Art & Copy -- 2 of 5 stars
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Doug Pray’s documentary Art & Copy suggests that advertising is the dominant modern-art form. But rather than show us the artistic side of the medium, the ways modern Mad Men and women deserve comparison to the ad illustrators of the early 20th century ( Maxfield Parrish, for instance), Pray packs his overlong and repetitive film with self-celebratory ad folks trotting out their greatest hits.
Yes, “Got Milk,” “I Want My MTV” and their ilk entered the lexicon. But this “manufacturing feelings” business is never defended or attacked as art. Sure, these witty wizards are creating arty sales or brand positioning pitches (more mission creep for the movie). But there is no suggestion that they’re touching anyone with this, that they’re just creating impulses, not moving the soul.
Aged ad men and women remember their greatest hits, show off their free-spirited and fancifully decorated workplaces. And there is never a naysayer, an outside observer or anyone else to say, “Yeah, and?”
Screening at: Sat., Mar. 28, 7:15 p.m., Enzian; 4 p.m. Fri. April 3, Regal Winter Park 20.
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