Review: We Run Sh*t

We Run Sh*t examines the struggle of five veteran event producers who travel to Miami during it's annual Winter Music Conference. They have the experience, the ambition and the connections to execute high caliber events but quickly realize they are dealing with the underbelly of the club scene in recession-fueled America. Platinum selling artists and spoiled celebrities are one thing, but mounting stress and the criminal corporate world are a whole different story. We Run Sh*t is a never-before-seen exposé into the darker side of nightlife entertainment.

That is what the filmmaker Michael Rogers would have you believe. However the film I saw was about a bunch of high-on-their-own-sh*t a-holes who get way over their heads trying to put on these events because they know nothing about the business. In fact, I am surprised Rogers tries to sell the film's characters as anything but jerks. These guys screw him over more than once in the film. I think the film may be Rogers attempt to make back some of the money they lost him. Perhaps it is a smart move that he didn't spend the whole film trying to chastise these guys as they make themselves look bad enough.

Enough about how little I liked these guys, let's talk about the doc itself. The film is candid, catching the ugly moments and generally making it's lead characters look inept. That is the best part about We Run Sh*t. It feels less self-censored that I expected. Unfortunately, past the candor the doc fails to engage. A large part of that is due to a lack of clear information. In a doc, we need facts to help us keep things clear and reinforce that what we are seeing is true to some degree. We Run Sh*t consistently leaves out big facts. At one point we see how much money is lost in the first two nights' events. However we don't ever get the numbers for the remaining three nights of events. This inconsistency in facts made me question if any of the doc was telling me the truth. Did they play up the losses for dramatic event? Were the remaining nights successful? These kind of questions point out the sloppiness with which this film is assembled. I think Rogers caught some candid moments but failed to put the whole situation together clearly and fails at giving us the facts we need to make any conclusions about the people involved.

We Run Sh*t never evolves into a story worthy of a feature documentary. This story would have been suited best for a one hour special on something like E!. The film does incorporate some candid moments and some slick animation at times, but overall it fails to engage its audience due to its lack of clarity, facts and likeable people.