Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 9: ONE ROGUE REPORTER
Rich Peppiatt and Tom Jenkinson’s turnabout on tabloid journalism debuted at Sheffield this past Summer. It has also screened at Leeds and the East End film fests, in addition to other British venues. FilmBuff now releases the doc on VOD platforms including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Xbox, Google Play, and Blinkbox.
As a reporter for UK tabloid The Daily Star, Peppiatt found himself in all sorts of dubious and degrading situations while on the hunt for a story, causing him to question his career path. When his resignation from the paper -which included charges of Islamophobia by its editors – went viral, he turned to comedy to further expose the truth behind the sensationalism of the Fourth Estate. Adapting his one-man show into a documentary project, he sets out to turn the tables on Britain’s tabloid editors, using their own tactics on them, from invasion of privacy to fabricating wild suppositions and passing them off as fact. It’s an intriguing premise, but both Peppiatt’s prank execution and filmmaking approach fall far short of their mark. Adopting an everyman Morgan Spurlock schtick as he too-chattily narrates the hour-long project, and a page from Michael Moore’s brand of on-screen confrontations, Peppiatt engages in inconsequential silliness such as dropping off sex toys on an editor’s doorstep or papering a car with rumor-mongering headlines while dressed like a cartoonish journalist in a trenchcoat. On the plus side, the overarching idea, echoed through a nice use of classic film clips – that journalism should be a noble profession with editors holding themselves, and their papers to higher standards – is a worthwhile one. However, while serious issues are at its core – mostly discussed by talking heads that range from more respected journalists like The Guardian‘s Owen Jones to Hugh Grant and Steve Coogan, celebs who’ve spoken out against tabloids – the film as a whole comes off as very juvenile and very UK specific, which is a shame.
what (not) to doc 