Mock your socks off!

It's easy for documentaries, especially those aiming for social commentary, to get over-the-top. Let's face it: Al Gore's animated polar bears, Michael Moore's dramatic vignettes, the invasive footage in Jesus Camp...sometimes it's just hard to take seriously.

So why not make it intentional? I loved the "mocumentary" A Day Without a Mexican. Its melodramatic details, from the pink fog cutting off California to the dripping water faucet showing the passage of time, set a hilarious tone. Its characters, dressed to the hilt in stereotypes, aren't necessarily believable. But the movie still manages to make a point.

The statistics sprinkled throughout Without A Mexican caught my attention without seeming invasive. The gears in my head were able to turn while I was still laughing.

The next time Al Gore makes a movie, maybe he should "mock it."