Reversal of Fortune
Reversal of Fortune
| 01 January 2005 (USA)
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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.

Reviews
Protraph

Lack of good storyline.

ChanFamous

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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Hadrina

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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Ezmae Chang

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

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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.

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dtcherer

I'm fond of watching documentaries, so this triumph of a film has remarkably resonated with me in an extraordinary way. This is a segment of life all around us that is so very unknown (the homeless), laid bare before us as never before. Congratulations to Demaio for this ingenious accomplishment! The sad story takes us down a plot never witnessed in any Hollywood screenplay, yet grabs your soul till the very end. Man against himself - the ultimate test! What separates any of us from homelessness can be found in the lessons portrayed. Nature, nurture, good, bad, ugly,... its all there.Without narrative, the unprodded course this man takes will answer a few more of life's biggest questions.

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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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samsg

First of all, i just saw this on showtime recently. This documentary is extremely riveting, and you're always curious about what Ted is doing. In fact, it seems to be that the homeless life is for him as he has no idea about the responsibility that comes with 100,000.Towards the beginning, it shows Ted as a normal person. He is homeless and it kind of makes you feel awful for treating the homeless the way that people do. In fact, Ted seems to be a decent person with good intentions.Once Ted receives his $100,000 he conservatively spends his money on small items. However, once he gets the feeling of how much money he is left with after he recklessly spends his money on women, beer, and useless items, he is going to end up where he started, but worse.Because now, Ted has lost something what he once had. A second chance at a normal life.The pacing is excellent, and it shows the darker side of Ted once he receives this money. In the end, it makes you realize why he is homeless, and why he'll always be homeless..

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