This is the kind of story you might have expected to read about in the 1920s or 1930s, but the fact that such a prominent Hollywood studio could be acquired for over a billion dollars in 1990 in quite such murky circumstances makes this worth a watch. With the lively participation of Giancarlo Parretti, we explore just how - as a result of a dare that wouldn’t have looked out of place in “Trading Places” - this audacious Italian entrepreneur managed to put together a bid to acquire MGM from Kirk Kerkorian. No sooner has he his feet under his desk, though, than things begin to unravel and jobs begin to go. With the bulk of his cash coming from the increasingly dubious Credit Lyonnais and with investigations galore going on into just about every element of his credentials, credibility and credit worthiness we are taken on the kind of guided tour that Sam Goldwyn might have balked at. Whilst the subject matter is scandalously intriguing and it’s subject a charismatic gent, this production is really quite poor. Many of the interviews are presented using prompted questions off-camera. Unfortunately, John Dower ends up either yelling them at his contributors (and therefore at us, too) or mumbling inaudibly. Either he should have set up properly miked interviews or provided them in advance allowing an opportunity for his subjects to make statements that address his queries. Aside from Parretti himself, the other contributors are less than engaging and they leave us with takes on corporate shenanigans and a shocking lack of regulatory process that are heavy on speculation but largely devoid of much by way of fact. Parretti himself makes much about the potentially misleading description of his antics from the film’s title and in many ways he is correct as it suggest something more rotten and conspiratorial than this ninety minutes ever delivers.
