Reversal of Fortune

2005
7.4| 1h8m| en| More Info
Released: 01 January 2005 Released
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Synopsis

A documentary that explores what happens when a homeless man is given one hundred thousand dollars and the free will to do with it whatever his wishes.

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Reviews

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
manyblessings916 I personally had interaction with Ted in his South Sacramento apartment, he drinks obsessively and uses drugs, I know because I did it with him. Some of his family members used drugs and drank to craziness with him. If they really wanted to do a social experiment, why not screen their subjects better? This was a pointless project and Ted and his friends and family got to party to no ends off of Showtime. Next time they want to do something stupid like this they can call me. I can party with their money just as good as Ted did. There are homeless drunks on every corner in America. I cannot figure out what this documentary was trying to prove, except maybe that the producer of this show is an idiot. Ted's addictions were well into severe progression before he got this money, he told me so. Maybe he cleaned up for three days if they actually tested him for drugs or alcohol. Ted is a player and street wise, I'm sure he knows it is not hard to get around a drug test, hell I did it for parole for years. I think Showtime used and exploited Ted and should be shamed for their irrational actions. Ted had a part in this too, he is simply lost in his addiction and his personal demons, especially being co-dependent with his family and women.
John Chambers The only thing wrong with this documentary is that is didn't follow Ted around a little bit longer. If it would have, I am almost certain he would have ended up back on the streets.It's like he really didn't believe he deserved the money, and he could not cope with the responsibilities of it. He needed a great deal of guidance and therapy.It was certainly nice of him to buy his friend a car, but he could have just as easily given him $5,000.00 and said, "Go buy a car." Instead of taking on the entire $11K ...BUT WHEN HE PURCHASED HIS OWN $35,000.00 vehicle, I KNEW then it as all over. I thought, there Ted goes-- back to life under the bridge.Saddest part was his sisters seemed so willing to help without wanting any thing from him, but he kept accusing them-- saying "Everybody wants something from me." Dumbo...your sisters only wanted you to succeed. And, this 100K, was the beginning of what could have been a life changing event, instead of a six month party, carefree, I'll spend what I want, when I want, type of sad experience. What a shame. Truly.
savanna-2 Fascinating to watch, cringe worthy at times, deeply hurtful at others. Makes me wonder, as I'm sure many of you do as well, what finally became of Ted? I was sorry to see that things didn't work out as well as one would hope. Personally, I felt the substance abuse problems, for Ted, made proper decision making impossible, when it came to the the $$$$ and the responsibility of it!I felt that, while the the film makers did make clear that Ted had a problem with alcohol and pot, they only used it to sensationalize the tale. Putrid, if you as me. But hey, they went lower and I do mean scrapping the bottom low, by including footage where Ted told private details of this mothers life and at one point called her a "bar whore." Now, if this were serialized, then yes, I can see how that would be included in the same series as the part where they go and ultimately do the bulk of their filming in and around the home of Ted's mother.They befriended her, his family, sisters, etc. Then, turned around and used that footage which was shot while Ted was still estranged from his them. How could they do that? There were certainly other ways for the point to be made about Ted's moms struggles with alcohol!!! This stuff was all edited together for one feature documentary so those scenes and voice clips could have just as easily hit the cutting room floor. Maybe the creator's, producers, the whoever's involved in this, were disappointed that Ted's family was very nice to him and didn't start to immediately hit him up for cash and while they tried to give him sensible advice, there were no outrageous blow-ups when squandered the money on expensive cars (he bought 3 total and gave 2 away), drinking, wining and dining women.So maybe that's it ... they were expecting the Jerry Springer show and got a nice middle-class family instead! Maybe they're hoping after the family sees the documentary and hears these hateful comments, the family will call up and offer to give them a show "Jerry Springer" style! Naw, that won't happen, but what is certain, is that there is an entire family out there hurt because they participated in this! I wish the family the best and hope the the person who decided to include that footage is now sleeping under a bridge in LA and his Mama is not accepting his collect phone calls! Yes, Ted blew the money, lack of personal responsibility, but he's not the only one lacking in this crowd!
sinomafile This film is "riveting" but in much the same way a car crash is riveting. It's hard to look away. Overall, this film is nothing more than an incredibly irresponsible social experiment--and a futile, biased experiment at that. The filmmakers are manipulative and seem to have no problems going for the lowest possible denominator. The manner in which the money is presented to Ted is pure exploitation. The intervening steps that the filmmakers force Ted to participate in (meeting with so-called experts) were empty and devoid of any substantive attempt to connect with Ted. Instead, it's painfully obvious that they serve to cover the filmmaker's posteriors and to further exploit Ted's situation. The worst part is that the filmmakers stop following Ted after 6 months; and seemingly are cut off entirely from the subject they had followed so closely months before. If they had cared, they would have found better "experts" to help Ted. If they truly wanted to see what Ted would do, then they should have let him spend the money without any intervention. This film is at best a high-brow Jackass stunt and not a documentary. It's sad to think how much $100,000 could have actually changed a homeless person's life had it been put in the right hands.

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