Fast, Cheap & Out of Control

1997
7.1| 1h23m| en
Details

Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.

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American Playhouse

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Reviews

IslandGuru Who payed the critics
Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
jones81291 How can a creative writing teacher entertain her class of seven students while educating them? Show them Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control is how.I found this movie very entertaining. As a Junior who is about to get out of school for the summer, its hard to keep my attention but I found myself unable to fall asleep during this movie.Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control was quite random and amazing. I would recommend this movie to anyone. It made me laugh and showed me how compassionate people should be about their jobs.Whats the point of going to a dead end boring job you loathe when you could be out there doing what you love and getting paid for it? There is no point.My hope is that when I have a full time job, I love it and look forward to it just as much as these men do with their jobs.I think all you workers should do the same.
Blake (TimeForChillie) Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control, 1997 A documentary that aims high and doesn't quite make it. It's about four guys that have achieved great things in very unussual fields. The director was trying to make a point about what it takes to be a success. He tried to make the argument that although the mens fields were very different (robot designer, mole rat expert, lion tamer, gardener) they succeeded for the same reason. He did this by first introducing the men, than interviewing them, than having the answers of one play while he showed the other working. It was a pretty well made movie and shot pretty well, but it just didn't quite do it for me. It was a well made movie and I enjoyed it, but I feel that it could have done a lot more.6/10, 23rd best of 1997, 250th of the 90s, 627th overall.
mrcaw1 Somehow the Morris mix just doesn't jell this time. I'm normally a huge fan of Mr. Morris's films, especially the truly great Gates of Heaven. But Fast, Cheap & Out of Control is ironically aptly titled. Instead of providing some quirky insight into the human condition, the film only manages to annoy. And our four subjects? Well, they grate on the nerves to be honest. It's hard to say what's missing, maybe a sense of humor, maybe some more directorial involvement. In any event, I wouldn't go out of my way to catch this flick.
epiphone62 In science, there is a property of any complex system, that more complexity and subtlety will result with each added component. This, in my opinion, was the subject of "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control." The parallels drawn between AI, societal mammals, commonality of life (the lion tamer) and art (topiary gardener) flesh out a world where the idea of "God" can well be reduced to a simple inherent property of existence. Mole rat societies are not so far from human societies; humans are not so different from animals; robots are not so different from animals; and each individual represents a unique degree of specialization that proves important to the greater society it exists in. I found this work elegant, subtle, and even-handed, not to mention completely unique in its structure and faith in the audience to decipher an individual meaning from the context provided. Each person interviewed is wholly engrossed in their craft, something for which no other human can be substituted, and that exuberance shines in their eyes. It's a strange ride that inspires wonder in trusting viewers, exactly the way that the experts' wonder has motivated their realization as truly unique humans.