Enron: The Smartest
Guys in the Room —But Tell Us, Why Weren’t
the Economic Advisors and Institutions
Smarter? by The
Maven and The Blonde Film Columnists
Adapted from the book of the same name by Bethany
McLean and Peter Elkind (Fortune Magazine writers), the
documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room traces
the rise and fall of the Enron Corporation and its
executives. Written for the screen and directed by Alex
Gibney (Behind Those Eyes), we see the string of events
that led to the collapse of one of the top Fortune 500
companies. The story reads like a conspiracy thriller,
but is far more disturbing when you factor in the
reality of 20,000 workers suddenly unemployed, without
medical insurance and more than three billion dollars of
pension and retirement benefits gone (or shall we say,
stolen). In the beginning, Enron was
credited with creating a new business model. As a
result, stock prices soared, even though there were no
real profits to justify Wall Streets optimism. The
accountants were recording expected profits rather than
actual profits. Before the end, Kenneth Lay, Jeff
Skilling and Andy Fastow pocketed millions after dumping
their Enron stocks. However, they weren't the only
greedy ones! Investment Houses such as Merrill Lynch,
Morgan Chase, Citibank and Deusch Bank all were
financing Enron and its subsidiaries. Most
damning was the trail leading to the Bush family (oh,
what a surprise!). At the height of the California
energy crisis (which Enron instigated), Bush refused to
intervene, adding, “The best way we can help California
is to be good citizens.” What does that
mean? Enron declared bankruptcy on December
2, 2001. Be assured that everything has not come to pass
yet! There will be fallout for many years to
come!
The
Blonde: All I can say is, “And poor Martha goes to
jail?” Enron was like Fahrenheit 9/11 meets The
Interpreter meets any Robert Ludlam film meets Wall
Street. I am so SICK AND TIRED of powerful people
getting away with amazing scams and lies, and the poor
middle class are the ones to suffer! Speaking of
suffering…Maven, I forgot to tell you that the airlines
lost my luggage and I was without any clothes for the
first three days of my Baltic cruise. NO MAKEUP,
moisturizer, toner, night creams, hair blower and hair
iron, NOTHING! I WONT MENTION THE AIRLINE, BUT IT STARTS
WITH THE LETTER “D”! I wont be investing in their stock
any time soon either! Thank goodness I put my tiaras and
jewelry in my carry-on luggage!
The
Maven: Upon first hearing about this debacle, I felt so
bad for Clifford Baxter when he committed suicide. I
didn't really grasp the full story at the time. Then, a
few weeks later, more information came out and I was
even more confused. How could a company commit so much
fraud right in the public eye and nobody knew? This
documentary put it all together for me. Now I am really
sick. This story is more horrifying than any Stephen
King novel could ever be.
The
Blonde: So this Lay guy makes (through lying, cheating,
stealing, fraud, sham, scam, and charade) $300 million
in four years and his wife stated that it was all gone!
Honey please, if I made 300 mill, trust me, I'd have
saved enough to have many houses, jewels, Botox, lipo,
and massages for life and then some!! I shook my
head so much while watching this documentary that I was
dizzy when I left the theater.
The
Maven: How would you know the difference?
The
Blonde: I don't get it? I found it ironic that Enron's
motto was, “Ask why” and NO ONE, including Greenspan
(who received an Enron award), EVER did! Why were all of
these lies taken at face value and never checked not
even by the shareholders.
The
Maven: The details of the documentary were carefully
laid out. Interviews with key players and access to
corporate video and audio tape tainted a devastatingly
clear trail to follow. Above all, this is not a
political documentary. It's a crime story! Anyone with
any ethics at all would be appalled and angered by the
chutzpah of all the players involved, no matter what
your politics are.
Story continued on bottom
The
Blonde: I don't agree. I think this movie was very
political and that is why Enron was able to get away
with their deceit for so long. How can this not be
political when our VERY OWN VICE PRESIDENT had a part in
this company!...Although the airline was a bust, the
cruise ship was the finest I have ever been on. If
anyone is looking for a great ship, go on the
Constellation (Celebrity line)! BRAVO!
The
Maven: Why must you torment me with your plush Baltic
cruise, when you know that I am unable to take one! Is
this payback for going to Trump’s wedding without
you?
The
Blonde: Hey, but you said you didn't want to go!
The
Maven: WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT!
The
Blonde: Which brings me back to my Baltic cruise… Okay,
moving right along, this film angered me on so many
levels. It was hard to see so many people being cheated,
down to the residents of California being put through an
energy crisis hoax and financially being burdened with
it! How do these lying people sleep at night, I
wonder?
The
Maven: They didn't start out to be a fraudulent company,
but their greed got the better of them.
The
Blonde: YADDA-YADDA-YADDA! PLEASE, YOU SOUND LIKE DR.
PHIL!
The
Maven: Most horrifying to hear were the audio tapes of a
(stock) trader saying “Burn baby burn,” during a fire
taking place due to electrical short circuits caused by
Enron's shutting off power in order to drive up energy
prices.
The
Blonde: I found the whole story horrifying and I only
pray the players get their due punishment. Speaking of
horrifying, Maven… is Angelina Jolie pregnant and is
Brad the father?
The
Maven: You're the one who claims she is so buddy-buddy
with Brad, why are you asking me? However, I do know
that this is a film that should not be missed,
especially if you own stock in a corporation, have
mutual funds or even work for an American company. Above
all, ASK WHY! This film goes beyond any rating scale I
could name. It is that important to see, so don't miss
it and bring your friends, too!
The
Blonde: Well, I can rate it and will. I give Enron an
A-. For your movie snacks, if you can chew while being
aggravated, I recommend Whoppers candy for all of the
whopper lies being thrown everywhere!
P.S.
Don't be surprised if, after all the Enron trails are
completed, Hollywood will do an extravagant movie about
this amazing tale.
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