30 Days - Season 1
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Morgan SpurlockBrand: FOX Home Entertainment
Producer: Morgan Spurlock
Producer: R.J. Cutler
Producer: Benjamin Silverman
Producer: H.T. Owens
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 270 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-07-11
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of 30 Days - Season 1
Movie Review: Surprisingly well done AND entertaining
Summary: 5 Stars
I really have to hand it to Spurlock - the "fish out of water" concept has been hacked to death in so many formats, be it drama or reality show. However, this DVD presents the idea well and is both entertaining AND informative. For me, the most informative segment is the one that deals with the Muslim religion. It would be difficult for anyone to hold the typical stereotypes that have become standard since 9/11 after watching this episode. The homophobe in the Castro district episode is also a brilliantly done turn on what opens up a man's views to make him not only tolerant but more understanding of people and a "lifestyle" that he was once taught to hate. The only episode that had me shaking my head was the one of the binge-drinking mom. Both mother and daughter are totally clueless; the mother's permisive upbringing of her daughter means she will have very little effect on the daughter, now in college. The daughter's steadfast belief that blacking out weekly is not a problem is absolutely disgusting. She's going to need more than luck if her behavior continues this way. The one good thing to come out of this is the younger son's POSSIBLE learning of how destructive it can be to live the life of a binge drinker. One can only hope. The Fountain of Youth show should be an eye-opener for those looking for quick fixes to turn back the clock. The cost can be extremely dangerous and effect others (although at times the wife in the episode comes off a little shrewish, it is refreshing to see that the she and the husband obviously care about each other). Spurlock actually takes the lead in one show trying to get by making minimum wage in Michigan with his girlfriend. Another eye-opener about how expensive just living can be, and the many things that can be taken for granted in America, but not by those just eeking out a $7/hour existence. Still, we all know that at the end of 30 days, Spurlock and his fiancee can pay any of the unpaid bills that are not incurred. Even knowing this, you can feel their stress.
The style of the show is fantastic; the educational cartoons, the interviews on the streets getting people's perceptions, and the commentary by experts are all well done. The extra diary cams are a nice addition, as are the commentaries; about the only thing missing is a follow-up interview, but to be really effective it would have to mean the time lapse of about a year afterwards. Hopefully that can be done for future editions of this show. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Great for discussion after watching.
Summary of 30 Days - Season 1
From Morgan Spurlock, the Academy Award nominated writer, director, and star of the hit film Supersize Me, comes Thirty Days, the intelligent and innovative TV show that dares to ask: Â"Do we really know what itÂ's like to see the world through our neighborsÂ' eyes?Â"Explore some of AmericaÂ's most pressing social issues by following the lives of ordinary people who agree to live well-outside their comfort zones for thirty days: Spurlock and his fiancÃ(c)e try to make ends meet by working minimum wage jobs, a devout Christian immerses himself in Islamic culture, a homophobic young man goes to live and work in San FranciscoÂ's largely-gay Castro District, and more. Provocative, poignant, and hilarious, Thirty Days is a true originalÂ...often unpredictable and always eye-opening!
A reality show that's entertaining and smart? Sounds about as oxymoronic as it gets, but Morgan Spurlock has pulled it off with 30 Days. With this series (offered here on two discs containing six episodes and a variety of bonus material), Spurlock, who got a 2005 Best Documentary Oscar nomination for Super Size Me, his record of a harrowing month spent on a strict McDonald's-only diet, has effectively taken his act to the not-so-small screen. The premise: put "normal" middle-class Americans (in this case, all of them white) into situations where they are way out of their comfort zones, archetypal fish out of water who must spend 30 days experiencing how the other half lives. Thus we have tales involving a Christian from West Virginia who lives with a Muslim American couple in Dearborn, Michigan; a straight dude from rural Michigan who moves in with a homosexual roommate in San Francisco's Castro District, "the gayest place on Earth;" and a mother in Phoenix who, concerned about her daughter's excessive drinking at college, goes on her own heavy alcohol binge. Spurlock himself is the subject of an episode in which he and his fiancé try to subsist on the minimum wage, while the only one that doesn't fit the mold concerns an out-of-shape 34-year-old man trying to find the fountain of youth by embarking on a strict regimen of exercise, diet, and major doses of steroids and Human Growth Hormone pills.
The stories don't all have happy endings: the Phoenix woman's drinking has no affect whatsoever on her daughter, and the steroid guy drops out when his sperm count almost immediately drops to zero. But the discomfort felt by the others seems genuine, as do the lessons in tolerance and cultural understanding they eventually learn, even given the artificial confines of reality TV. What's more, Spurlock provides some real information along the way, telling us how many drinks it takes to be over the legal limit in Arizona (five shots ought to do it) or how many passages in the Bible are interpreted as proscribing homosexuality (six), detailing the negative side effects of "anti-aging" medicines (too many to list here), and offering insight into such Muslim customs as prayer and fasting (the Christian dresses in Muslim garb and even learns a little Arabic). Extra features include commentary (by Spurlock and others) on four of the episodes, as well as "Diary Cams" (outtakes, basically) for all six. --Sam Graham
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