network: FX; Genre: Documentary, Reality; Content Rating: TV-PG - MA (occasionally strong language); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: 2 seasons

At this point, after "The Shield", "Nip/Tuck" and "Rescue Me", I am putty in the palm of FX's hand. HBO and Showtime - look out. This is the network that is poised to become the new home of quality television. "30 Days" is the network's first step away from scripted dramas and it is a generally successful addition to the line-up.

Created and hosted by Morgan Spurlock, this reality series and something of a spin-off from his entertaining, well made obesity exploration documentary "Super-Size Me". Each week Spurlock finds somebody who is willing to immerse themselves in someone else's life for 30 days - somebody who, like the ABC British remake "Wife Swap", is their polar opposite or is someone the media has told us that person should dislike. A Christian lives as a Muslim, a Christian lives as a gay man, gas-guzzling SUV lovers live off the grid and a man who lost his job to outsourcing takes takes one in India. See the pattern here? Even when we do meet an atheist, who wants "God" taken out of the pledge, living with a peaceful religious family (did Spurlock read my season 1 review?), the show flips its formula around and takes her side. We didn't need to see Spurlock's ACLU card to know where he stands.

But like in "Super-Size Me", Spurlock is fair and he doesn't look down on the participants or lecture to us too horribly. He comes off like more of an "awe shucks" inquisitor then a pit-bull hell bent on proving a hypothesis. Even his human subjects are sympathetic, if only because of how hard they are trying to make this unenviable situation work. That fairness and authenticity makes "30 Days" almost indistinguishably from every other "reality" show. It isn't trying to put something over on us or humiliate the participants. That is refreshing - which is quite the commentary on the state of reality TV.

The effect Spurlock's perspective does have on the show is that many of the experiments really only make sense in a vacuum. There is no explanation as to why people are on minimum wage or why Americans believe what they do about Islam, just that it happens and we need to fix it somehow. All episodes end with the same bleeding-heart message of tolerance and diversity and the two opposites becoming close friends - which is predictable. I'm not asking for "balance" here, just a little more imagination in the topics.

In the best episodes, the experiments put us into a squeamish fear for the health of the subjects - such as "Outsourcing", "Binge Drinking Mom" and the best, "Minimum Wage" where Spurlock and his fiancé, Alex, themselves hit the streets of Detroit in what becomes a real trial for survival. "Minimum Wage" is exceptional TV. It was my hope that the rest of the season could match its intensity. But in the 2nd episode, an experiment to debunk hormone therapy, the concept is changed up all together and becomes more like "Penn & Teller: Bullshit".

With many of the results predictable, "Days" isn't about how it ends,but about the process - and actually getting to see how this life change slowly effects people is a quite a bit of fun. It is here when the show makes the same fundamental mistake that every other reality show does. As exceptional as the packaging is, the fact remains: real people aren't very interesting. The participants are admirable in their guts and Spurlock finds fairly interesting people to go through this, but even they are unable to carry the show for the whole hour.

Fortunately, Spurlock has planned for this. He uses the old documentary stand-by of animated sequences to move through quick educational vignettes and history lessons. Nothing profound, but they are informative enough to get everybody up to speed. Spurlock himself also pops up intermittently amid the experiments to do little experiments of his own, like going down to Mexico and trying to buy his own HGH or interviewing a parent whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver. The show comes back to life when Spurlock, or his fiancé (a game gal if there ever was one), appear back on the screen. Spurlock is a great host/tour guide: energetic, creative, funny, clever - all the things Michael Moore isn't. He pokes fun at his own mustache in the single funniest line of the season.

"30 Days" should be taken with a grain of salt and has clearly been sanitized for our politically correct protection (his depiction of media sacred cows as the gay man and the American Muslim is strictly by the book), it achieves what is no doubt the goal - to spark debate and discussion at home or at work and have a little fun in the process.

The show is restrained emotionally. On one hand it never degrades into sap, on the other hand Spurlock doesn't go full force and give us an emotional punch in the face some stories probably need. On the other hand it isn't manipulative. This is a slight show, but Spurlock makes it work. Plug it back into the reality/documentary genre it belongs in and it looks even better. I hope the show returns and would like to see Spurlock given the chance to really get creative with the experiments. Twist the knife a bit. The potential is there for a great product.

* * * /4

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Morgan Spurlock continues the 30 days theme, with spotty success., 7 November 2006

Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

Given the sheer brilliance and immediate importance of Super Size Me, I was eager to see Morgan Spurlock's next project, the unscripted documentary series "30 Days." Within a few minutes into the first episode, it becomes clear that he is going to use the same structure as he used in his feature documentary, but it also becomes clear that there are a great many subjects and issues in the country and in the world that could use the old Spurlock treatment, if not to solve them, to at least call people's attention to them.

In that way, I would say that the series is already a success. Sadly, I doubt his documentary (or even the far superior book - and upcoming, almost surely inferior movie - Fast Food Nation) has had the impact that he had hoped for and America (and our health) really need, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

The basis of this series is that each week someone is taken out of their daily lives and placed into the lives of someone else, someone either polarly different from them, or who leads a lifestyle that is morally, politically, religiously, or some way abhorrent or unacceptable for whatever reason.

The Binge Drinking Mom, for example, was abhorred by her daughter's kamikaze-style partying, as was the straight guy by all of the gays that he was surrounded by for a month, and the Christian found himself unwilling and unable to follow many of the customs of the Muslims with whom he lived in his episode. Many of the episodes are astonishing in their ability to illuminate the plight of some of the people in this country, such as the first episode, about our nation's ridiculous minimum wage, as well as to really change and heal uninformed and prejudicial feelings and beliefs, such as the episode where the straight man lives with a gay man for a month. There are true differences and real friendships made, not some contrived piece of claptrap staged for the passing cameras.

Then again, some episodes reveal something of a lack of ideas, or at least a failed experiment. The Binge Drinking Mom episode, for example, is stunning in its pointlessness and absurdity, almost as if it belonged in a different series. There is absolutely no sense of realism or positive change anywhere in the episode. If anything, it is the mother whose weakness should be focused on, given the pathetically wan behavior she exhibits when confronted with her daughter's belligerent behavior. She hangs her head in submission as her daughter puts her hand in her face to shut her up about her partying as she answers her ringing cell phone and complains to one of her friends about her pain-in-the-ass mom.

Had mom calmly reached over (as mine surely would have done), taken the phone out of her daughter's hand, snapped it in half and laid the pieces onto the table, and then laid down the law, she would have gotten her daughter's attention, at least for the remainder of the time that they spent at the table. Instead, the mother's ensuing drinking experiment comes off as a tired plea of desperation which neither the daughter nor the audience can ever take seriously.

Nevertheless, the series as a whole has a lot of good points to make about everything from drinking to religion to sexual orientation, and it is lucky in that it has a pretty open-ended premise. As long as there are problems in America, theoretically it could go on forever. Although given the problem of the diminishing American attention span, much of America, myself included (although not for lack of interest), may soon be on the lookout for what Morgan's got up his other sleeve.

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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
To me,THIS is a reality show, 27 August 2006
Author: S.R. Dipaling from Topeka,Kansas,USA

The phrase "reality show" has been stretched so far that it would snap even if it were taffy. Whether it's pseudo-documentary style trash or endurance competitions that seem like game shows on steroids,it seems like there are very few true "reality" programs. Sometimes,these reality shows can have something constructive or vaguely positive about them(I'm thinking of "Nanny 911","Super NAny","Project MAkeoever:Home Edition" as examples)or actually seem like they are following the trek of a realistic situation,or as close as they can get to having one(The Restaurant or Tommy Lee Go to College come to mind),but rarely does a reality show--in my mind--aim to AND create positive results,showing opposite sides of an issue or opposite lifestyles and portray them with some respect,instead of merely breeding conflict. "30 Days" does that,and for the most part,it's effective.

Host Morgan Spurlock,whose Supersize Me from 2004 was a surprise break-out hit of a documentary, employs the same type of tactic here as he did in his film. Using a month's time to introduce someone to a different philosophy and/or culture. Whether it's the white American Christian trying to live as a Muslim,a macho Marine living in a Gay neighborhood and house,a member of the Minutemen group(a group of border citizens who try to stem illegal immigrants at the U.S./Mexico border)living with a family of illegal immigrants from Mexico,an Atheist living with Christians,an American working in India where call-centers train natives to "sound more American"(as per outsourcing) and a pro-choice woman living and working at a pro-life birth and counseling center. I know there are other shows,I haven't sen all of them,but I've sen enough of this series' episodes to say that I am quite impressed with this show and its aims.

The "fish-out-of-water" concept for a television reality show is such a delicate endeavor:basically,it seems like a set-up for either showing up the participant or showcasing the group the participant has joined as being rubes,fanatics or a combination of both. But this show takes great pains to explain and document both sides of the issue,with Spurlock interviewing members of both sides and giving those involved(And in some cases,those allied with both sides)as much time as possible in front of the camera to vent misgivings,discoveries and feelings. Very similar to other reality programs,but--as alluded before--it's the outcomes and the intent of this show is what pleases me.

To those who don't believe reality shows can be used to evoke interest,educate and make attempts to build bridges as opposed to burning them,I would point them to this show and hope that more people(as well as FX network)give this a chance.

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8 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
A mixed series of documentaries but generally interesting, engaging and well worth a look, 19 April 2006
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Following on from his month long experiment involving eating McDonalds and seeing his body breaking down, Morgan Spurlock hosts this documentary series that places people into different worlds and situations to gain a better understanding or awareness of what it is like. The subjects include an out-of-shape man undergoing anti-aging treatments, a straight man living in a homosexual area and a Christian living in a Muslim family. To kick it all off Morgan and his fiancé spend 30 days trying to live on minimum wage and survive.

Although the concept isn't actually as new as some people seem to think it is (nobody else ever saw BBC's "Living with the Enemy"?) the idea is still a good one and the potential is right there. The concept of taking people and getting them to walk a mile in someone else's shoes is clever and it allows Spurlock to highlight important issues. In reality the results are mixed with some of the shows being impacting and serious affairs while others are a bit like the experimenting on bodies a la "Super Size Me". The difference between the two extremes can be seen in the first two episodes. The first episode is exceptional documentary film making. Looking at the realities of minimum wage living had me open mouthed and disgusted – I knew that my take home pay is a lot, lot higher than $6 (£4) per hour but never appreciated what that actually meant in reality. However the second show is more of a physical experiment and, although interesting, is not as compelling an issue to pick up and run with. And so the series continued with this inconsistency – with the next show forcing a man to look at the Muslims he doesn't like despite not knowing any, and then later shows including a mother binge drinking for a month.

Spurlock is a great host but not all those involved in the series are that engaging. It helps therefore that each episode is broken down with the same approach Super Size had – the experiment itself makes up part, with animated sections etc filling in the background to the issues (for example in the Muslim episode we get basic background to the religion to supplement Dave's learning experience). Each episode is different but really it doesn't really matter where each ends (some make it to the end, some bail out half way) because what matters is the journey. In this regard not all episodes are as good as others but generally they are mostly interesting and worth a look, with at least one of them (the minimum wage) being worth hunting down.

Overall then, an interesting series that is worth seeing despite the mixed successes of the series as a whole. Some of the episodes are so-so but mostly it is interesting stuff that is worth a look. At "worst" it is gimmicky experimentation that is interesting but at its best it is confrontational and insightful. If there will be a second series it would be interesting to see the subject range opened up because series 1 did rather reflect the liberal views of Spurlock.

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6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
An Unannoying (Mostly) Reality Show, 18 August 2006

Author: darienwerfhorst from United States

Unlike most reality shows which dwell on the negative, or the shows where people have their "outsides" redone, I think Spurlock's attempt is to make a show where people can really walk a mile in other people's shoes...

I don't think he believes he will change minds...somebody like Frank, who lost one country (Cuba) and fears he will lose another (USA) is probably way too old to change his mind...but he at least understands why people come to the U.S., the economic need to immigrate, and can start to understand while people might be willing to break the law in order to better their lives.

It's very interesting to watch people to start to open up their minds (in most cases) and try to figure out what makes other humans tick. And the good episodes, where, for example, Christian Mom realizes that Athiest Mom is also a very good mother, are real breakthrough moments.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Very educational and entertaining., 3 June 2008

Author: McHernet (mchernet15@gmail.com) from United States

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

Before I start my comment, I have one question, why is this show not a prime time show? Why? I've seen episodes of it, and it does not have that much of unsuitable-for-children content. The reason why the show doesn't come on prime time is beyond me. This is a very enlightening and entertaining show. But what do you expect from the guy who brought us super size me? If you liked super size me you will definitely like this show. 30 days basically follows the same pattern as the 2004 documentary, where an individual is thrown into a rather strange culture, belief, religion or life style and is expected to live among that lifestyle for approximately a month . For example in this one episode a guy named Dave was thrown into the Muslim community located in Michigan and he lived among them by praying like them by dressing like them and eating acting and so forth like them. I am sure that episode taught a lot of people that the Muslim community and terrorism aren't co-related and also that terrorism is a work of a few extremists. I myself learned a lot of positive things I did not know about the Islamic religion. Point being, not only the show is entertaining, but it is also enlightening. Try to stay up late to watch this show, I am sure you will like it.

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0 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Bothered by summary of Judaism in Muslim episode, 23 December 2006
Author: bvsc0100 from United States

When Morgan explains the differences between Judaism, Christianity and Islam, he really gets Judaism wrong. I understand that he was making a quick and, admittedly flippant, contrast for the purposes of the show. However, he describes the Jews as believing in one true God and "still waiting for His son, the messiah, to save them." "Mainstream" Judaism does not believe in the messiah being the son of God, but rather descended from King David. The Jewish messiah is to be a leader and herald in a time of return to Israel for all Jews and other specific criteria, none of which are divine powers. Another problem with Morgan's statement is that Jews are not waiting to be saved. Salvation or being saved is a Christian belief. Jews do not believe there is a need to be saved in the way Christians believe. There are many responsibilities and burdens we carry in this world, but, for a Jew, Salvation is not one of them. Please notes that when I says Jews believe or do not believe, I am referring the Jewish belief system that most practicing Jews follow. Obviously individuals have their own ideas.

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0 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
I agree with 30 Days Minuteman Frank George review, 14 August 2006
Author: oscar-35 from Movieland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

From a several public BBS....I agree with Frank's review.

Esteemed patriotic Americans, As some of you may know I accepted and have finished working with the FX Networks "Thirty Days" producers on an episode in which I lived with illegal aliens for thirty days. Before I signed my contract, I read it thoroughly and noticed that it actually says that they can defame me and say, or release, embarrassing information about me. I took this to mean that they neither have to be truthful or ethical in the treatment of the person under contract....me. As a person who has himself produced and edited videos I know how much damage can be done. Anything taken out of context can in fact appear to represent a point of view completely foreign to the person making the statement. It was, and is, my viewpoint that even if the production twisted the facts, I would still be part of a documentary in which illegal aliens are shown for close to thirty days living in East Los Angeles, California without any fear of being deported. I have been active both on our borders and also in our cities. I have not, however, knocked on politicians doors myself. My experience living for Thirty Days in East Los Angeles, California caused a tremendous change in my perceptions of what I should be doing with the problem. I decided that I need to work on the politicians personally in order to have them in one way or another enforce immigration laws or enact new ones that will make the four cities that are close to where I live uninhabitable to illegal aliens. What I had done is that I actually made an offer to them. If they accepted they would have had to leave. On July twelfth at 1 PM I was invited to a press conference that was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pasadena California. I sat on a panel with the illegal alien girl and three executives from Fox network and Morgan Spurlock who i met that very day. When the questions started coming from the reporters I told them of the deceit that had been put into play. How millions of Americans would be manipulated into believing something that wasn't true about one of their countrymen. How a fine production at the last moment took a twist so dreadful that its status as a documentary was challenged by the possibility that it had been morphed into a movie, without respect for truth at a time when our people deserve the truth more than ever. All reporters listened intently for the full hour of the conference and the producers showed extreme discomfort. Truth when spoken is powerful. I was given a DVD with the "rough cut " of the episode as were the reporters. When I was able to see this DVD at home it was completely different from what I was shown earlier. This 2ND rendition of the episode is in keeping with the truth. It is graceful and intellectually engaging. It is a masterpiece without peer. So there are two renditions of the product, one truthful throughout, another, still great and a must see, but in the last few minutes it takes a Hollywood flight from reality. * Why then would they take a quality work and degrade it? * Was it because ratings would be better? * Why was the host, Morgan Spurlock referring to me on the video as an "anti-immigrant" Minuteman? * If you look at the film you will see that even they know that I am an immigrant myself! -The film crew was biased and made up of sympathetic liberals.- During all the days that we filmed I frequently felt as if I were the only person who believed as I do. It is not an accident that the film took the turn that it did. I never failed to mention my anti-illegal immigration point of view everyday. How could they possibly even dare to think that I had changed my mind? ***** Not a chance! Sincerely, Frank Jorge Member CCIR, Secured Borders USA, LAIR, MMP, TXMM, TAR, SOS

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Dose not tell all the facts, 5 April 2007

Author: D000007 from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This has a spoiler in it, but if anyone has seen the first episode of this show you see life from the point of view of a person who makes minimum wage and lives in the state of Ohio. Yes prior to the 2006 election minimum wage in Ohio was 5.15 dollars and hour, but after the election the state chose to raise it to 6.80 everyone voted on it so even though I voted no its better to have state taxpayers pass something than just the state to do it. It starts off with Morgan putting all his money credit cards and such in a place where he cannot get to them. O.K great trying to see how the other half lives. he finds out how hard it is to do. The fact is he never held a minimum wage job he had temp jobs where you were paid for a days work, not by the hour but a set pay for the whole day you worked. This is not living off minimum wage. The poverty line in the USA for a married couple with no children is 13,200 dollars in the greater 48 states. its higher in Alaska and Hawaii. If he and his wife worked two jobs at minimum wage they would make a total of 21,424 dollars before taxes if you make that much in Ohio taxes would probably only take out 400 dollars. Thus they are over the poverty level. They will not live a great life but they will not live like how it was portrayed in this episode. He is a one sided person and all his movies are the same, go ahead and watch it but make sure you know the facts before hand

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0 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
very good idea, 20 January 2007

Author: blazebaby4567 from United States

'i think you should do a 30 days on me, Katie Philippi cause i keep trying to go 30 days without candy (something i have been addicted to since i was a kid) and i'm on my 4 try and i haven't gone over 4 days w/o candy. Trust me this would sell. Just the other day i was jumping on my friends back so i can have a tootsie roll but she wanted me to stick with this but i couldn't. It scares me how addicted to candy I am. I don't think i have gone over 4 days without candy. The amazing thing is i'm not fat over it either! my email is blazebaby4567@yahoo.com. i think you should really think about this cause it would sell for sure'

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