An Inconvenient Truth

There's something oddly poetic about going to see Al Gore's great movie about global warming on a day hot enough to choke a horse. The heat index in my car alone must have been 120 degrees.

I was wary going into this one, despite the almost univeral acclaim. Though I voted for Al Gore and am glad I did, I've never particularly liked him. I just always thought there was something phony about him, and it always rubbed me the wrong way.

In "An Inconvenient Truth," however, be ready for a different kind of Gore than we've seen before. Global warming is clearly an all-consuming passion for him, and he somehow manages to make that highly infectious.

What we get in the movie is, essentially, one lecture from Gore, with only brief interruptions but featuring some truly impressive slides. An entertaining lecture from Al Gore? How is that possible? Because what he's talking about is - without exaggeration - the destruction of our planet, and why we are all responsible for it.

As he made his case, I was only bored once, about an hour into it when he started to drone on about moulins, which apparently move meltwater through glaciers. But, just as my mind started to drift, he hit me with the gotcha moment of this great movie: What would happen if a large of chunk of Greenland were to break off and melt away ... I won't spoil it for you, but the results are chillingly catastrophic, and the way he demonstrates it is highly effective.

And, as he scares the hell out of us, Gore is at times charming and funny, things I had never seen before. As it came to a close (in a brisk 1 hr, 45 minutes), I couldn't help think what would have happened if Mr. Gore had become president six years ago. I'm certain the world would be a better place, but it's painful to dwell on it, so I won't.

As I was driving home, it also hit me that in a case of high irony, I hadn't been terribly "green" in my mission to see his movie. I drove a half-hour each way to get there, with stops along the way to buy the fabulous new Pimp C album and nosh at Caribbean Paradise, and sat in a very well air-conditioned theater (Galleria Cinemas in Centerville, Ga.) to listen to his words of wisdom.

Oh well. Tomorrow I'll be better. I was tentatively planning to go see "You, Me and Dupree," which I'm almost certain will just suck beyond all comprehension, but instead I'm gonna save the gas and just say no. I guess every little bit helps.