With The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, documentarian/showman Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) has created a film exploring the world of advertising, product placement in particular, funded entirely by product placement. The above-the-title sponsor ("Brand X" Presents) is POM Wonderful. The California-based pomegranate and juice company paid Spurlock's production $1.5 million for the honor. Other sponsors include Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, JetBlue, Merrell Shoes, MovieTickets.com, and Sheetz. Much of the film is devoted to Spurlock meeting with companies, pitching his film, and, in most cases, being denied. He also interviews a handful of directors (including Brett Ratner and Quentin Tarantino), musicians (Big Boi, OK Go), and intellectual/political heavyweights (Noam Chomsky and Ralph Nader), and he visits São Paulo, Brazil, where outdoor advertising is banned.

A great deal of this material will be familiar to film fans--news flash: big-budget movies like Iron Man and Quantum of Solace are full of brand references, including cars and computers, and this is part of an insidious, perhaps corrupting symbiosis between Hollywood and corporations. The business of brand integration/product placement may be less known to the mainstream who just see a handful of films per year (mostly along the lines of those aforementioned blockbusters), but it's hard to imagine them seeing this documentary, despite Spurlock's stated aim to create a "doc-buster." Is this a flaw in The Greatest Movie Ever Sold? Yes, it is a bit of a cinematic Captain Obvious. Is it damning? No. There is still a great deal to enjoy here.

For one, Morgan Spurlock is a genial guide. Similar to Michael Moore (albeit with more smirks and less rage), he puts himself at the center of his documentaries. No matter the subject--unhealthy fast food, the Middle East, advertising--he is the protagonist diving in headfirst. It's pleasant to follow him. He's charismatic and quick-witted. Opposite an interview subject or in a roomful of executives, he is able to be, at the same time, friendly, inquisitive, and even confrontational, and he always draws interesting observations from those around him. The directorial interviews are a definite highlight, cut to contrast Tarantino's hesitant approach to product placement with Ratner's almost gleeful embrace of the practice.

At just 88 minutes, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold doesn't overstay its welcome. It's concise and conveys information quickly and clearly. Only one segment, in which Spurlock travels to Florida to discuss advertising in public schools (on buses, on classroom televisions), is rather dull. Otherwise, it's never less than pleasant.

One of the main questions of the film is whether a director, by embracing product placement and other forms of advertising, is selling out or buying in. How far is too far? Where does art end and commerce begin? Spurlock never quite musters a satisfying, clear all-in-all answer, but he poses the questions with humor and intelligence.

B